El embrión humano y su uso en la investigación con célular madre: valoraciones ético/morales a considerar de éste como vértice y epifenómeno

The production and use of stem cells, especially embryonic human stem cells (hESC), is one of the most relevant socio-scientific issues of our time. Due to the fact that to obtain these cells it is generally necessary to destroy human embryos, a whirlpool of controversies are created that need to be studied and analyzed using tools provided by the integration of multiple disciplines. Different authors discuss the ethical/moral value of these embryos and the impact of their use for these investigations. We can find diverse positions ranging from those that ascribe embryos with a moral value equal to a fully developed person, to those that consider them merely as groups of cells with minimal or no moral value at all. The moral disharmony surrounding this issue is deeply rooted in the polysemic definition of the person concept and accounts for the difficulty to assign an ontological or moral value to the human embryos. The social, political, religious and scientific debates intertwine seeking common grounds and also, pointing out their differences in the perception of what is morally correct when human embryos are the subjects of scientific research. The embryo is an epiphenomenon that impacts, and is also impacted, by societal and cultural forces struggling in relation to this controversy and the limitations to reach a consensus about the ethical/moral value of the human embryo.La producción y el uso de células madre, especialmente, las células madre embrionarias humanas (hECS, siglas en inglés) es uno de los temas socio-científicos más relevantes de nuestro tiempo. El hecho de que para obtener estas células es generalmente necesario la destrucción de embriones humanos, crea una vorágine de controversias que necesitan ser estudiadas y analizadas utilizando las herramientas provistas por la integración de múltiples disciplinas. Diversos autores discuten sobre el valor ético/moral de estos embriones y el impacto de su utilización para esta investigación. Podemos encontrar posiciones que se extienden desde adscribirles a los embriones un valor moral igual al de una persona totalmente desarrollada hasta los que les conciben como grupos de células con un valor moral mínimo o ningún valor. La falta de armonía moral en cuanto a este tema tiene raíces profundas en la definición polisémica del concepto persona y expone la dificultad de asignar un valor ontológico o moral a los embriones humanos. Los debates sociales, políticos, religiosos y científicos se entrelazan buscando los puntos comunes y también, señalando las diferencias en la percepción de lo que es moralmente correcto cuando los sujetos de investigación son embriones humanos. El embrión es un epifenómeno que impacta, y es a su vez, impactado, por las fuerzas sociales y culturales que luchan en esta controversia y las limitaciones para llegar a un consenso sobre el valor ético/moral del embrión humano

Controversias de actualidad en las ciencias biológicas: virtudes y retos de un curso de educación general

After a revision of the undergraduate curriculum of the Río Piedras Campus of the University of Puerto Rico in the year 2005-06, it was established, as a requisite for the students of Natural Sciences, to take six credits of general education in their fields of study. Those courses have to be offered by the Faculty of General Studies. In order to satisfy said requirement, our Department developed a seminar denominated "Current Controversies in the Biological Sciences". The course discusses controversial topics in Biology and their scientific, technological, social, ethical, and humanistic relevance within a national and global context. It also establishes connections between the topics discussed and other disciplines of knowledge. Additionally, the course provides the space for the development of a thematic investigation regarding these debates, within an interdisciplinary frame. This course gains pertinence in face of the globalization phenomenon and the easy access to information, which calls for a revision of generally accepted paradigms. The article will discuss the virtues of the seminar, how the main objectives of a general education course are met, the challenge it provides to both the student and professor, and its impact on the integral development of the student.A raíz de la Revisión del Currículo del Bachillerato en el Recinto de Río Piedras de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, en el año 2005-06, se estableció como requisito para los estudiantes de Ciencias Naturales el tomar seis créditos de educación general en su campo de estudio, a ser ofrecidos por la Facultad de Estudios Generales. Para poder satisfacer dicho requerimiento, nuestro Departamento desarrolló un curso tipo sombrilla denominado Controversias de actualidad en las ciencias biológicas. En dicho curso, tipo seminario, se discuten temas biológicos de actualidad que originan controversias y debates de relevancia científica, tecnológica, social, ética y humanística, en el contexto nacional e internacional. Se establecen conexiones entre los temas biológicos discutidos y otras disciplinas del conocimiento. Además el curso provee el espacio para el desarrollo de una investigación temática en torno a esos debates, dentro de un marco interdisciplinario. Este curso cobra pertinencia ante el fenómeno de la globalización y el fácil acceso a la información, lo que obliga a la revisión de los paradigmas generalmente aceptados. En el artículo se discutirán las virtudes del curso, cómo se cumplen los objetivos principales de un curso de educación general, los retos que supone el curso tanto para el estudiante como para el docente y su impacto en el desarrollo integral del estudiante

Assistive Devices for Personal Mobility in Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Artículo de revisiónGait abnormalities are a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease and contribute to falling risk. As disease symptoms progress, assistive devices are often prescribed. However, there are no guidelines for choosing appropriate ambulatory devices for gait impairment.This work was supported by the project PI19/00670 of the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain. The authors declare that there are no additional disclosures to report relevant to this work

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

BackgroundWe previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15-20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in similar to 80% of cases.MethodsWe report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded.ResultsNo gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5-528.7, P=1.1x10(-4)) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR=3.70[95%CI 1.3-8.2], P=2.1x10(-4)). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR=19.65[95%CI 2.1-2635.4], P=3.4x10(-3)), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR=4.40[9%CI 2.3-8.4], P=7.7x10(-8)). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD]=43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P=1.68x10(-5)).ConclusionsRare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old