Biotechnology, communication and the public : keys to delve into the social perception of science

The latest biotechnology applications allow for faster and cheaper gene editing than ever before. Many people are calling for a public debate on these issues, including the social, cultural and ethical implications of these applications. On the other hand, the information available to citizens is sometimes contradictory and communication that takes all these aspects into account is important and increasingly necessary. Therefore, understanding public attitudes towards biotechnology should be a priority for the work ahead

Assessing Models of Public Understanding In ELSI Outreach Materials

Advances in the science of genetics have implications for individuals and society, and have to be taken into account at the policy level. Studies of ethical, legal and social issues related to genomic research have therefore been integrated in the Human Genome Project (HGP) since the earliest days of the project. Since 1990, three to five percent of the HGP annual budget has been devoted to such studies, under the umbrella of the Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Programs of the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institute of Health, and of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The DOE-ELSI budget has been used to fund a variety of projects that have aimed at ?promoting education and help guide the conduct of genetic research and the development of related medical and public policies? (HGP, 2003). As part of the educational component, a significant portion of DOE-ELSI funds have been dedicated to public outreach projects, with the underlying goal of promoting public awareness and ultimately public discussion of ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding availability of genetic information (Drell, 2002). The essential assumption behind these projects is that greater access to information will lead to more knowledge about ethical, legal and social issues, which in turn will lead to enhanced ability on the part of individuals and communities to deal with these issues when they encounter them. Over the same period of time, new concepts of ?public understanding of science? have emerged in the theoretical realm, moving from a ?deficit? or linear dissemination of popularization, to models stressing lay-knowledge, public engagement and public participation in science policy-making (Lewenstein, 2003). The present project uses the base of DOE-funded ELSI educational project to explore the ways that information about a new and emerging area of science that is intertwined with public issues has been used in educational public settings to affect public understanding of science. After a theoretical background discussion, our approach is three-fold. First, we will provide an overview, a ?map? of DOE-funded of outreach programs within the overall ELSI context to identify the importance of the educational component, and to present the criteria we used to select relevant and representative case studies. Second, we will document the history of the case studies. Finally, we will explore an intertwined set of research questions: (1) To identify what we can expect such projects to accomplish -in other words to determine the goals that can reasonably be achieved by different types of outreach, (2) To point out how the case study approach could be useful for DOE-ELSI outreach as a whole, and (3) To use the case study approach as a basis to test theoretical models of science outreach in order to assess to what extent those models accord with real world outreach activities. For this last goal, we aim at identifying what practices among ELSI outreach activities contribute most to dissemination, or to participation, in other words in which cases outreach materials spark action in terms of public participation in decisions about scientific issues

YouTube, Social Norms and Perceived Salience of Climate Change in the American Mind

This online experiment explored how contextual information embedded in new media channels such as YouTube may serve as normative social cues to users. Specifically, we examined whether the number of views listed under a YouTube video about climate change would elicit inferences regarding how “others” feel about the climate issue and, consequently, might influence perceptions of issue salience. Participants in this experiment were exposed to a YouTube video about climate change using two experimental conditions, one providing a small number of views under the video and the second listing a large number of views. Results suggest that the “number of views” cue did, indeed, influence participant perceptions of the importance assigned by other Americans to the issue of climate change. Further, compared to low self-monitoring participants, high self-monitoring participants registered an increase in their own judgment of issue importance

