MLL leukemia-associated rearrangements in peripheral blood lymphocytes from healthy individuals

Chromosomal translocations are characteristic of hematopoietic neoplasias and can lead to unregulated oncogene expression or the fusion of genes to yield novel functions. In recent years, different lymphoma/leukemia-associated rearrangements have been detected in healthy individuals. In this study, we used inverse PCR to screen peripheral lymphocytes from 100 healthy individuals for the presence of MLL (Mixed Lineage Leukemia) translocations. Forty-nine percent of the probands showed MLL rearrangements. Sequence analysis showed that these rearrangements were specific for MLL translocations that corresponded to t(4;11)(q21;q23) (66%) and t(9;11) (20%). However, RT-PCR failed to detect any expression of t(4;11)(q21;q23) in our population. We suggest that 11q23 rearrangements in peripheral lymphocytes from normal individuals may result from exposure to endogenous or exogenous DNA-damaging agents. In practical terms, the high susceptibility of the MLL gene to chemically-induced damage suggests that monitoring the aberrations associated with this gene in peripheral lymphocytes may be a sensitive assay for assessing genomic instability in individuals exposed to genotoxic stress

Is there a common water-activity limit for the three domains of life?

Archaea and Bacteria constitute a majority of life systems on Earth but have long been considered inferior to Eukarya in terms of solute tolerance. Whereas the most halophilic prokaryotes are known for an ability to multiply at saturated NaCl (water activity (a w) 0.755) some xerophilic fungi can germinate, usually at high-sugar concentrations, at values as low as 0.650-0.605 a w. Here, we present evidence that halophilic prokayotes can grow down to water activities of <0.755 for Halanaerobium lacusrosei (0.748), Halobacterium strain 004.1 (0.728), Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 and Halococcus morrhuae (0.717), Haloquadratum walsbyi (0.709), Halococcus salifodinae (0.693), Halobacterium noricense (0.687), Natrinema pallidum (0.681) and haloarchaeal strains GN-2 and GN-5 (0.635 a w). Furthermore, extrapolation of growth curves (prone to giving conservative estimates) indicated theoretical minima down to 0.611 a w for extreme, obligately halophilic Archaea and Bacteria. These were compared with minima for the most solute-tolerant Bacteria in high-sugar (or other non-saline) media (Mycobacterium spp., Tetragenococcus halophilus, Saccharibacter floricola, Staphylococcus aureus and so on) and eukaryotic microbes in saline (Wallemia spp., Basipetospora halophila, Dunaliella spp. and so on) and high-sugar substrates (for example, Xeromyces bisporus, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Aspergillus and Eurotium spp.). We also manipulated the balance of chaotropic and kosmotropic stressors for the extreme, xerophilic fungi Aspergillus penicilloides and X. bisporus and, via this approach, their established water-activity limits for mycelial growth (∼0.65) were reduced to 0.640. Furthermore, extrapolations indicated theoretical limits of 0.632 and 0.636 a w for A. penicilloides and X. bisporus, respectively. Collectively, these findings suggest that there is a common water-activity limit that is determined by physicochemical constraints for the three domains of life

Standards for plant synthetic biology: a common syntax for exchange of DNA parts.

Inventors in the field of mechanical and electronic engineering can access multitudes of components and, thanks to standardization, parts from different manufacturers can be used in combination with each other. The introduction of BioBrick standards for the assembly of characterized DNA sequences was a landmark in microbial engineering, shaping the field of synthetic biology. Here, we describe a standard for Type IIS restriction endonuclease-mediated assembly, defining a common syntax of 12 fusion sites to enable the facile assembly of eukaryotic transcriptional units. This standard has been developed and agreed by representatives and leaders of the international plant science and synthetic biology communities, including inventors, developers and adopters of Type IIS cloning methods. Our vision is of an extensive catalogue of standardized, characterized DNA parts that will accelerate plant bioengineering.Biotechnological and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). Grant Numbers: BB/K005952/1, BB/L02182X/1 Synthetic Biology Research Centre ‘OpenPlant’ award. Grant Number: BB/L014130/1 Spanish MINECO. Grant Number: BIO2013‐42193‐R Engineering Nitrogen Symbiosis for Africa (ENSA) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation US Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental. Grant Number: DE‐AC02‐05CH1123 COST Action. Grant Number: FA100

Governance Challenges of Technological Systems Convergence.

