Scientific iconoclasm and active imagination: synthetic cells as techo-schientific mandalas

Metaphors allow us to come to terms with abstract and complex information, by comparing it to something which is structured, familiar and concrete. Although modern science is “iconoclastic”, as Gaston Bachelard phrases it, scientists are at the same time prolific producers of metaphoric images themselves. Synthetic biology is an outstanding example of a technoscientific discourse replete with metaphors, including textual metaphors such as the “Morse code” of life, the “barcode” of life and the “book” of life. This paper focuses on a different type of metaphor, however, namely on the archetypal metaphor of the mandala as a symbol of restored unity and wholeness. Notably, mandala images emerge in textual materials related to one of the new “frontiers” of contemporary technoscience, namely the building of a synthetic cell: a laboratory artefact that functions like a cell and is even able to replicate itself. The mandala symbol suggests that, after living systems have been successfully reduced to the elementary building blocks and barcodes of life, the time has now come to put these fragments together again. We can only claim to understand life, synthetic cell experts argue, if we are able to technically reproduce a fully functioning cell. This holistic turn towards the cell as a meaningful whole also requires convergence at the “subject pole”: the building of a synthetic cell as a practice of the self, representing a turn towards integration, of multiple perspectives and various forms of expertise

Next. Michael Crichton. New York: Harper Collins, 2006

Michael Crichton‟s latest novel Next (2006) is his third about genomics. Yet, whereas Jurassic Park (and its sequel The lost world) contained stories about sequencing, reconstructing and revivifying the genomes of (extinct) animals, Next analyses the impact of genomics in the biomedical sphere: its consequences for human life (health, labour, sexuality, family life). Gene patenting, and the philosophy of genetic determinism that inspired and legitimised this practice, is at the root of most of the soap-like absurdities Crichton stages in his novel

Vampires, Viruses and Verbalisation: Bram Stoker’s Dracula as a genealogical window into fin-de-siècle science

This paper considers Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, published in 1897, as a window into techno-scientific and sociocultural developments of the fin-de-siècle era, ranging from blood transfusion and virology up to communication technology and brain research, but focusing on the birth of psychoanalysis in 1897, the year of publication. Stoker’s literary classic heralds a new style of scientific thinking, foreshadowing important aspects of post-1900 culture. Dracula reflects a number of scientific events which surfaced in the 1890s but evolved into major research areas that are still relevant today. Rather than seeing science and literature as separate realms, moreover, Stoker’s masterpiece encourages us to address the ways in which techno-scientific and psycho- cultural developments mutually challenge and mirror one another, so that we may use his novel to deepen our understanding of emerging research practices and vice versa (Zwart 2008, 2010). Psychoanalysis plays a double role in this. It is the research field whose genealogical constellation is being studied, but at the same time (Lacanian) psychoanalysis guides my reading strategy. Dracula, the infectious, undead Vampire has become an archetypal cinematic icon and has attracted the attention of numerous scholars (Browning & Picart 2009). The vampire complex built on various folkloristic and literary sources and culminated in two famous nineteenth-century literary publications: the story The Vampyre by John Polidori (published in 1819)2 and Stoker’s version. Most of the more than 200 vampire movies released since Nosferatu (1922) are based on the latter (Skal 1990; Browning & Picart 2009; Melton 2010; Silver & Ursini 2010). Yet, rather than on the archetypal cinematic image of the Vampire, I will focus on the various scientific ideas and instruments employed by Dracula’s antagonists to overcome the threat to civilisation he represents. Although the basic storyline is well-known, I will begin with a plot summary

The oblique perspective: philosophical diagnostics of contemporary life sciences research

