In search of an appropriate contemporary approach in Christian ethics: Max Weber’s ethic of responsibility as resource

The article addresses the question: ‘To what extent can Max Weber’s ethic of responsibility be a helpful resource in the search of Christian Social Ethics for an appropriate contemporary approach’? This question is addressed by, first of all, providing a summary of Weber’s famous speech Politics as a Vocation in which he developed his view on the ethic of responsibility; secondly, providing an interpretation of his view; and, thirdly, critically discussing the extent to which this ethic can serve as a resource for Christian Social Ethics in its search for an appropriate contemporary approach. The conclusion is that although some aspects of Weber’s view on the ethic of responsibility are unacceptable to Christian Social Ethics, the core of it is commendable. Some of the implications of incorporating an ethic of responsibility approach in Christian Social Ethics are also briefly discussed

A high-throughput genome-wide siRNA screen for ciliogenesis identifies new ciliary functional components and ciliopathy genes

Defects in primary cilium biogenesis underlie the ciliopathies, a growing group of genetic disorders. We describe the first whole genome siRNA-based reverse genetics screen for defects in biogenesis and/or maintenance of the primary cilium, obtaining a global resource for investigation and interventions into the processes that are critical for the ciliary system. In total, we identified 83 candidate ciliogenesis and ciliopathy genes, including 15 components of the ubiquitin-proteasome system. The validated hits also include 12 encoding G-protein-coupled receptors, and three encoding pre-mRNA processing factors (PRPF6, PRPF8 and PRPF31) mutated in autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Combining the screen with exome sequencing data identified recessive mutations in screen candidate genes as novel causes of ciliopathies, emphasizing the utility of our screen for ciliopathy gene discovery. Our findings emphasize the relevance of global, unbiased functional and genetic screening approaches in understanding ciliogenesis complexity, and in identifying loss of function in unanticipated pathways of human genetic disease