Evaluating Gene Drive Approaches for Public Benefit

Gene drive approaches—those which bias inheritance of a genetic element in a population of sexually reproducing organisms—have the potential to provide important public benefits. The spread of selected genetic elements in wild populations of organisms may help address certain challenges, such as transmission of vector-borne human and animal diseases and biodiversity loss due to invasive animals. Adapting various naturally occurring gene drive mechanisms to these aims is a long-standing research area, and recent advances in genetics have made engineering gene drive systems significantly more technically feasible. Gene drive approaches would act through changes in natural environments, thus robust methods to evaluate potential research and use are important. Despite the fact that gene drive approaches build on existing paradigms, such as genetic modification of organisms and conventional biological control, there are material challenges to their evaluation. One challenge is the inherent complexity of ecosystems, which makes precise prediction of changes to the environment difficult. For gene drive approaches that are expected to spread spatially and/or persist temporally, responding to this difficulty with the typical stepwise increases in the scale of studies may not be straightforward after studies begin in the natural environment. A related challenge is that study or use of a gene drive approach may have implications for communities beyond the location of introduction, depending on the spatial spread and persistence of the approach and the population biology of the target organism. This poses a particular governance challenge when spread across national borders is plausible. Finally, community engagement is an important element of responsible research and governance, but effective community engagement for gene drive approaches requires addressing complexity and uncertainty and supporting representative participation in decision making. These challenges are not confronted in a void. Existing frameworks, processes, and institutions provide a basis for effective evaluation of gene drive approaches for public benefit. Although engineered gene drive approaches are relatively new, the necessities of making decisions despite uncertainty and governing actions with potential implications for shared environments are well established. There are methodologies to identify potential harms and assess risks when there is limited experience to draw upon, and these methodologies have been applied in similar contexts. There are also laws, policies, treaties, agreements, and institutions in place across many jurisdictions that support national and international decision making regarding genetically modified organisms and the potential applications of gene drive approaches, such as public health and biodiversity conservation. Community engagement is an established component of many decision-making processes, and related experience and conceptual frameworks can inform engagement by researchers. The existence of frameworks, processes, and institutions provides an important foundation for evaluating gene drive approaches, but it is not sufficient by itself. They must be rigorously applied, which requires resources for risk assessment, research, and community engagement and diligent implementation by governance institutions. The continued evolution of the frameworks, processes, and institutions is important to adapt to the growing understanding of gene drive approaches. With appropriate resources and diligence, it will be possible to responsibly evaluate and make decisions on gene drive approaches for public benefit

The Crest Phenotype in Chicken Is Associated with Ectopic Expression of HOXC8 in Cranial Skin

The Crest phenotype is characterised by a tuft of elongated feathers atop the head. A similar phenotype is also seen in several wild bird species. Crest shows an autosomal incompletely dominant mode of inheritance and is associated with cerebral hernia. Here we show, using linkage analysis and genome-wide association, that Crest is located on the E22C19W28 linkage group and that it shows complete association to the HOXC-cluster on this chromosome. Expression analysis of tissues from Crested and non-crested chickens, representing 26 different breeds, revealed that HOXC8, but not HOXC12 or HOXC13, showed ectopic expression in cranial skin during embryonic development. We propose that Crest is caused by a cis-acting regulatory mutation underlying the ectopic expression of HOXC8. However, the identification of the causative mutation(s) has to await until a method becomes available for assembling this chromosomal region. Crest is unfortunately located in a genomic region that has so far defied all attempts to establish a contiguous sequence

THE PROBLEM OF RESILIENCE OF THE PERSONALITY TO DIFFICULT LIFE SITUATIONS IN THE EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT IN THE RUSSIAN AND FOREIGN RESEARCH

Introduction: in article the problem of psychology of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations, identifications of the factors contributing to the development of resilience of the personality is discussed. Today in psychological literature there is still a lack of researches of resilience of the personality, the factors, such as the external and internal ones, the factors influencing the development of person’s resilience are insufficiently studied. An important point in understanding of formation of mechanisms of resilience of the personality is studying of a role of the educational environment as a factor of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations. In this regard it becomes necessary to generalize the saved-up material in works of the Russian and foreign researchers on a problem of influence of the educational environment as a factor of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations. The results of foreign researchers on the problem of studying of influence of specially organized safe educational environment on the resilience of the personality to difficult life situations are presented in the article. Materials and methods: the article is an analytical review where the attempt of systematization of scientific psychological knowledge of a problem of psychology of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations is made. The main method of studying of resilience of the personality to negative life situations in the conditions of the educational environment is the method of the theoretical analysis of scientific psychological foreign and domestic sources. Subjective approach is the methodological basis for studying of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations. Results of a research: consideration of theoretical provisions of resilience of the personality and empirical researches of foreign authors of influence of the educational environment on the resilience of the personality to difficult life situations in the context of researches of psychology of safety, subject approach, the intra-resources and Inter resources helping to cope with a difficult situation. The authors offer a definition of resilience of the personality in the course of exiting from difficult life situations. The scientific proof of the importance of formation of safe, subjective and positive educational environment when developing resilience of the personality to difficult life situations is consistently provided. Discussion and conclusions: the conclusion about undoubted relevance of the questions connected with a research of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations and existence of foreign psychological researches on this issue is proved. Taking into consideration the results of scarce psychological research carried out by domestic and foreign authors the need for further studying of psychological structure of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations and also factors and conditions of its formation is proved. At the same time the significance and the importance of formation of safe, subject and positive educational environment in development of resilience of the personality to difficult life situations is emphasized