This paper indicates how continental philosophy may contribute to a diagnostics of contemporary life sciences research, as part of a “diagnostics of the present”. First, I describe various options for an oblique reading of emerging scientific discourse, bent on uncovering the basic “philosophemes” of science. Subsequently, I outline a number of radical transformations occurring both at the object-pole and at the subject-pole of the current knowledge relationship, namely the technification of the object and the anonymisation or collectivisation of the subject, under the sway of automation, ICT and big machines. Finally, I further elaborate the specificity of the oblique perspective with the help of Lacan’s theorem of the four discourses. Philosophical reflections on contemporary life sciences concur neither with a Master’s discourse, nor with university discourse, nor with what Lacan refers to as hysterical discourse, but rather with the discourse of the analyst, listening with evenly-poised attention to the scientific files in order to bring to the fore the cupido sciendi which both inspires and disrupts contemporary life sciences discourse

The impact of hub hierarchy and market competition on airfare pricing in US hub-to-hub markets

Over the past years, full-service carriers in Europe have deployed multi-hub-and-spoke systems by joining alliances to exploit network economies. The concentration of flights on a small group of airports leads to the emergence of ‘fortress hubs’ and subsequently creates hub-to-hub markets in Europe reminiscent of the US aviation market. This paper explores the factors influencing the pricing behaviour of full-service carriers in European hub-to-hub markets. Drawing on a 2009 dataset containing route and airfare information, we establish an econometric model to estimate the impact of route structure, alliances, and market concentration on the pricing of European full-service carriers in these markets. Three types of hubs (i.e., primary, secondary and tertiary hubs) are hereby identified to investigate the route structure within the hub-to-hub network. The stepwise regression results suggest that alliances on routes connecting two primary hubs, market share inequality and competition from low-cost carriers influence average airfares of full-service carriers in the European hub-to-hub markets

Electrical rotary joint apparatus for large space structures

A structural array and electrical rotary joint for transmitting an electrical power between large space structures having relative rotational movement is disclosed which includes large support framework structures which rotate relative to one another about a common axis of rotation. A rotary interface joint is defined between the structures. A cylindrical hub member is carried by one structure and a cylindrical hub member is carried by a support structure with a third hub member being concentrically within a fourth hub member for relative rotation. Tension connecting cables connect hub members with their associated outer structures whereby relative rotational movement between the structures is transmitted to the cylindrical hub members for unitary motion therewith. Electrical conductor brush members are carried by one hub and electrical contact rings are carried by another hub member in sliding electrical contact with the brushes for transmission of electrical power during relative rotational movement between the two support structures

Hub and spoke trade agreements under oligopoly with asymmetric costs

Using an oligopoly model of trade, we study the individual and world welfare implications of hub and spoke trade agreements. Under a hub and spoke regime, the hub country can benefit at the expense of the spokes relative to free trade. Furthermore, if the hub is sufficiently efficient compared to the spokes, such a regime can yield higher global welfare than free trade. Preferential treatment of the hub country in its export markets improves world welfare because it helps allocate a larger share of the world's output to a low cost location

The determinants of full-service carriers airfares in European hub-to-hub markets

This paper explores the factors influencing the pricing behaviour of full-service carriers in European hub-to-hub markets. Drawing on a 2009 dataset containing route and airfare information, we establish an econometric model to estimate the impact of route structure, alliances, and market concentration on the pricing of European full-service carriers in these markets. The results suggest that alliances on routes connecting two primary hubs, airport concentration, market share inequality and competition from low-cost carriers influence average airfares of full-service carriers in the European hub-to-hub markets

An Experimental Investigation of Helicopter Rotor Hub Fairing Drag Characteristics

A study was done in the NASA 14- by 22-Foot Wind Tunnel at Langley Research Center on the parasite drag of different helicopter rotor hub fairings and pylons. Parametric studies of hub-fairing camber and diameter were conducted. The effect of hub fairing/pylon clearance on hub fairing/pylon mutual interference drag was examined in detail. Force and moment data are presented in tabular and graphical forms. The results indicate that hub fairings with a circular-arc upper surface and a flat lower surface yield maximum hub drag reduction; and clearance between the hub fairing and pylon induces high mutual-interference drag and diminishes the drag-reduction benefit obtained using a hub fairing with a flat lower surface. Test data show that symmetrical hub fairings with circular-arc surfaces generate 74 percent more interference drag than do cambered hub fairings with flat lower surfaces, at moderate negative angle of attack