Surpassing our genes : The subversive post-human message of 'Gattaca'

The movie Gattaca is often referenced in public debates about the societal dangers of human gene editing. In the public imaginary, its message is clear: the dystopian future it portrays stands as a warning against the societal acceptance of genetic perfectionism and genetic discrimination. This article argues that such a reading misses a deeper message of this cinematic text. Rather than offer a bioethics lesson against the use of genetics to make better human babies, in our opinion, the film actually argues that such genetic tampering is unlikely to succeed, but that the genetic engineering of a superior post-human individual is both possible and desirabl

Temporal and spatial variability in the composition of lavas exposed along the Western Blanco Transform Fault

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2005. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 6 (2005): Q11009, doi:10.1029/2005GC001026.The northern scarp of the western Blanco Transform (BT) fault zone provides a "tectonic window" into crust generated at an intermediate-rate spreading center, exposing a ~2000 m vertical section of lavas and dikes. The lava unit was sampled by submersible during the Blancovin dive program in 1995, recovering a total of 61 samples over vertical distances of ~1000 m and a lateral extent of ~13 km. Major elements analyses of 40 whole rock samples exhibit typical tholeiitic fractionation trends of increasing FeO*, Na2O, and TiO2 and decreasing Al2O3 and CaO with decreasing MgO. The lava suite shows a considerable range in extent of crystallization, including primitive samples (Mg# 64) and evolved FeTi basalts (FeO>12%;TiO2>2%). Based on rare earth element and trace element data, all of the lavas are incompatible-element depleted normal mid-ocean ridge basalts (N-MORB;La/SmN<1). The geochemical systematics suggest that the lavas were derived from a slightly heterogeneous mantle source, and crystallization occurred in a magmatic regime of relatively low magma flux and/or high cooling rate, consistent with magmatic processes occurring along the present-day southern Cleft Segment. The BT scarp reveals the oceanic crust in two-dimensional space, allowing us to explore temporal and spatial relationships in the horizontal and vertical directions. As a whole, the data do not appear to form regular spatial trends; rather, primitive lavas tend to cluster shallower and toward the center of the study area, while more evolved lavas are present deeper and toward the west and east. Considered within a model for construction of the upper crust, these findings suggest that the upper lavas along the BT scarp may have been emplaced off-axis, either by extensive off-axis flow or off-axis eruption, while the lower lavas represent axial flows that have subsided with time. A calculation based on an isochron model for construction of the upper crust suggests that the Cleft Segment requires at least ~50 ka to build the lower extrusive section, consistent to first order with independent estimates for the construction of intermediate-spreading rate crust.This work was supported by the US National Science Foundation (OCE 02- 22154 to E.K. and J.K. and OCE 9400623 to M.T.)

Impacts of rising sea temperatures on krill increase risks for predators in the Scotia Sea

Climate change is a threat to marine ecosystems and the services they provide, and reducing fishing pressure is one option for mitigating the overall consequences for marine biota. We used a minimally realistic ecosystem model to examine how projected effects of ocean warming on the growth of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, might affect populations of krill and dependent predators (whales, penguins, seals, and fish) in the Scotia Sea. We also investigated the potential to mitigate depletion risk for predators by curtailing krill fishing at different points in the 21st century. The projected effects of ocean warming on krill biomass were strongest in the northern Scotia Sea, with a ≥40% decline in the mass of individual krill. Projections also suggest a 25% chance that krill biomass will fall below an established depletion threshold (75% of its unimpacted level), with consequent risks for some predator populations, especially penguins. Average penguin abundance declined by up to 30% of its unimpacted level, with up to a 50% chance of falling below the depletion threshold. Simulated krill fishing at currently permitted harvest rates further increased risks for depletion, and stopping fishing offset the increased risks associated with ocean warming in our model to some extent. These results varied by location and species group. Risk reductions at smaller spatial scales also differed from those at the regional level, which suggests that some predator populations may be more vulnerable than others to future changes in krill biomass. However, impacts on predators did not always map directly to those for krill. Our findings indicate the importance of identifying vulnerable marine populations and targeting protection measures at appropriate spatial scales, and the potential for spatially-structured management to avoid aggravating risks associated with rising ocean temperatures. This may help balance tradeoffs among marine ecosystem services in an uncertain future

Discrimination Reversal Learning in Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus apella)

Learning styles in capuchin monkeys were assessed with a computerized reversal- learning task called the mediationaJ paradigm. First, monkeys were trained to respond with 90% accuracy on a two-choice discrimination (A+B-). Then the authors examined differences in performance on three different types of reversal trials (A-B+, A-C+, B+C-), each of which offered differing predictions for performance, depending on whether the monkeys were using associative cues or rule-based strategies. Performance indicated that the monkeys mainly learned to avoid the B stimulus during training, as the A-C+ condition produced the best performance levels. Therefore, negative stimuli showed greater control over responding after reversal and reflected a more associative rather than rule-based form of learning

Associations between observed temperament in preschoolers and parent psychopathology

Parent history of psychopathology is an established marker of children\u27s own risk for later disorder and can therefore be used as a means of validating other risks, such as child temperament. While associations between children\u27s temperament and parent psychopathology have been reported, few studies have used observational measures of child temperament or examined trait interactions, particularly between children\u27s affective and regulatory traits such as effortful control (EC). In this bottom-up family study of 968 three-year-olds and their parents, we examined interactions between preschoolers\u27 observed positive and negative affectivity (NA) and EC as predictors of a known marker of psychopathology risk: parent history of disorder. Children with lower positive affectivity had an increased probability of paternal depression history in the context of higher child NA. In addition, children with lower EC and higher NA had an increased probability of maternal anxiety. Findings shed new light on the main effects and interactions that account for associations between child temperament and parent history of disorder, one of the best-established markers of an individual\u27s own risk for future disorder, implicating reactive and regulatory traits that merit special consideration in future longitudinal work. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

A Longitudinal Investigation of Predictors of the Association Between Age 3 and Age 6 Behavioural Inhibition.

