Writing biology with mutant mice: the monstrous potential of post genomic life

Social scientific accounts identified in the biological grammars of early genomics a monstrous reductionism, ‘an example of brute life, the minimalist essence of things’ (Rabinow, 1996, p. 89). Concern about this reductionism focused particularly on its links to modernist notions of control; the possibility of calculating, predicting and intervening in the biological futures of individuals and populations. Yet, the trajectories of the post genomic sciences have not unfolded in this way, challenging scientists involved in the production and integration of complex biological data and the interpretative strategies of social scientists honed in critiquing this reductionism. The post genomic sciences are now proliferating points from which to understand relations in biology, between genes and environments, as well as between species and spaces, opening up future possibilities and different ways of thinking about life. This paper explores the emerging topologies and temporalities of one form of post genomic research, drawing upon ethnographic research on international efforts in functional genomics, which are using mutant mice to understand mammalian gene function. Using vocabularies on the monstrous from Derrida and Haraway, I suggest an alternative conceptualisation of monstrosity within biology, in which the ascendancy of mice in functional genomics acts as a constant supplement to the reductionist grammars of genomics. Rather than searching for the minimalist essence of things, this form of functional genomics has become an exercise in the production and organization of biological surplus and excess, which is experimental, corporeal and affective. The uncertain functioning of monsters in this contexts acts as a generative catalyst for scientists and social scientists, proliferating perspectives from which to listen to and engage with the mutating landscapes, forms of life, and languages of a post genomic biology

Data Shadows: Knowledge, Openness and Absence

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from SAGE Publications via the DOI in this record.This editorial critically engages with the understanding of openness by attending to how notions of presence and absence come bundled together as part of efforts to make open. This is particularly evident in contemporary discourse around data production, dissemination, and use. We highlight how the preoccupations with making data present can be usefully analyzed and understood by tracing the related concerns around what is missing, unavailable, or invisible (“data shadows”), which unvaryingly but often implicitly accompany debates about data and openness.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Sabina Leonelli was funded by the European Resarch Council, award number 335925 (DATA_SCIENCE). Brian Rappert was funded by an ESRC/AHRC/Dstl project titled “The Formulation and Nonformulation of Security Concerns” (ES/K011308/1). All three editors were also supported by the Humanities, Arts, and Social Science Fund of the University of Exeter

Which patient takes centre stage? Placing patient voices in animal research

This is the author accepted manuscript . The final version is available from Springer via the DOI in this recordWellcome Trus

Diurnal rhythms in the human urine metabolome during sleep and total sleep deprivation

Understanding how metabolite levels change over the 24 hour day is of crucial importance for clinical and epidemiological studies. Additionally, the association between sleep deprivation and metabolic disorders such as diabetes and obesity requires investigation into the links between sleep and metabolism. Here, we characterise time-of-day variation and the effects of sleep deprivation on urinary metabolite profiles. Healthy male participants (n = 15) completed an in-laboratory study comprising one 24 h sleep/wake cycle prior to 24 h of continual wakefulness under highly controlled environmental conditions. Urine samples were collected over set 2-8 h intervals and analysed by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Significant changes were observed with respect to both time of day and sleep deprivation. Of 32 identified metabolites, 7 (22%) exhibited cosine rhythmicity over at least one 24 h period; 5 exhibiting a cosine rhythm on both days. Eight metabolites significantly increased during sleep deprivation compared with sleep (taurine, formate, citrate, 3-indoxyl sulfate, carnitine, 3-hydroxyisobutyrate, TMAO and acetate) and 8 significantly decreased (dimethylamine, 4-DTA, creatinine, ascorbate, 2-hydroxyisobutyrate, allantoin, 4-DEA, 4-hydroxyphenylacetate). These data indicate that sampling time, the presence or absence of sleep and the response to sleep deprivation are highly relevant when identifying biomarkers in urinary metabolic profiling studies

Characteristics of older unpaid carers in England: A study of social patterning from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

\ua9 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.Background: A growing number of older people provide unpaid care, but contemporary research evidence on this group is limited. Aim: This study aims to describe the characteristics of older people who provide unpaid care and how these vary by socioeconomic position. Methods: Using recent information from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA wave 9, 2019), we analysed cross-sectional data on 1,282 unpaid carers aged ≥50. Data on sociodemographics, health, social wellbeing, care intensity and caregiver-recipient relationships were extracted. Total net non-pension wealth quintiles were used as a relative measure of socioeconomic position. Differences between the poorest and richest wealth quintiles were examined through logistic regression. Findings: Most older carers in ELSA were female and looking after another older person. Poor mental and physical health and social isolation were common, and socially patterned. Compared with carers in the middle wealth group, the poorest group were more likely to be living with the person they cared for (odds ratio (OR) 1.56 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03-2.36]) and more likely to experience loneliness (OR 2.29 [95% CI 1.42-3.69]), dependency (i.e.The need for help with activities of daily living) (OR 1.62 [95% CI 1.05-2.51]), chronic pain (OR 1.81 [95% CI 1.23-2.67]), a higher number of diseases (OR 1.75 [95% CI 1.15-2.65]) and fair/poor self-rated health (OR 2.59 [95% CI 1.79-3.76]). The poorest carers were also less likely to have a high quality of life (OR 0.51 [95% CI 0.33-0.80]) or be in work (OR 0.33 [95% CI 0.19-0.59]). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that financially disadvantaged unpaid carers (and their households) may have the greatest needs for intervention and support. Focussing resources on this group has potential to address social inequalities