Normative data on teachers’ voice use in real-life situations

Background As part of their working routine, teachers use their voice for extended periods of time. To compensate for adverse acoustic conditions and background noise, they are also required to speak at high intensities. Since teaching is acknowledged to be vocally demanding, several studies have investigated teachers’ vocal load, that is, the stress inflicted on the larynx during vocalization, which is thought to be influenced by duration, intensity and frequency of phonation. A promising method for analyzing teachers’ phonatory behavior in real-life situations is the use of a portable voice dosimeter that objectively documents vocal parameters. Depending on several factors, those parameters may vary within the teaching profession (Masuda et al., 1993; Morrow and Connor, 2011; Remacle, Morsomme, and Finck, 2014). With the aim of quantifying their vocal parameters and identifying the most at-risk teaching conditions, we have established a large database of French-speaking teachers. Based on this database, this study analyzed vocal loading differences with regard to gender, teaching level, and environment (professional versus extra-professional). Methods Seventy-six French-speaking teachers (15 males and 61 females) were monitored during one workweek using the Ambulatory Phonation Monitor voice dosimeter (KayPENTAX). The subjects included 21 kindergarten, 20 primary and 35 secondary school teachers. All male subjects were in the latter group. The vocal parameters analyzed were phonation time, intensity and fundamental frequency (F0). Results The statistical analysis revealed that, irrespective of gender, phonation time, F0 and intensity level were significantly higher in the professional environment than the extra-professional environment (p<.01). Among female subjects, the F0 of kindergarten teachers was significantly higher than that of primary school teachers, which in turn was higher than that of secondary school teachers (p<.01). The phonation time and intensity were also higher in female kindergarten teachers than other female teachers, but this difference did not reach significance. As expected, regarding gender differences, we found that female secondary school teachers spoke with significantly higher F0 than their male colleagues (p<.001). In the extra-professional setting, they also spoke with a significantly higher intensity (p<.05), but no such effect was found in the professional environment. Conclusion Overall, our subjects showed an increase in vocal loading parameters when they were at work compared to their free time. This confirms the results of earlier studies and demonstrates that teaching is an occupation with remarkably high vocal demands. The analysis of mean frequency showed that lower school levels were associated with higher-pitched voice. It can be assumed that kindergarten teachers adapt to the higher F0 of their young pupils and that their effort to maintain the pupils’ attention results in greater frequency variations. References Masuda, T., Ikeda, Y., Manako, H., & Komiyama, S. (1993). Analysis of vocal abuse: Fluctuations in phonation time and intensity in 4 groups of speakers. Acta Oto-Laryngologica, 113(3), 547–552. Morrow, S. L., & Connor, N. P. (2011). Comparison of voice-use profiles between elementary classroom and music teachers. Journal of Voice, 25(3), 367–372. Remacle, A., Morsomme, D., & Finck, C. (2014). Comparison of vocal loading parameters in kindergarten and elementary school teachers. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(2), 406–415

In politics, caricatures can become facts, and that is bad for everyone

The distortion of facts is nothing new to politics and election campaigns. But, with the rise of the internet and 24-hour news cycle, rumors and conspiracy theories can now spread easier than ever through social networks to reach potential voters. Michael Cacciatore and co-authors look at two examples from the 2008 presidential election campaign to better understand how unsubstantiated rumors can become facts in voters’ minds. They find that values, including political ideology and evangelical Christian status, were primarily responsible for propelling misperceptions about President Barack Obama’s faith, while media use played a more important role in driving the misperception that Sarah Palin, and not Saturday Night Live’s Tina Fey, was responsible for the “I can see Russia from my house” quote. The latter finding lends some credibility to the so-called “lamestream media” effect often espoused by prominent Republican figures

The changing information environment for nanotechnology: online audiences and content

The shift toward online communication in all realms, from print newspapers to broadcast television, has implications for how the general public consumes information about nanotechnology. The goal of this study is threefold: to investigate who is using online sources for information and news about science and nanotechnology, to examine what the general public is searching for online with regards to nanotechnology, and to analyze what they find in online content of nanotechnology. Using survey data, we find those who report the Internet as their primary source of science and technology news are diverse in age, more knowledgeable about science and nanotechnology, highly educated, male, and more diverse racially than users of other media. In a comparison of demographic data on actual visits by online users to general news and science Web sites, science sites attracted more male, non-white users from the Western region of the United States than news sites did. News sites, on the other hand, attracted those with a slightly higher level of education. Our analysis of published estimates of keyword searches on nanotechnology reveals people are turning to the Internet to search for keyword searches related to the future, health, and applications of nanotechnology. A content analysis of online content reveals health content dominates overall. Comparisons of content in different types of sites—blogs, government, and general sites—are conducted

Kinetics of 13C-DHA before and during fish-oil supplementation in healthy older individuals

