New life sciences innovation and distributive justice: rawlsian goods versus senian capabilities

The successful decoding of human genome and subsequent advances in new life sciences innovation create technological presuppositions of a new possibility of justice i.e. the just distribution of both social (income, wealth, etc.) and natural (rationality, intelligence, etc.) goods. Although Rawlsians attempt to expand their theory to include this new possibility, they fail to provide plausible metrics of social justice in the genomics and post-genomics era. By contrast, Senians seem to succeed to do so through their index of basic capabilities. This paper explores what might be regarded as a Senian perspective of distributive justice in new life sciences innovation. The argument is that, by comparing freedoms (different functionings) instead of primary goods, the capability theory allows not only for the identification of injustices linked to natural lottery but also for their elimination through the use of new genomic technologies, including gene-based diagnostics, gene therapy, somatic cell engineering (SCE) and germ-line engineering (GLE). These innovative technologies seem to have the potential to reduce variability in natural goods and therefore enable individuals to convert social goods into well-being or welfare

Fleas as parasites of the family Canidae

Historically, flea-borne diseases are among the most important medical diseases of humans. Plague and murine typhus are known for centuries while the last years brought some new flea-transmitted pathogens, like R. felis and Bartonella henselae. Dogs may play an essential or an accidental role in the natural transmission cycle of flea-borne pathogens. They support the growth of some of the pathogens or they serve as transport vehicles for infected fleas between their natural reservoirs and humans. More than 15 different flea species have been described in domestic dogs thus far. Several other species have been found to be associated with wild canids. Fleas found on dogs originate from rodents, birds, insectivores and from other Carnivora. Dogs therefore may serve as ideal bridging hosts for the introduction of flea-borne diseases from nature to home. In addition to their role as ectoparasites they cause nuisance for humans and animals and may be the cause for severe allergic reactions

Intraspecific variation of metal preference patterns for hyperaccumulation in Thlaspi caerulescens: evidence from binary metal exposures.

Metal preferences with regard to accumulation were compared between populations of the heavy metal hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens, originating from calamine, serpentine and non-metalliferous soils. Plants were exposed for 3 weeks to factorial combinations of concentrations of different metals in binary mixture in hydroponics. The nature and degree of the interactions varied significantly between populations. In the calamine, non-Cd/Ni-hyperaccumulating population, La Calamine, there were no one-sided or mutual antagonistic interactions among the metals with regard to their accumulation in the plant. In three other populations capable of Cd and Ni hyperaccumulation, from calamine, serpentine and non-metalliferous soil respectively, there were one-sided or mutual antagonistic interactions between Cd and Zn, Cd and Ni, and Ni and Zn, possibly resulting from competition for transporters involved in uptake or plant-internal transport. Significant synergistic interactions, probably resulting from regulation of transporter expression, were also found, particularly in the La Calamine population. All the populations seemed to express a more or less Zn-specific high-affinity system. The serpentine and the non-metallicolous populations seemed to posses low-affinity systems with a preference for Cd and Zn over Ni, one of which may be responsible for the Ni hyperaccumulation of the serpentine population in its natural environment. The calamine population from Ganges also seemed to express a strongly Cd-specific high-affinity system which is in part responsible for the Cd-hyperaccumulation phenotype exhibited by this population in its natural environment. © 2007 The Author(s)