Torture at Times: Waterboarding in the Media

The current debate over waterboarding has spawned hundreds of newspaper articles in the last two years alone. However, waterboarding has been the subject of press attention for over a century. Examining the four newspapers with the highest daily circulation in the country, we found a significant and sudden shift in how newspapers characterized waterboarding. From the early 1930s until the modern story broke in 2004, the newspapers that covered waterboarding almost uniformly called the practice torture or implied it was torture: The New York Times characterized it thus in 81.5% (44 of 54) of articles on the subject and The Los Angeles Times did so in 96.3% of articles (26 of 27). By contrast, from 2002-2008, the studied newspapers almost never referred to waterboarding as torture. The New York Times called waterboarding torture or implied it was torture in just 2 of 143 articles (1.4%). The Los Angeles Times did so in 4.8% of articles (3 of 63). The Wall Street journal characterized the practice as torture in just 1 of 63 articles (1.6%). USA Today never called waterboarding torture or implied it was torture. In addition, the newspapers are much more likely to call waterboarding torture if a country other than the United States is the perpetrator. In The New York Times, 85.8% of articles (28 of 33) that dealt with a country other than the United States using waterboarding called it torture or implied it was torture while only 7.69% (16 of 208) did so when the United States was responsible. The Los Angeles Times characterized the practice as torture in 91.3% of articles (21 of 23) when another country was the violator, but in only 11.4% of articles (9 of 79) when the United States was the perpetrator

Epigenome-wide meta-analysis of blood DNA methylation in newborns and children identifies numerous loci related to gestational age

Background Preterm birth and shorter duration of pregnancy are associated with increased morbidity in neonatal and later life. As the epigenome is known to have an important role during fetal development, we investigated associations between gestational age and blood DNA methylation in children. Methods We performed meta-analysis of Illumina's HumanMethylation450-array associations between gestational age and cord blood DNA methylation in 3648 newborns from 17 cohorts without common pregnancy complications, induced delivery or caesarean section. We also explored associations of gestational age with DNA methylation measured at 4-18 years in additional pediatric cohorts. Follow-up analyses of DNA methylation and gene expression correlations were performed in cord blood. DNA methylation profiles were also explored in tissues relevant for gestational age health effects: fetal brain and lung. Results We identified 8899 CpGs in cord blood that were associated with gestational age (range 27-42 weeks), at Bonferroni significance, P <1.06 x 10(- 7), of which 3343 were novel. These were annotated to 4966 genes. After restricting findings to at least three significant adjacent CpGs, we identified 1276 CpGs annotated to 325 genes. Results were generally consistent when analyses were restricted to term births. Cord blood findings tended not to persist into childhood and adolescence. Pathway analyses identified enrichment for biological processes critical to embryonic development. Follow-up of identified genes showed correlations between gestational age and DNA methylation levels in fetal brain and lung tissue, as well as correlation with expression levels. Conclusions We identified numerous CpGs differentially methylated in relation to gestational age at birth that appear to reflect fetal developmental processes across tissues. These findings may contribute to understanding mechanisms linking gestational age to health effects.Peer reviewe

Heterosis and breeding: some epistemological and historical considerations: Some epistemological and historical considerations

International audienceParadoxe étonnant : l'hétérosis est inexpliqué et sans doute inexplicable selon les généticiens conviés au séminaire sur "l'hétérosis dans les cultures", organisé par le CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) et parrainé par les multinationales "semencières", à Mexico en août 1997. Ce qui n'empêche pas d'utiliser cet "hétérosis" en généralisant la technique des "hybrides" à toutes les espèces cultivées et à tous les pays. Une démarche historique et épistémologique montre que le concept d'hétérosis est en réalité un programme de recherche pour expliquer que le croisement de gamètes différent est en soi favorable. Or il n'y a jamais eu la moindre preuve qu'il s'agisse d'un phénomène biologique général. L'hétérosis est donc en quelque sorte un Yéti, introuvable évidemment, malgré des décennies de traque. Certes on voit partout des traces de la vigueur hybride, mais y a-t-il hétérosis pour autant ? En fait, ce concept a été proposé en 1914 par Shull, afin de transcender l'alternative entre l'explication du phénomène de vigueur hybride par la dominance mendélienne proposée par les généticiens britanniques et celle proposée par East de la superdominance, c'est-à-dire d'un effet favorable en soi de l'hétérozygotie (porter des gènes différents exercerait pour une raison physiologique inconnue une "stimulation au développement"). La première explication conduisait à faire de la sélection massale pour améliorer le maïs, la seconde à mettre en oeuvre la technique révolutionnaire de confiscation du vivant, appelée à tort des "hybrides", pour laquelle Shull voulait "s'élever à lui-même un monument". L'hétérosis permet simplement à une relation sociale entre les hommes, la confiscation de la faculté fondamentale du vivant de se reproduire et de se multiplier, de prendre la forme fantastique d'une relation entre les gènes