Serving the same interests: The Wood Green ricin plot, media–state–terror relations and the ‘terrorism’ dispositif

This article analyses the representations of terrorism that arise out of the BBC’s coverage of the Wood Green ricin plot (2003), the first instance of al-Qaeda-related activity in the United Kingdom during the “war on terror”. Inspired by the work Michel Foucault, the article suggests that the BBC’s representations form part of an emergent “terrorism” dispositif, or apparatus, which draws together seemingly disparate and antagonistic groups into a strategic, mutually-sustaining alliance. The analysis focuses on two weeks’ worth of BBC “News at Ten” bulletins, alongside speeches and press releases issued by the Prime Minister and statements released by al-Qaeda’s leadership. In particular, the article suggests that the BBC’s representations inadvertently work to the advantage of elements within al-Qaeda and the British executive due to the fact that they portray the Wood Green events in ways that are tactically useful to both groups. As such, the article not only provides substantive new empirical insights into the way representations of terrorism were mobilised in the build up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but also shows how Foucauldian concepts can provide creative and innovative analytical tools for understanding the dynamics of the contemporary media-state-terrorism relationship

Erythropoiesis in the Rps19 disrupted mouse: Analysis of erythropoietin response and biochemical markers for Diamond-Blackfan anemia

The human ribosomal protein S19 gene (RPS19) is mutated in approximately 20% of patients with Diamond-Black fan anemia (DBA), a congenital disease with a specific defect in erythropoiesis. The clinical expression of DBA is highly variable, and subclinical phenotypes may be revealed by elevated erythrocyte deaminase (eADA) activity only. In mice, complete loss of Rps19 results in early embryonic lethality whereas Rps19(+/-) mice are viable and without major abnormalities including the hematopoietic system. We have performed a detailed analysis of the Rps19(+/-) mice. We estimated the Rps19 levels in hematopoictic tissues and we analyzed erythrocyte deaminase activity and globin isoforms which are used as markers for DBA. The effect of a disrupted Rps19 allele on a different genetic background was investigated as well as the response to erythropoietin (EPO). From our results, we argue that the loss of one Rps19 allele in mice is fully compensated for at the transcriptional level with preservation of erythropoiesis. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved