Constitutional Law - Eighth Amendment - Cruel and Unusual Punishment - Proportionality Guarantee

The United States Supreme Court held that the Eighth Amendment contains no proportionality guarantee and thus upheld a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with no possibility of parole for possession of 672.5 grams of cocaine in violation of a Michigan statute. Harmelin v Michigan, ___ US ___, 111 S Ct 2680 (1991)

An innovative approach to space education

At present, Canada does not have enough scientists to be competitive in the global economy, which is rapidly changing from a reliance on natural resources and industry to information and technology. Space is the final frontier and it is a multidisciplinary endeavor. It requires a knowledge of science and math, as well as non-science areas such as architecture and law. Thus, it can attract a large number of students with a diverse range of interests and career goals. An overview is presented of the space education program designed by Canadian Alumni of the International Space University (CAISU) to encourage students to pursue studies and careers in science and technology and to improve science literacy in Canada

Development of Molecular Methods for Rapid Differentiation of Mycoplasma gallisepticum Vaccine Strains from Field Isolates.

Mycoplasma gallisepticum is among the most economically significant mycoplasmas causing production losses in poultry. Seven melt-curve and agarose gel-based mismatch amplification mutation assays (MAMAs) and one PCR are provided in the present study to distinguish the M. gallisepticum vaccine strains and field isolates based on mutations in the crmA, gapA, lpd, plpA, potC, glpK, and hlp2 genes. A total of 239 samples (M. gallisepticum vaccine and type strains, pure cultures, and clinical samples) originating from 16 countries and from at least eight avian species were submitted to the presented assays for validation or in blind tests. A comparison of the data from 126 samples (including sequences available at GenBank) examined by the developed assays and a recently developed multilocus sequence typing assay showed congruent typing results. The sensitivity of the melt-MAMA assays varied between 101 and 104M. gallisepticum template copies/reaction, while that of the agarose-MAMAs ranged from 103 to 105 template copies/reaction, and no cross-reactions occurred with other Mycoplasma species colonizing birds. The presented assays are also suitable for discriminating multiple strains in a single sample. The developed assays enable the differentiation of live vaccine strains by targeting two or three markers/vaccine strain; however, considering the high variability of the species, the combined use of all assays is recommended. The suggested combination provides a reliable tool for routine diagnostics due to the sensitivity and specificity of the assays, and they can be performed directly on clinical samples and in laboratories with basic PCR equipment

ARTEFACTS: How do we want to deal with the future of our one and only planet?

The European Commission’s Science and Knowledge Service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), decided to try working hand-in-hand with leading European science centres and museums. Behind this decision was the idea that the JRC could better support EU Institutions in engaging with the European public. The fact that European Union policies are firmly based on scientific evidence is a strong message which the JRC is uniquely able to illustrate. Such a collaboration would not only provide a platform to explain the benefits of EU policies to our daily lives but also provide an opportunity for European citizens to engage by taking a more active part in the EU policy making process for the future. A PILOT PROGRAMME To test the idea, the JRC launched an experimental programme to work with science museums: a perfect partner for three compelling reasons. Firstly, they attract a large and growing number of visitors. Leading science museums in Europe have typically 500 000 visitors per year. Furthermore, they are based in large European cities and attract local visitors as well as tourists from across Europe and beyond. The second reason for working with museums is that they have mastered the art of how to communicate key elements of sophisticated arguments across to the public and making complex topics of public interest readily accessible. That is a high-value added skill and a crucial part of the valorisation of public-funded research, never to be underestimated. Finally museums are, at present, undergoing something of a renaissance. Museums today are vibrant environments offering new techniques and technologies to both inform and entertain, and attract visitors of all demographics.JRC.H.2-Knowledge Management Methodologies, Communities and Disseminatio

FACT, the Bur Kinase Pathway, and the Histone Co-Repressor HirC Have Overlapping Nucleosome-Related Roles in Yeast Transcription Elongation

Gene transcription is constrained by the nucleosomal nature of chromosomal DNA. This nucleosomal barrier is modulated by FACT, a conserved histone-binding heterodimer. FACT mediates transcription-linked nucleosome disassembly and also nucleosome reassembly in the wake of the RNA polymerase II transcription complex, and in this way maintains the repression of ‘cryptic’ promoters found within some genes. Here we focus on a novel mutant version of the yeast FACT subunit Spt16 that supplies essential Spt16 activities but impairs transcription-linked nucleosome reassembly in dominant fashion. This Spt16 mutant protein also has genetic effects that are recessive, which we used to show that certain Spt16 activities collaborate with histone acetylation and the activities of a Bur-kinase/Spt4–Spt5/Paf1C pathway that facilitate transcription elongation. These collaborating activities were opposed by the actions of Rpd3S, a histone deacetylase that restores a repressive chromatin environment in a transcription-linked manner. Spt16 activity paralleling that of HirC, a co-repressor of histone gene expression, was also found to be opposed by Rpd3S. Our findings suggest that Spt16, the Bur/Spt4–Spt5/Paf1C pathway, and normal histone abundance and/or stoichiometry, in mutually cooperative fashion, facilitate nucleosome disassembly during transcription elongation. The recessive nature of these effects of the mutant Spt16 protein on transcription-linked nucleosome disassembly, contrasted to its dominant negative effect on transcription-linked nucleosome reassembly, indicate that mutant FACT harbouring the mutant Spt16 protein competes poorly with normal FACT at the stage of transcription-linked nucleosome disassembly, but effectively with normal FACT for transcription-linked nucleosome reassembly. This functional difference is consistent with the idea that FACT association with the transcription elongation complex depends on nucleosome disassembly, and that the same FACT molecule that associates with an elongation complex through nucleosome disassembly is retained for reassembly of the same nucleosome

Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies

Cold atoms in space: community workshop summary and proposed road-map

We summarise the discussions at a virtual Community Workshop on Cold Atoms in Space concerning the status of cold atom technologies, the prospective scientific and societal opportunities offered by their deployment in space, and the developments needed before cold atoms could be operated in space. The cold atom technologies discussed include atomic clocks, quantum gravimeters and accelerometers, and atom interferometers. Prospective applications include metrology, geodesy and measurement of terrestrial mass change due to, e.g., climate change, and fundamental science experiments such as tests of the equivalence principle, searches for dark matter, measurements of gravitational waves and tests of quantum mechanics. We review the current status of cold atom technologies and outline the requirements for their space qualification, including the development paths and the corresponding technical milestones, and identifying possible pathfinder missions to pave the way for missions to exploit the full potential of cold atoms in space. Finally, we present a first draft of a possible road-map for achieving these goals, that we propose for discussion by the interested cold atom, Earth Observation, fundamental physics and other prospective scientific user communities, together with the European Space Agency (ESA) and national space and research funding agencies.publishedVersio