Towards a just and fair Internet: applying Rawls’ principles of justice to Internet regulation

I suggest that the social justice issues raised by Internet regulation be exposed and examined by using a methodology adapted from that described by John Rawls in A Theory of Justice. Rawls’ theory uses the hypothetical scenario of people deliberating about the justice of social institutions from the ‘original position’ as a method of removing bias in decision-making about justice. The original position imposes a ‘veil of ignorance’ that hides the particular circumstances of individuals from them so that they will not be influenced by self-interest. I adapt Rawls’ methodology by introducing an abstract description of information technology to those deliberating about justice from within the original position. This abstract description focuses on information devices that users can use to access information (and which may record information about them as well) and information networks that information devices use to communicate. The abstractness of this description prevents the particular characteristics of the Internet and the computing devices in use from influencing the decisions about the just use and regulation of information technology and networks. From this abstract position, the principles of justice that the participants accept for the rest of society will also apply to the computing devices people use to communicate, and to Internet regulatio

Screen for Genetic Modifiers of stbm Reveals that Photoreceptor Fate and Rotation Can Be Genetically Uncoupled in the Drosophila Eye

BACKGROUND: Polarity of the Drosophila compound eye arises primarily as a consequence of two events that are tightly linked in time and space: fate specification of two photoreceptor cells, R3 and R4, and the subsequent directional movement of the unit eyes of the compound eye, or ommatidia. While it is thought that these fates dictate the direction of ommatidial rotation, the phenotype of mutants in the genes that set up this polarity led to the hypothesis that these two events could be uncoupled. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To definitively demonstrate these events are genetically separable, we conducted a dominant modifier screen to determine if genes, when misexpressed, could selectively enhance subclasses of mutant ommatidia in which the direction of rotation does not follow the R3/R4 cell fates, yet not affect the number of ommatidia in which rotation follows the R3/R4 cell fates. We identified a subset of P element lines that exhibit this selective enhancement. We also identified lines that behave in the opposite manner: They enhance the number of ommatidia that rotate in the right direction, but do not alter the number of ommatidia that rotate incorrectly with respect to the R3/R4 fates. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results indicate that fate and direction of rotation can be genetically separated, and that there are genes that act between R3/R4 fate specification and direction of ommatidial rotation. These data affirm what has been a long-standing assumption about the genetic control of ommatidial polarity

In Global Health Research, Is It Legitimate To Stop Clinical Trials Early on Account of Their Opportunity Costs?

This debate examines the ethics of reallocating resources invested in existing trials of older products into new trials of more scientifically advanced products

SBDS Expression and Localization at the Mitotic Spindle in Human Myeloid Progenitors

BACKGROUND: Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome (SDS) is a hereditary disease caused by mutations in the SBDS gene. SDS is clinically characterized by pancreatic insufficiency, skeletal abnormalities and bone marrow dysfunction. The hematologic abnormalities include neutropenia, neutrophil chemotaxis defects, and an increased risk of developing Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). Although several studies have suggested that SBDS as a protein plays a role in ribosome processing/maturation, its impact on human neutrophil development and function remains to be clarified. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We observed that SBDS RNA and protein are expressed in the human myeloid leukemia PLB-985 cell line and in human hematopoietic progenitor cells by quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis. SBDS expression is downregulated during neutrophil differentiation. Additionally, we observed that the differentiation and proliferation capacity of SDS-patient bone marrow hematopoietic progenitor cells in a liquid differentiation system was reduced as compared to control cultures. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that SBDS co-localizes with the mitotic spindle and in vitro binding studies reveal a direct interaction of SBDS with microtubules. In interphase cells a perinuclear enrichment of SBDS protein which co-localized with the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) was observed. Also, we observed that transiently expressed SDS patient-derived SBDS-K62 or SBDS-C84 mutant proteins could co-localize with the MTOC and mitotic spindle. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: SBDS co-localizes with the mitotic spindle, suggesting a role for SBDS in the cell division process, which corresponds to the decreased proliferation capacity of SDS-patient bone marrow CD34(+) hematopoietic progenitor cells in our culture system and also to the neutropenia in SDS patients. A role in chromosome missegregation has not been clarified, since similar spatial and time-dependent localization is observed when patient-derived SBDS mutant proteins are studied. Thus, the increased risk of myeloid malignancy in SDS remains unexplained

Derechos humanos e imaginarios sociales modernos. Un enfoque desde las relaciones internacionales

This article aims to set the human rights regimen -though only the regimen that refers to civil and political rights in the context of the mental universe of those social imaginaries that constitute our way of reading the world… In these pages I state that human rights have no fundamental philosophical foundation (in any case, only a transcendental being excluded from our philosophical thoughts), (2) that one of the axis of these modern social imaginaries is the one that deploys itself from the human kind as one (cosmopolis) to the sovereign state; and (3) the other axis stretches from civilization to barbarism, in a teleological narrative. With these in mind, human rights, that could only be understood totally inside a linguistic tradition, could and should be used, not as universal foundation of action, but as weapons for struggle.<br><br>En este artículo se trata de situar el régimen de derechos humanos –aunque sólo el de los llamados derechos civiles y políticos- dentro del universo mental de los imaginarios sociales modernos que conforman nuestra forma de leer el mundo En estas páginas se sostiene que: (1) los derechos humanos no tienen fundamento filosófico posible (sólo la población a un ser trascendental que la filosofía ya no reclama); (2) uno de los ejes de estos imaginarios sociales modernos es el que se extiende desde la humanidad una (cosmópolis) hasta el estado soberano moderno; (3) el otro eje se despliega entre la civilización y la condición de salvaje, en un relato teleológico. Con estas premisas los derechos humanos, que sólo se entienden hasta el fondo, en una determinada tradición lingüística, pueden y deben ser usados, no como fundamentos universales de la acción, sino como armas de lucha