The Co-Occurrence of Polypharmacy and Unmet Needs for Social Care in Older People: A Systematic Review

\ua9 2024 Laurie E. Davies et al.Polypharmacy is common in older people who often live with disability and dependency. The number of older people living with unmet needs for social care is also believed to be rising. Polypharmacy is simple to operationalise, whilst unmet needs are not routinely identified but are known to adversely affect health and well-being. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to investigate whether polypharmacy is a marker of unmet needs for social care in older people. Sixteen databases were searched from inception to January 2021. Studies were included if they reported quantitative data for polypharmacy ("multiple medicines") in relation to unmet needs for social care ("relative or absolute") in older people ("study criteria aged ≥55 years or mean age ≥55 in the sample as a whole or stratified data for the ≥55-year age group") and were from a high-income country (defined by the World Bank). Quality was assessed using the National Institute for Health tool for observational studies. Four studies were identified from 2,549 citations, and overall, the quality of evidence was low. Some older people using multiple medications had their social care needs met, whilst others did not. However, there is a clear rationale as to why polypharmacy may be linked to unmet social care needs. Given the limited studies identified in this review, future research should explore this further. The type of unmet need measure may be important to understand the nature of the relationship between the use of multiple medications and unmet social care needs

Spinal pain: Current understanding, trends, and the future of care

© 2015 Trainor et al. This commissioned review paper offers a summary of our current understanding of nonmalignant spinal pain, particularly persistent pain. Spinal pain can be a complex problem, requiring management that addresses both the physical and psychosocial components of the pain experience. We propose a model of care that includes the necessary components of care services that would address the multidimensional nature of spinal pain. Emerging care services that tailor care to the individual person with pain seems to achieve better outcomes and greater consumer satisfaction with care, while most likely containing costs. However, we recommend that any model of care and care framework should be developed on the basis of a multidisciplinary approach to care, with the scaffold being the principles of evidence-based practice. Importantly, we propose that any care services recommended in new models or frameworks be matched with available resources and services-this matching we promote as the fourth principle of evidence-based practice. Ongoing research will be necessary to offer insight into clinical outcomes of complex interventions, while practice-based research would uncover consumer needs and workforce capacity. This kind of research data is essential to inform health care policy and practice

Review of harm-benefit analysis in the use of animals in research

This is the final version of the report. Available from the Home Office via the link in this recordReport of our review of the processes of harm-benefit analysis (HBA) carried out under the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (A(SP)A).Report of the Animals in Science Committee Harm-Benefit Analysis Sub-Group chaired by Professor Gail Davies. The Animals in Science Committee Harm-Benefit Analysis subgroup, chaired by Professor Gail Davies, has produced a review of the harm-benefit analysis (HBA). This review is an analysis of the underpinnings and implementation of the HBA which remains a crucial step in the justification of the use of animals in science. It is published in response to a ministerial commission.Animals in Science Committe

Elevated arousal at time of decision-making is not the arbiter of risk avoidance in chickens

The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that humans recall previously experienced physiological responses to aid decision-making under uncertainty. However, little is known about the mechanisms used by non-human animals to integrate risk perception with predicted gains and losses. We monitored the behaviour and physiology of chickens when the choice between a high-gain (large food quantity), high-risk (1 in 4 probability of receiving an air-puff) option (HGRAP) or a low-gain (small food quantity), no-risk (of an air-puff) (LGNAP) option. We assessed when arousal increased by considering different stages of the decision-making process (baseline, viewing, anticipation, reward periods) and investigated whether autonomic responses influenced choice outcome both immediately and in the subsequent trial. Chickens were faster to choose and their heart-rate significantly increased between the viewing and anticipation (post-decision, pre-outcome) periods when selecting the HGRAP option. This suggests that they responded physiologically to the impending risk. Additionally, arousal was greater following a HGRAP choice that resulted in an air-puff, but this did not deter chickens from subsequently choosing HGRAP. In contrast to human studies, we did not find evidence that somatic markers were activated during the viewing period, suggesting that arousal is not a good measure of avoidance in non-human animals

Eliminating Malaria Vectors.

Malaria vectors which predominantly feed indoors upon humans have been locally eliminated from several settings with insecticide treated nets (ITNs), indoor residual spraying or larval source management. