The sacred and the profane: biotechnology, rationality, and public debate

Davies G, 2006. The definitive, peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Environment and Planning A, 38(3), pp. 423 – 443 DOI: 10.1068/a37387This paper explores the forms of argumentation employed by participants in a recent public engagement process in the United Kingdom around new technologies for organ transplantation, with specific reference to xenotransplantation and stem-cell research. Two forms of reasoning recur throughout participants’ deliberations which challenge specialist framing of this issue. First, an often scatological humour and sense of the profane are evident in the ways in which participants discuss the bodily transformations that such technologies demand. Second, a sense of the sacred, in which new biotechnologies are viewed as against nature or in which commercial companies are ‘playing god’, is a repetitive and well-recognised concern. Such forms of reasoning are frequently dismissed by policymakers as ‘uninformed gut reactions’. Yet they also form a significant part of the repertoire of scientists themselves as they proclaim the hope of new medical breakthroughs, or seek to reconstruct ideas of the body to facilitate new biotechnological transformations. Through questioning of assumptions in Habermas’s notion of discourse ethics, and exploring the importance of hybridity and corporeality as concepts in ethical thinking, the author suggests that, far from being ill-formed opinions, such reasonings perform an important function for thinking through the ontological significance of the corporealisation of these proposed new forms of human and animal bodies

Prisoners of pleasure? by David Concar

People will abuse anything from cream cakes to crack. What can or should a society do about it in the face of escalating addiction? Can we ever hope to understand what makes some of us turn to drugs

How to heal the body's craving. by Rosie Mestel and David Concar

No one knows whether drug addicts ever find permanent relief. An investigation of the latest methods for treating addiction

The highs & lows of prohibition. by David Concar and Laura Spinney

As drug-related crime soars, so calls to legalise drugs become more vociferous. But waht would that do to the cost of healthcare

A novel three-phase inverter for common-mode voltage reduction in electric drives

This paper presents an active solution for the elimination of the leakage current, in a three-phase PWM inverter drive. With respect to a traditional three-phase bridge, the proposed solution reduces the common-mode voltage variations, both in amplitude and frequency. A novel architecture for the inverter is presented. Between the DC source and the traditional three-phase bridge, two active DC-decoupling devices and a voltage-clamping network have been added. A dedicated control strategy was developed adopting a modified Space Vector PWM modulation, oriented to the reduction of the common-mode voltage variations in the proposed topology. Simulations showing the good performance of the solution are presented. A preliminary prototype was developed and experimental results are presented

Investigation of the solution structures and mobility of oxidised and reduced cytochrome b5 by 2D NMR spectroscopy

AbstractTwo dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy is used to examine the structure and mobility of cytochrome b5 in solution. The assignment of many residues and the interpretation of nuclear Overhauser effects (NOEs) in both redox states allow definition of secondary structural elements. Comparison with X-ray diffraction data shows that differences between crystal and solution structures are small. The dynamics of the protein are examined and the protein is shown to be more mobile than cytochrome c. The relationship of the structure and dynamics to the electron transfer function of cytochrome b5 is discussed

The Importance of Aesthetics in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

It is hypothesized that body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) patients are firstly more "aesthetical," an attribute much like being musical, which varies between different individuals. This results in a greater emotional response to more attractive individuals and placing greater value on the importance of appearance in their identity compared with healthy individuals. Some BDD patients may have greater aesthetic perceptual skills. This is manifested in their education or training in art and design. Secondly, BDD patients may have higher aesthetic standards than the rest of the population. Their failure to achieve an unrealistic aesthetic standard is at the core of BDD, leading to severe distress and handicap