Children who exhibit elevated levels of the temperament trait behavioural inhibition (BI) across time may be at greatest risk for anxiety. However, little research has investigated the influence of other temperamental traits, particularly positive emotionality (PE), on the continuity of BI in childhood, nor whether parental overprotection influences associations between early and later child BI. To explore whether PE and overprotection shape associations between early and later BI, this longitudinal study of three-year-olds

Age constraints on crustal recycling to the mantle beneath the southern Chile Ridge: He-Pb-Sr-Nd isotope systematics

Basalts from the four southernmost segments of the subducting Chile Ridge (numbered 1-4 stepping away from the trench) display large variations in Sr, Nd, Pb, and He isotope and trace element compositions. Klein and Karsten [1995] showed that segments 1 and 3 display clear trace element evidence for recycled material in their source (e.g., low Ce/Pb). The uniformly midocean ridge basalt (MORB)-like ³He/⁴He and modest variations in Pb, Sr, and Nd isotopes of segment 1 (nearest the trench) suggest recent (<20 Ma) introduction of a contaminant into its source, consistent with recycling of material from the adjacent subduction zone. In contrast, segment 3 lavas display a dramatic southward increase in enrichment, extending to highly radiogenic Pb and Sr isotopic compositions (e.g., ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 19.5) and the lowest ³He/⁴He yet measured in MORB (3.5RA). The segment 3 variations are most readily explained by ancient (~2 Ga) recycling of terrigenous sediment and altered crust, but we cannot rule out more recent recycling of material derived from a distant continental source. The similarity in isotropic signatures of segment 4 lavas to Indian Ocean MORB extends the Dipal anomaly to the Chile Ridge. Like Indian Ocean MORB, the segment 4 isotopic variations are consistent with contamination by anciently recycled pelagic sediment and altered crust and require a complex history involving at least three stages of evolution and possibly a more recent enrichment event. Southern Chile Ridge MORB reflect the extensive degree of heterogeneity that is introduced into the depleted upper mantle by diverse processes associated with recycling. These heterogeneities occur on a scale of ~50-100 km, corresponding to transform- and propagating-rift-bounded segmentation, and attest to the presence of distinct chemical domains in the mantle often bounded by surficial tectonic features that maintain their integrity on the scale sampled by melting

Lava geochemistry as a probe into crustal formation at the East Pacific Rise

Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 25, no. 1 (2012): 89–93, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.06.Basalt lavas comprise the greatest volume of volcanic rocks on Earth, and most of them erupt along the world's mid-ocean ridges (MORs). These MOR basalts (MORBs) are generally thought to be relatively homogeneous in composition over large segments of the global ridge system (e.g., Klein, 2005). However, detailed sampling of two different regions on the northern East Pacific Rise (EPR) and extensive analysis of the samples show that fine-scale mapping and sampling of the ridge axis can reveal significant variations in lava chemistry on both small spatial and short temporal scales. The two most intensely sampled sites within the EPR Integrated Study Site (ISS) lie on and off axis between 9°17'N and 10°N, and from a wide region centered around 9°N where two segments of the EPR overlap (see Fornari et al., 2012, Figure 3, in this issue). The chemical composition of erupted lavas, similar to the genotype of an organism, can be used by igneous petrologists to trace the evolution of magmas from the mantle to the seafloor. The extensive and detailed geochemical studies at the EPR highlight how a thorough understanding of the variability in lava compositions on small spatial scales (i.e., between lava flows) and large spatial scales (i.e., from segment center to segment end and including discontinuities in the ridge crest) can be used in combination with seafloor photography, lava morphology, and bathymetry to provide insights into the magmatic system that drives volcanism and influences hydrothermal chemistry and biology at a fast-spreading MOR.Grants that supported EPR ISS field and laboratory studies for our research programs include: MRP: OCE-0138088, OCE-0819469, OCE-825265, OCE-638406, OCE-527077, OCE-535532; DJF: OCE-9819261, OCE-0525863, OCE-0838923, OCE-0096468, OCE-0732366, and OCE-0112737

Tambora and the Mackerel Year: Phenology and Fisheries During an Extreme Climate Event

Global warming has increased the frequency of extreme climate events, yet responses of biological and human communities are poorly understood, particularly for aquatic ecosystems and fisheries. Retrospective analysis of known outcomes may provide insights into the nature of adaptations and trajectory of subsequent conditions. We consider the 1815 eruption of the Indonesian volcano Tambora and its impact on Gulf of Maine (GoM) coastal and riparian fisheries in 1816. Applying complex adaptive systems theory with historical methods, we analyzed fish export data and contemporary climate records to disclose human and piscine responses to Tambora’s extreme weather at different spatial and temporal scales while also considering sociopolitical influences. Results identified a tipping point in GoM fisheries induced by concatenating social and biological responses to extreme weather. Abnormal daily temperatures selectively affected targeted fish species—alewives, shad, herring, and mackerel—according to their migration and spawning phenologies and temperature tolerances. First to arrive, alewives suffered the worst. Crop failure and incipient famine intensified fishing pressure, especially in heavily settled regions where dams already compromised watersheds. Insufficient alewife runs led fishers to target mackerel, the next species appearing in abundance along the coast; thus, 1816 became the “mackerel year.” Critically, the shift from riparian to marine fisheries persisted and expanded after temperatures moderated and alewives recovered. We conclude that contingent human adaptations to extraordinary weather permanently altered this complex system. Understanding how adaptive responses to extreme events can trigger unintended consequences may advance long-term planning for resilience in an uncertain future