NoThe convergence of several technological systems (especially nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and robotics) has now been adopted as a strategic goal by several countries, most notably the United States and those of the European Union. The anticipated benefits and related fears of competitive disadvantage have brought together a wide range of interested parties, governmental and nongovernmental. In the rush to enter and/or dominate this arena, the benign promise of converging technologies (CT) are highlighted, although a range of risks and less welcome (if difficult to quantify) implications are at best understated. What, then, are the prospects for exercising governance over the technological systems we are busy creating¿and the uses to which they might be put? What will it mean to speak of "global governance" in a world in which the technological promise of CT has been fulfilled

Disseminative Systems and Global Governance

N

The fundamentals of global governance

What kind of activity is global governance? What do all of the many sectoral forms of global governance – of the planetary environment, of global finance and global health – have in common? Moving beyond sector-specific studies, this book outlines the fundamentals of global governance in eight chapter-length propositions

The Limits of Global Governance.

NoAre we creating an ungovernable world? Can we be confident that our existing modes of global governance are sufficient, or adaptable enough, to meet the challenges of globalization? This new study powerfully tackles these key questions, delivering a provocative examination of the cognitive, practical and political limits on our ability to exercise systems of regulation and control on the same scale as the globalizing forces already shaping the human condition. Key issues addressed include: * an examination of the many meanings of 'global governance' * a contextualised view of global governance within the complex interaction of human and natural systems * an analysis of global governance at a fundamental and conceptual level * a case study of disseminative systems and global governance This book is essential reading for those with research interests in global politics, international relations and globalization

The arms control challenges of nanotechnology

The military potential of nanotechnology was anticipated by its proponents from the early stages of its development, and explicit programmes for this purpose are now well established. However, the impact of nanotechnology on arms control is very unlikely to be merely additive. Instead, it threatens to undermine the arms control paradigm, for reasons explored in this paper. These include the place of nanoscience and nanotechnology as the principal enablers of technological convergence; the extension from dual-use to multiple-use dilemmas arising from new materials and processes, and their integration into economic development and competitiveness; low entry-level infrastructural requirements (already a feature of biotechnology); and a blurring of the distinction between offensive arms and capabilities likely to be viewed as threatening

Buddhist philosophy and the epistemological foundations of conflict resolution

The aim of this research is to expand the framework of contemporary conflict resolution by constructing a complementary relationship between Western epistemologies and a Buddhist epistemology. Despite its evolution and development through self-reflexivity and self-critique, contemporary conflict resolution established upon Western epistemologies has confined the understanding of human mind to social/cultural orientations and left a comprehensive and qualitative analysis of the potential of individual human mind underdeveloped. Buddhist epistemology, the central theme of which is to address human suffering that is mainly psychological and subjective, makes a critical analysis of human subjectivity in terms of how it can be become a root cause of suffering including conflict and how it can be addressed by gaining an insight into the social/cultural construction of human subjectivity. The argument of the thesis is that when a socially/culturally-oriented view of human mind and a deeper and more profound view of human mind are combined together, we can engage in a qualitatively richer and deeper analysis of the psychological and subjective dynamics of conflict resolution.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

The Geneva Conventions under Assault

Outrages committed during violent conflict and as part of the 'war on terror' are not only an affront to human dignity -- they also violate the Geneva Conventions. This book examines recent high-profile cases of repeated and open abuse of the Conventions. The contributors explore why these and related violations of international humanitarian law cannot be viewed as anomalies, but must be regarded as part of a pattern which is set to undermine the Geneva Conventions as a whole. The contributors argue that an international system in which there is diminishing legal restraint on the use of force means that the world will become less secure and more volatile, even for those in the most powerful countries. Individuals everywhere face the prospect of a horrifying vulnerability. This is the first scholarly yet accessible work to consider the meanings of outrages such as the normalisation of torture, as well as the worrying new normative, technical and tactical developments that challenge the purpose and standing of the Geneva Conventions