Life, time, and the organism:Temporal registers in the construction of life forms

In this paper, we articulate how time and temporalities are involved in the making of living things. For these purposes, we draw on an instructive episode concerning Norfolk Horn sheep. We attend to historical debates over the nature of the breed, whether it is extinct or not, and whether presently living exemplars are faithful copies of those that came before. We argue that there are features to these debates that are important to understanding contemporary configurations of life, time and the organism, especially as these are articulated within the field of synthetic biology. In particular, we highlight how organisms are configured within different material and semiotic assemblages that are always structured temporally. While we identify three distinct structures, namely the historical, phyletic and molecular registers, we do not regard the list as exhaustive. We also highlight how these structures are related to the care and value invested in the organisms at issue. Finally, because we are interested ultimately in ways of producing time, our subject matter requires us to think about historiographical practice reflexively. This draws us into dialogue with other scholars interested in time, not just historians, but also philosophers and sociologists, and into conversations with them about time as always multiple and never an inert background

Detección del gen codificante de la metalo-ß-lactamasa VIM-2 en un integrón de clase 1 asociado con el gen blaCTX-M-2 en un aislamiento clínico de Pseudomonas aeruginosa en el Uruguay: primera comunicación

Con el fin de analizar la presencia de metalo-ß-lactamasas en nuestro medio, se incluyeron en este estudio aislamientos de Pseudomonas aeruginosa causantes de infecciones nosocomiales en un centro hospitalario del Uruguay, en el período comprendido entre abril y setiembre de 2008. En un aislamiento se detectó la presencia del gen codificante de la metalo-ß-lactamasa VIM-2 asociado a un integrón de clase 1 y del gen codificante de una ß-lactamasa de espectro extendido CTX-M-2. Esta es la primera comunicación de la presencia de los genes blaCTX-M-2 y blaVIM-2 en un mismo aislamiento de P. aeruginosa. A pesar de que las carbapenemasas ya han sido ampliamente documentadas en varias partes del mundo, esta es la primera comunicación de una metalo-ß-lactamasa adquirida con actividad carbapenemasa en bacterias patógenas encontradas en el Uruguay.VIM-2 metallo-ß-lactamase gen detection in a class 1 integron associated to blaCTX-M-2 in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolate in Uruguay: first communication. In order to analyze the presence of metallo-ß-lactamase in our country, we included in this study Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates causing nosocomial infections in a hospital from Uruguay. The presence of a metallo-ß-lactamase VIM-2 in a class 1 integron and of an extended spectrum -lactamase CTX-M-2 was detected in one isolate. This is the first report of both genes, blaCTX-M-2 and blaVIM-2,in the same P. aeruginosa isolate. Although carbapenemases have been extensively documented in the world, this is the first report of an acquired metallo-ß-lactamase with carbapenemase activity in pathogenic bacteria in Uruguay

Shajaó – histories of an invented savage

Through multiple stories about Shajaó, an untold history of the Peruvian Amazon unfolds. This article, based on extensive archival research and fieldwork, brings together multivocal accounts about an Ese Eja man who allegedly killed a Catholic priest in 1932 and who, despite the large-scale expeditions sent out to capture him, was not apprehended until 1942. Through ongoing tales of Shajaó, the intersubjective ways in which memory is shaped and employed to influence and make sense of sociopoltical contexts is revealed in the exchanges between a notable “savage” and various economies in different historical settings—the rubber boom, extractivism upheld by debt-peonage, Catholic missionization and today's environmental service economy. This exploration questions the construction, reproduction and transformation of the multiple, though not always shared, experiential and interpretive frameworks that shape the historical consciousness of individual and collective memories over time. It also suggests that “disremembering”, in archival and oral accounts, reflects a critical political awareness of history's valid flexibility. Here, narratives are rewoven so that history continues to be told in ways that ensure that “Shajaó stories” never truly end

HIrisPlex-S system for eye, hair, and skin color prediction from DNA : massively parallel sequencing solutions for two common forensically used platforms

Forensic DNA Phenotyping (FDP) provides the ability to predict externally visible characteristics from minute amounts of crime scene DNA, which can help find unknown perpetrators who are typically unidentifiable via conventional forensic DNA profiling. Fundamental human genetics research has led to a better understanding of the specific DNA variants responsible for physical appearance characteristics, particularly eye, hair, and skin color. Recently, we introduced the HIrisPlex-S system for the simultaneous prediction of eye, hair, and skin color based on 41 DNA variants generated from two forensically validated SNaPshot multiplex assays using capillary electrophoresis (CE). Here we introduce massively parallel sequencing (MPS) solutions for the HIrisPlex-S (HPS) system on two MPS platforms commonly used in forensics, Ion Torrent and MiSeq, that cover all 41 DNA variants in a single assay, respectively. Additionally, we present the forensic developmental validation of the two HPS-MPS assays. The Ion Torrent MPS assay, based on Ion AmpliSeq technology, illustrated the successful generation of full HIrisPlex-S genotypic profiles from 100 pg of input control DNA, while the MiSeq MPS assay based on an in-house design yielded complete profiles from 250 pg of input DNA. Assessing simulated forensic casework samples such as saliva, hair (bulb), blood, semen, and low quantity touch DNA, as well as artificially damaged DNA samples, concordance testing, and samples from numerous species, all illustrated the ability of both versions of the HIrisPlex-S MPS assay to produce results that motivate forensic applications. By also providing an integrated bioinformatics analysis pipeline, MPS data can now be analyzed and a file generated for upload to the publically accessible HIrisPlex online webtool (https://hirisplex.erasmusmc.nl). In addition, we updated the website to accept VCF input data for those with genome sequence data. We thus provide a user-friendly and semi-automated MPS workflow from DNA sample to individual eye, hair, and skin color prediction probabilities. Furthermore, we present a 2-person mixture separation tool that not only assesses genotype reliability with regards genotyping confidence but also provides the most fitting mixture scenario for both minor and major contributors, including profile separation. We envision this MPS implementation of the HIrisPlex-S system for eye, hair, and skin color prediction from DNA as a starting point for further expanding MPS-based forensic DNA phenotyping. This may include the future addition of SNPs predictive for more externally visible characteristics, as well as SNPs for bio-geographic ancestry inference, provided the statistical framework for DNA prediction of these traits is in place

Heritagization of nature and its influence on local ecological knowledge in Uruguay

In this paper, I analyze the conflicts on the heritagization processes of Butiá palm forests in Uruguay. Some problems regarding the reproduction of this ecosystem have triggered the creation of conservation proposals and the modernization of handmade food production derived from these palms. The main heritagization processes highlights the palm as a plant through arguments that emphasize the utility, beauty and specificity of palm forests. The modernization of Butiá food by-products has influenced the lives of family producers that make such products. These people, who have built their lives around Butiá palms, feel as if their local ecological knowledge has been frozen, homogenized and displaced, which has led to a series of local conflicts. These process, which is based on the fixation of that knowledge through recipes, has come along together with more general conflicts with reference to the marginalization of these individuals regarding the authorized heritage discourse