Expanding access to administrative data: the case of tax authorities in Finland and the UK

We discuss typical issues in getting access to and using high-quality administrative tax data for research purposes. We discuss research involving both quasi- and field experiments implemented together with the tax authority. We reflect on practical solutions that promote co-creation of knowledge and reduce information asymmetries between researchers and practitioners, based on our experiences of working with the tax authorities in Finland and the UK. We provide examples of how to improve the overall research environment focusing on two successful case studies: the HMRC Datalab in the UK and the remote access to data from Statistics Finland. We propose two key arguments to persuade policymakers elsewhere to follow similar practices: improved data security and equality of access across researchers.</p

RGL2 controls flower development, ovule number and fertility in Arabidopsis

[EN] DELLA proteins are a group of plant specific GRAS proteins of transcriptional regulators that have a key role in gibberellin (GA) signaling. In Arabidopsis, the DELLA family is formed by five members. The complexity of this gene family raises the question on whether single DELLA proteins have specific or overlapping functions in the control of several GA-dependent developmental processes. To better understand the roles played by RGL2, one of the DELLA proteins in Arabidopsis, two transgenic lines that express fusion proteins of Venus-RGL2 and a dominant version of RGL2, YPet-rgl2A17, were generated by recombineering strategy using a genomic clone that contained the RGL2 gene. The dominant YPet-rg12 Delta 17 protein is not degraded by GAs, and therefore it blocks the RGL2-dependent GA signaling and hence RGL2-dependent development. The RGL2 role in seed germination was further confirmed using these genetic tools, while new functions of RGL2 in plant development were uncovered. RGL2 has a clear function in the regulation of flower development, particularly stamen growth and anther dehiscence, which has a great impact in fertility. Moreover, the increased ovule number in the YPet-rg12 Delta 17 line points out the role of RGL2 in the determination of ovule number.We wish to thank Ms. J. Yun,M.A. Argomániz for technical assistance, and the IBMCP microscopy facility. Edit Syndicate (http://www.editsyndicate.com/) provided proofreading of the manuscript. This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness-FEDER [BI02011-26302 and BI02014-55946] and Generalitat Valenciana [ACOMP/2013/048 and ACOMP/2014/106] to M.A.P-A. and National Science Foundation [MCB-0923727] to J.M.A. MAP-A. received a fellowship of the 'Salvador de Madariaga' program from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.Gómez Jiménez, MD.; Fuster Almunia, C.; Ocaña-Cuesta, J.; Alonso, J.; Perez Amador, MA. (2019). RGL2 controls flower development, ovule number and fertility in Arabidopsis. Plant Science. 281:82-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.01.014S829228

The 1930s as black mirror: Visions of historical repetition in the global financial press, 2007-2009

Media coverage of the recent financial crisis has referred extensively to various past crises, and in particular to the events of the 1930s. This article suggests that the idea of the Great Depression has effectively come to function as a kind of historical ‘black mirror’ – a quasi-object within which conjuncture and historical representation interact to produce an image of capitalist history itself. Focusing on the journalistic output of four key financial publications, I trace how portrayals of the 1930s have evolved over the course of the crisis. I find that while the 1930s are frequently and consistently invoked in ways that purport to reveal the historicity of the crisis, these representations produce an oscillation between different visions of historical repetition, which in turn underpin competing interpretations of the crisis as it unfolds. In so doing, I argue, appeals to the 1930s have simultaneously served to conceal and disclose the constitutive relation of historical imagination to historical process – a double move that has had the paradoxical effect of both securing and undermining the reproduction of finance capitalism as we have come to know it

Universal DNA methylation age across mammalian tissues

Aging, often considered a result of random cellular damage, can be accurately estimated using DNA methylation profiles, the foundation of pan-tissue epigenetic clocks. Here, we demonstrate the development of universal pan-mammalian clocks, using 11,754 methylation arrays from our Mammalian Methylation Consortium, which encompass 59 tissue types across 185 mammalian species. These predictive models estimate mammalian tissue age with high accuracy (r > 0.96). Age deviations correlate with human mortality risk, mouse somatotropic axis mutations and caloric restriction. We identified specific cytosines with methylation levels that change with age across numerous species. These sites, highly enriched in polycomb repressive complex 2-binding locations, are near genes implicated in mammalian development, cancer, obesity and longevity. Our findings offer new evidence suggesting that aging is evolutionarily conserved and intertwined with developmental processes across all mammals.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Universal DNA methylation age across mammalian tissues.

Aging, often considered a result of random cellular damage, can be accurately estimated using DNA methylation profiles, the foundation of pan-tissue epigenetic clocks. Here, we demonstrate the development of universal pan-mammalian clocks, using 11,754 methylation arrays from our Mammalian Methylation Consortium, which encompass 59 tissue types across 185 mammalian species. These predictive models estimate mammalian tissue age with high accuracy (r > 0.96). Age deviations correlate with human mortality risk, mouse somatotropic axis mutations and caloric restriction. We identified specific cytosines with methylation levels that change with age across numerous species. These sites, highly enriched in polycomb repressive complex 2-binding locations, are near genes implicated in mammalian development, cancer, obesity and longevity. Our findings offer new evidence suggesting that aging is evolutionarily conserved and intertwined with developmental processes across all mammals