The economics of transferable patent extensions

Faced with a scarcity of treatments for neglected diseases, experts and governmental organizations have lately proposed to build strong pull incentives around transferable vouchers. Inventors would be granted, and allowed to sell these vouchers to pharmas desiring to extend their exclusive IP rights. However, we know little about how such “Transferable Exclusivity Extensions” fare relative to prizes, who is likely to acquire them and at what cost for society, or how the burden is shared among nations. We shed light on these questions, both from a theoretical perspective and from an empirical analysis of European data

Mitochondrial evidence for multiple radiations in the evolutionary history of small apes

Background: Gibbons or small apes inhabit tropical and subtropical rain forests in Southeast Asia and adjacent regions, and are, next to great apes, our closest living relatives. With up to 16 species, gibbons form the most diverse group of living hominoids, but the number of taxa, their phylogenetic relationships and their phylogeography is controversial. To further the discussion of these issues we analyzed the complete mitochondrial cytochrome b gene from 85 individuals representing all gibbon species, including most subspecies. Results: Based on phylogenetic tree reconstructions, several monophyletic clades were detected, corresponding to genera, species and subspecies. A significantly supported branching pattern was obtained for members of the genus Nomascus but not for the genus Hylobates. The phylogenetic relationships among the four genera were also not well resolved. Nevertheless, the new data permitted the estimation of divergence ages for all taxa for the first time and showed that most lineages emerged during four short time periods. In the first, between ~6.7 and ~8.3 mya, the four gibbon genera diverged from each other. In the second (~3.0 - ~3.9 mya) and in the third period (~1.3 - ~1.8 mya), Hylobates and Hoolock differentiated. Finally, between ~0.5 and ~1.1 mya, Hylobates lar diverged into subspecies. In contrast, differentiation of Nomascus into species and subspecies was a continuous and prolonged process lasting from ~4.2 until ~0.4 mya. Conclusions: Although relationships among gibbon taxa on various levels remain unresolved, the present study provides a more complete view of the evolutionary and biogeographic history of the hylobatid family, and a more solid genetic basis for the taxonomic classification of the surviving taxa. We also show that mtDNA constitutes a useful marker for the accurate identification of individual gibbons, a tool which is urgently required to locate hunting hotspots and select individuals for captive breeding programs. Further studies including nuclear sequence data are necessary to completely understand the phylogeny and phylogeography of gibbons

A Chromosomal Inversion Unique to the Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon

The gibbon family belongs to the superfamily Hominoidea and includes 15 species divided into four genera. Each genus possesses a distinct karyotype with chromosome numbers varying from 38 to 52. This diversity is the result of numerous chromosomal changes that have accumulated during the evolution of the gibbon lineage, a quite unique feature in comparison with other hominoids and most of the other primates. Some gibbon species and subspecies rank among the most endangered primates in the world. Breeding programs can be extremely challenging and hybridization plays an important role within the factors responsible for the decline of captive gibbons. With less than 500 individuals left in the wild, the northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys leucogenys, NLE) is the most endangered primate in a successful captive breeding program. We present here the analysis of an inversion that we show being specific for the northern white-cheeked gibbon and can be used as one of the criteria to distinguish this subspecies from other gibbon taxa. The availability of the sequence spanning for one of the breakpoints of the inversion allows detecting it by a simple PCR test also on low quality DNA. Our results demonstrate the important role of genomics in providing tools for conservation efforts

Analytical Planetary solution VSOP2000

International audienceThe analytical planetary solution VSOP2000 determines the planetary perturbations with the help of an iterative method from a solution developed till the third order of the disturbing masses. This solution is from 10 to 100 times more precise than the previous analytical solutions VSOP82 and VSOP87, at the level of some 0.1mas for Mercury, Venus and the Earth and some mas for the other planets over the timespan 1900-2000. With this solution, the relation between the Barycentric Coordinate Time (TCB) and the Geocentric Coordinate Time (TCG) is computed with an accuracy better than 0.1 nanosecond over the interval 1965-2015. We also determined the contribution to the Eulerian angles of the geodetic precession-nutation

Analytical Planetary solution VSOP2000

International audienceThe analytical planetary solution VSOP2000 determines the planetary perturbations with the help of an iterative method from a solution developed till the third order of the disturbing masses. This solution is from 10 to 100 times more precise than the previous analytical solutions VSOP82 and VSOP87, at the level of some 0.1mas for Mercury, Venus and the Earth and some mas for the other planets over the timespan 1900-2000. With this solution, the relation between the Barycentric Coordinate Time (TCB) and the Geocentric Coordinate Time (TCG) is computed with an accuracy better than 0.1 nanosecond over the interval 1965-2015. We also determined the contribution to the Eulerian angles of the geodetic precession-nutation

The (Ir)Relevance of the Cooperative Form

It is puzzling that cooperatives, which stand for the interests of their users, do not occupy more space in the market for corporate forms. This paper unveils a new impediment to their formation. It shows that equilibrium free-riding handicaps cooperatives in their competition with alternative institutions, notably the for-profits. The irrelevance of cooperatives is a remarkably robust result. The paper then analyzes desirable government interventions in the corporate market

Table ronde : Viande de brousse

International audienceLe commerce de viande de brousse, initialement observé en milieu savanicole, s’est développé durant ces trois dernières décennies dans la plupart des pays de l’Afrique de l’ouest et centrale où il concerne essentiellement des populations forestières. En plus des problèmes liés à la dégradation progressive des structures économiques et sociales dans la plupart des pays concernés, le développement des compagnies forestières ou minières, pénétrant de plus en plus profondément dans des zones auparavant inaccessibles, a souvent favorisé la pratique de la chasse commerciale illicite et l’acheminement de ses produits vers les marchés des grandes villes. Les guerres larvées ou réelles qui règnent dans certains pays constituent également un facteur aggravant. Beaucoup de mammifères sont concernés par ce commerce, mais les ongulés et les primates sont les plus touchés. Populations humaines en expansion, instabilité politique et économique, superficie forestière en diminution: la chasse commerciale illicite est-elle durable ? A travers les expériences des auteurs, différents cas sont abordés selon les pays envisagés. La campagne de sensibilisation au commerce de viande de brousse d’origine forestière, effectuée en 2001 par 170 zoos européens (EAZA/ IFAW) a reçu 1,5 millions de signatures ; les pétitions sont destinées au Parlement Européen et aux Chefs d’Etats Africains. Cette campagne est-elle bienvenue et justement ciblée? Quel peut être son impact

A universal primer set for PCR amplification of nuclear histone H4 genes from all animal species.

To control the quality of genomic DNA of samples from a wide variety of animals, a heminested PCR assay specifically targeting a nuclear gene has been developed. The histone H4 gene family comprises a small number of genes considered among the most conserved genes in living organisms. Tissue samples from necropsies and from cells belonging to 43 different species were studied, eight samples from invertebrates and 35 samples from vertebrates covering all classes. Ancient DNA samples from three Siberian woolly mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) dating between 40,000 and 49,000 years before present were also tested for PCR amplification. Performance of HIST2H4 amplification were also compared with those of previously published universal PCRs (28S rRNA, 18S rRNA, and cytochrome b). Overall, 95% of species studied yielded an amplification product, including some old samples from gorilla and chimpanzees. The data indicate that the HIST2H4 amplimers are, thus, suitable for both DNA quality testing as well as species identification in the animal kingdom

Assessment of Pneumocystis species carriage in captive primates

International audienc