Against the tide of depoliticisation: The politics of research governance

Research has identified a general trend towards depoliticisation. Against this trend, we identify opportunities for politicisation through the international emergence of a research governance tool: ‘responsible research and innovation’ (RRI). Drawing on face-to-face interviews with university staff, we reveal two factors that influence whether research governance becomes a site of politics: actors’ acknowledgement of their societal responsibilities, and the meanings these actors attribute to RRI. RRI provides a focus for political struggles over the public value of research and innovation at a time when science policy is given a privileged role in driving economic growth

NGO perspectives on the social and ethical dimensions of plant genome-editing

Plant genome editing has the potential to become another chapter in the intractable debate that has dogged agricultural biotechnology. In 2016, 107 Nobel Laureates accused Greenpeace of emotional and dogmatic campaigning against agricultural biotechnology and called for governments to defy such campaigning. The Laureates invoke the authority of science to argue that Greenpeace is putting lives at risk by opposing agricultural biotechnology and Golden Rice and is notable in framing Greenpeace as unethical and its views as marginal. This paper examines environmental, food and farming NGOs’ social and ethical concerns about genome editing, situating these concerns in comparison to alternative ethical assessments provided by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, a key actor in this policy debate. In doing so, we show that participant NGOs and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics share considerable concerns about the social and ethical implications of genome editing. These concerns include choices over problem/solution framing and broader terminology, implications of regulatory and research choices on consumer choice and relations of power. However, GM-engaged NGOs and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics diverge on one important area: the NGOs seek to challenge the existing order and broaden the scope of debate to include deeply political questions regarding agricultural and technological choices. This distinction between the ethical positions means that NGOs provide valuable ethical insight and a useful lens to open up debate and discussion on the role of emerging technologies, such as genome editing, and the future of agriculture and food sovereignty

On Parametrically Excited Flexural Motion of an Extensible and Shearable Rod with a Heavy Attachment

A simple Cosserat model is used to explore the coupled planar flemural and arial vibrations of a slender rod clamped at one end with a heauy attached mass free to move at the other. By assuming that the inertia of the rod is small compared to that of the attached mass it is shown how the equations of motionreduce to a dynamical system. The effects of grauity on the rod can be incorporated within this frame-work and the linearised stability of the system discussed in terms of solutions to the Mathieu-Hill equation

Oxic and anoxic conditions affect arsenic (As) accumulation and arsenite transporter expression in rice

Arsenic (As) exposure from rice consumption has now become a global health issue. This study aimed to investigate the effects of rice rhizosphere oxic conditions on silicate transporter (responsible for arsenite transportation) expressions, and on As accumulation and speciation in four rice genotypes, including two hybrid genotypes (Xiangfengyou9, Shenyou9586) and two indica subspecies (Xiangwanxian17, Xiangwanxian12). Oxic and anoxic treatments have different effects on root length (p < 0.001) and weight (p < 0.05). Total As concentrations in roots were dramatically lower in oxic treatments (88.8–218 mg/kg), compared to anoxic treatments (147–243 mg/kg) (p < 0.001). Moreover, root and shoot arsenite concentrations in oxic treatments were lower than that in anoxic treatments in arsenite treatments. The relative abundance of silicate transporter expressions displayed a trend of down-regulation in oxic treatments compared to anoxic treatments, especially significantly different for Xiangwanxian17, Xiangwanxian12 in Lsi1 expressions (p < 0.05), Xiangfengyou9, Shenyou9586, Xiangwanxian17 in Lsi2 expressions (p < 0.05). However, there were no significant differences of transporter expressions in different As treatments and genotypes. It may be a possible reason for low As accumulation in rice growing aerobically compared to flooded condition and a potential route to reduce the health risk of As in rice

Effect of arsenic on spatial pattern of radial oxygen loss and iron plaque formation in rice

The effects of different arsenic (As) treatments on spatial pattern of radial oxygen loss (ROL), iron (Fe) plaque formation and As accumulation in rice were investigated using three rice genotypes, planted under greenhouse conditions. Arsenic was applied to soil at 50 and 100 mg/kg, with untreated soil used as a control having an average As concentration of 8.5 mg/kg. It was demonstrated that the ratio of ROL in root tips to that at the root base slightly decreased with increasing As concentration, suggesting that the spatial ROL patterns in these groups may be shifted from the “tight” barrier towards the “partial” barrier form. Furthermore, increasing As concentration led to a increase in Fe plaque formation on root surfaces. In addition, root As concentrations of genotypes in 50 and 100 mg/kg As treatments were significantly higher than that of control treatment (P<0.05). Grain As concentration of genotype Nanyangzhan (with lower ROL) was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of genotype CNT87059-3 with higher ROL

Galactic conformity and central/satellite quenching, from the satellite profiles of M* galaxies at 0.4 < z < 1.9 in the UKIDSS UDS

We explore the redshift evolution of a curious correlation between the star formation properties of central galaxies and their satellites (‘galactic conformity') at intermediate to high redshift (0.4 9.7, around central galaxies at the characteristic Schechter function mass, M ∼ M*. We fit the radial profiles of satellite number densities with simple power laws, finding slopes in the range −1.1 to −1.4 for mass-selected satellites, and −1.3 to −1.6 for passive satellites. We confirm the tendency for passive satellites to be preferentially located around passive central galaxies at 3σ significance and show that it exists to at least z ∼ 2. Meanwhile, the quenched fraction of satellites around star-forming galaxies is consistent with field galaxies of equal stellar masses. We find no convincing evidence for a redshift-dependent evolution of these trends. One simple interpretation of these results is that only passive central galaxies occupy an environment that is capable of independently shutting off star formation in satellite galaxies. By examining the satellites of higher stellar mass star-forming galaxies (log(M*/M⊙) > 11), we conclude that the origin of galactic conformity is unlikely to be exclusively due to the host dark matter halo mass. A halo-mass-independent correlation could be established by either formation bias or a more physical connection between central and satellite star formation histories. For the latter, we argue that a star formation (or active galactic nucleus) related outburst event from the central galaxy could establish a hot halo environment which is then capable of quenching both central and satellite galaxie

Do aeration conditions affect arsenic and phosphate accumulation and phosphate transporter expression in rice (Oryza sativa L.)?

Widespread contamination of rice with arsenic (As) has revealed a major exposure pathway to humans. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of oxygen in the rhizosphere on phosphate (P) transporter (for arsenate transportation) expressions, on As and P accumulation and As speciation in four rice genotypes. Oxygenation marginally increased root and shoot length. Total As concentrations in rice roots were dramatically reduced following aeration compared to stagnant treatments (p < 0.001). Aeration treatments significantly increased arsenate while reducing arsenite concentrations in roots (p < 0.001). Root arsenite concentrations were 1.5–2.5 times greater in stagnant than in aeration treatments. Total P concentrations in rice roots were dramatically increased following aeration compared to stagnant treatments. The relative abundance of phosphate transporter (inorganic phosphate transporter and phosphate/H+ symporter family protein) expressions showed downregulation in aeration treatments, particularly for SY-9586, XWX-17, and XWX-12 in inorganic phosphate transporter expressions and XWX-17 in phosphate/H+ symporter family protein expression (p < 0.05). The relative abundance of phosphate carrier protein expressions were relatively higher than the other phosphate transporters, showing upregulation in aeration treatments