Unusual development of light-reflecting pigment cells in intact and regenerating tail in the periodic albino mutant of Xenopus laevis

Unusual light-reflecting pigment cells, “white pigment cells”, specifically appear in the periodic albino mutant (ap/ap) of Xenopus laevis and localize in the same place where melanophores normally differentiate in the wild-type. The mechanism responsible for the development of unusual pigment cells is unclear. In this study, white pigment cells in the periodic albino were compared with melanophores in the wild-type, using a cell culture system and a tail-regenerating system. Observations of both intact and cultured cells demonstrate that white pigment cells are unique in (1) showing characteristics of melanophore precursors at various stages of development, (2) accumulating reflecting platelets characteristic of iridophores, and (3) exhibiting pigment dispersion in response to α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH) in the same way that melanophores do. When a tadpole tail is amputated, a functionally competent new tail is regenerated. White pigment cells appear in the mutant regenerating tail, whereas melanophores differentiate in the wild-type regenerating tail. White pigment cells in the mutant regenerating tail are essentially similar to melanophores in the wild-type regenerating tail with respect to their localization, number, and response to α-MSH. In addition to white pigment cells, iridophores which are never present in the intact tadpole tail appear specifically in the somites near the amputation level in the mutant regenerating tail. Iridophores are distinct from white pigment cells in size, shape, blue light-induced fluorescence, and response to α-MSH. These findings strongly suggest that white pigment cells in the mutant arise from melanophore precursors and accumulate reflecting platelets characteristic of iridophores

Wolbachia Bacteria Reside in Host Golgi-Related Vesicles Whose Position Is Regulated by Polarity Proteins

Wolbachia pipientis are intracellular symbiotic bacteria extremely common in various organisms including Drosophila melanogaster, and are known for their ability to induce changes in host reproduction. These bacteria are present in astral microtubule-associated vesicular structures in host cytoplasm, but little is known about the identity of these vesicles. We report here that Wolbachia are restricted only to a group of Golgi-related vesicles concentrated near the site of membrane biogenesis and minus-ends of microtubules. The Wolbachia vesicles were significantly mislocalized in mutant embryos defective in cell/planar polarity genes suggesting that cell/tissue polarity genes are required for apical localization of these Golgi-related vesicles. Furthermore, two of the polarity proteins, Van Gogh/Strabismus and Scribble, appeared to be present in these Golgi-related vesicles. Thus, establishment of polarity may be closely linked to the precise insertion of Golgi vesicles into the new membrane addition site

A Second-Generation Device for Automated Training and Quantitative Behavior Analyses of Molecularly-Tractable Model Organisms

A deep understanding of cognitive processes requires functional, quantitative analyses of the steps leading from genetics and the development of nervous system structure to behavior. Molecularly-tractable model systems such as Xenopus laevis and planaria offer an unprecedented opportunity to dissect the mechanisms determining the complex structure of the brain and CNS. A standardized platform that facilitated quantitative analysis of behavior would make a significant impact on evolutionary ethology, neuropharmacology, and cognitive science. While some animal tracking systems exist, the available systems do not allow automated training (feedback to individual subjects in real time, which is necessary for operant conditioning assays). The lack of standardization in the field, and the numerous technical challenges that face the development of a versatile system with the necessary capabilities, comprise a significant barrier keeping molecular developmental biology labs from integrating behavior analysis endpoints into their pharmacological and genetic perturbations. Here we report the development of a second-generation system that is a highly flexible, powerful machine vision and environmental control platform. In order to enable multidisciplinary studies aimed at understanding the roles of genes in brain function and behavior, and aid other laboratories that do not have the facilities to undergo complex engineering development, we describe the device and the problems that it overcomes. We also present sample data using frog tadpoles and flatworms to illustrate its use. Having solved significant engineering challenges in its construction, the resulting design is a relatively inexpensive instrument of wide relevance for several fields, and will accelerate interdisciplinary discovery in pharmacology, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, and cognitive science

Why education in public schools should include religious ideals

This article aims to open a new line of debate about religion in public schools by focusing on religious ideals. The article begins with an elucidation of the concept ‘religious ideals’ and an explanation of the notion of reasonable pluralism, in order to be able to explore the dangers and positive contributions of religious ideals and their pursuit on a liberal democratic society. We draw our examples of religious ideals from Christianity and Islam, because these religions have most adherents in Western liberal democracies that are the focus of this article. The fifth and most important section "Reasonable pluralism and the inclusion of religious ideals in public secondary schools" provides three arguments for our claim that public schools should include religious ideals, namely that they are important to religious people, that they are conducive for the development of pupils into citizens of a liberal democracy, and that the flourishing of pupils as adults is advanced by encountering religious ideals. We also offer a more practical reason: religious ideals can more easily be included within public education than religious dogmas and rules