10 research outputs found

    Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

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    The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∌99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∌1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

    Public Deliberations in Technology Policy Making: a Report on Two Danish-Style Consensus Conferences in the U.S.

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    Role of democracy in the making of science & technology policy In an age that has seen the expansion of democracy throughout regions of the world that have experienced only authoritarian, tyrannical governance for generations is one of the great achievements of the last decade of the 20th century. But within the celebrations of democratic expansion, there are aspects of our own democracies that beg for attention. Of particular importance to me is the challenge of developing policies about sci..

    Public health clinical demonstration project for smoking cessation in veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder

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    Veterans with post traumatic stress disorder are at high risk for smoking and experience difficulty with smoking cessation. We designed this clinical demonstration project to provide a low-cost, feasibly implemented smoking cessation intervention that would maximize the number of smokers who accessed the intervention. Five hundred eighty-four veteran smokers were contacted by invitational letters. Interested veterans received follow-up telephone calls using standardized scripts offering three intervention resources: 1) a referral to the National Cancer Institute\u27s Smoking Quitline, 2) web-based counseling, and 3) local Veteran Affairs pharmacologic treatment for smoking cessation. Twenty-three percent of survey recipients participated in the clinical program. Two months after these resources were offered by phone, follow-up phone calls indicated that 25% of participants providing follow-up information reported maintaining smoking abstinence. This clinical demonstration project was associated with a 2.6% impact (i.e., reach [31.1% of smokers accessed intervention] by efficacy [8.4% of those accessing intervention quit]), meaning that 2.6% of the total number of targeted smokers reported 8 week abstinence. Results suggested that this brief, low cost intervention was feasible and promoted smoking cessation in veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder

    La situation délibérative dans le débat public

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    Le dĂ©bat public est Ă  la fois nĂ©cessaire pour la dĂ©mocratie et souvent inefficace dans ses mises en Ɠuvre. Ainsi, les dĂ©bats politiques tĂ©lĂ©visĂ©s sont, la plupart du temps, dĂ©tournĂ©s en opĂ©rations de communication, et les NTIC nous proposent des forums qui se contentent de juxtaposer des opinions. L'efficacitĂ© du dĂ©bat public rĂ©siderait donc, plutĂŽt, dans la lĂ©gitimitĂ© confĂ©rĂ©e au citoyen et dans l'impact de sa parole sur les processus dĂ©cisionnels. Se pose ainsi le besoin d'une rĂ©flexion sur la situation dĂ©libĂ©rative dans le dĂ©bat public. MotivĂ© par les questions de la vulgarisation scientifique, le CEDP s'est positionnĂ© sur une problĂ©matique de l'usage qui renverse le schĂ©ma traditionnel de la communication. D'une dĂ©marche d'interrogation sur le public, il est passĂ© Ă  un positionnement thĂ©orique qui interroge le questionnement de ce mĂȘme public. De nouvelles mĂ©thodes de dĂ©bat public sont recherchĂ©es. Celui-ci apparaĂźt alors comme la technique gĂ©nĂ©rique de production d'une « efficacitĂ© sociale » des usages de la science. À partir de trois acteurs qui, dans l'interrelation nouvelle proposĂ©e, sont lĂ©gitimĂ©s (le public, le politique, l'expert), le laboratoire s'est attachĂ© Ă  mettre au point un protocole – les Rencontres DĂ©libĂ©rativesÂź – visant Ă  rendre le grand public plus apte au dĂ©bat sur la science. Le CEDP a dĂ©clinĂ© le modĂšle « Rencontres DĂ©libĂ©ratives » dans des champs diversifiĂ©s. Un rĂ©pertoire de mĂ©thodologies employĂ©es, en fonction du champ social considĂ©rĂ©, a Ă©tĂ© constituĂ©. Nous avons alors abordĂ© le problĂšme de la propagation des savoirs et de leur appropriation par le public. Se pose aujourd'hui la question du dĂ©bat public comme « apprentissage social » permettant aux publics le passage de la participation Ă  la dĂ©libĂ©ration. Ce questionnement appelle, de nos jours, une approche pluridisciplinaire. Les contributions nombreuses de ce colloque participent, en thĂ©orie et en pratique, Ă  la constitution de cet objet scientifique
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