Background: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) kinetics appear to change with intake, which is an effect that we studied in an older population by using uniformly carbon-13–labeled DHA (13C-DHA). Objective: We evaluated the influence of a fish-oil supplement over 5 mo on the kinetics of 13C-DHA in older persons. Design: Thirty-four healthy, cognitively normal participants (12 men, 22 women) aged between 52 and 90 y were recruited. Two identical kinetic studies were performed, each with the use of a single oral dose of 40 mg 13C-DHA. The first kinetic study was performed before participants started taking a 5-mo supplementation that provided 1.4 g DHA/d plus 1.8 g eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)/d (baseline); the second study was performed during the final month of supplementation (supplement). In both kinetic studies, blood and breath samples were collected ≤8 h and weekly over 4 wk to analyze 13C enrichment. Results: The time × supplement interaction for 13C-DHA in the plasma was not significant, but there were separate time and supplement effects (P < 0.0001). The area under the curve for plasma 13C-DHA was 60% lower while subjects were taking the supplement than at baseline (P < 0.0001). The uniformly carbon-13–labeled EPA concentration was 2.6 times as high 1 d posttracer while patients were taking the supplement as it was at baseline. The mean (±SEM) plasma 13C-DHA half-life was 4.5 ± 0.4 d at baseline compared with 3.0 ± 0.2 d while taking the supplement (P < 0.0001). Compared with baseline, the mean whole-body half-life was 61% lower while subjects were taking the supplement. The loss of 13C-DHA through β-oxidation to carbon dioxide labeled with carbon-13 increased from 0.085% of dose/h at baseline to 0.208% of dose/h while subjects were taking the supplement. Conclusions: In older persons, a supplement of 3.2 g EPA + DHA/d increased β-oxidation of 13C-DHA and shortened the plasma 13C-DHA half-life. Therefore, when circulating concentrations of EPA and DHA are increased, more DHA is available for β-oxidation. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01577004

Carbone des sols en Afrique

Les sols sont une ressource essentielle à préserver pour la production d’aliments, de fibres, de biomasse, pour la filtration de l’eau, la préservation de la biodiversité et le stockage du carbone. En tant que réservoirs de carbone, les sols sont par ailleurs appelés à jouer un rôle primordial dans la lutte contre l’augmentation de la concentration de gaz à effet de serre. Ils sont ainsi au centre des objectifs de développement durable (ODD) des Nations unies, notamment les ODD 2 « Faim zéro », 13 « Lutte contre le changement climatique », 15 « Vie terrestre », 12 « Consommation et production responsables » ou encore 1 « Pas de pauvreté ». Cet ouvrage présente un état des lieux des sols africains dans toute leur diversité, mais au-delà, il documente les capacités de stockage de carbone selon les types de sols et leurs usages en Afrique. Il propose également des recommandations autour de l’acquisition et de l’interprétation des données, ainsi que des options pour préserver, voire augmenter les stocks de carbone dans les sols. Tous les chercheurs et acteurs du développement impliqués dans les recherches sur le rôle du carbone des sols sont concernés par cette synthèse collective. Fruit d’une collaboration entre chercheurs africains et européens, ce livre insiste sur la nécessité de prendre en compte la grande variété des contextes agricoles et forestiers africains pour améliorer nos connaissances sur les capacités de stockage de carbone des sols et lutter contre le changement climatique

Science, Its Publics and New Media. Reflecting on the Present and Future of Science Communication.

Scientific journalism faces the challenge to adapt not only to new formats but also to new information exchange dynamics. New online platforms, making it easier to access and produce scientific content, are forcing science publics to evolve. The online environment has turned into science communication reality, and both scientists and communicators must adapt to it. This paper discusses these changes and their implications for science journalism and an informed citizenry

Prédictibilité de la radiographie en traction dans les scolioses thoraciques et thoraco-lombaires raides idiopathiques de l'adulte

Le but de cette étude sur 58 patients adultes ayant une scoliose raide idiopathique thoracique ou thoraco-lombaire était de confirmer l'hypothèse que la radiographie en traction était prédictible du résultat post opératoire. Le résultat postopératoire a été jugé principalement par la mesure de l'angle de Cobb postopératoire sur une radiographie de face. Nous avons confirmé cette hypothèse et nous avons retrouvé que le gain angulaire lié à la chirurgie était de 17 degrés de moyenne et que la prédictibilité du cliché en traction dans les scolioses raides était supérieure à celle des scolioses souples. Ce travail nous a également permis de constater que le résultat post opératoire était influencé par différents paramètres, en particulier par le type de correction chirurgicale mise en oeuvre avec l'instrumentation de type Cotrel Dubousset. La réalisation de 2 temps opératoires avec notamment un temps de libération antérieure par thoracoscopie permettrait d'améliorer les résultats post opératoires.NANTES-BU Médecine pharmacie (441092101) / SudocPARIS-BIUM (751062103) / SudocSudocFranceF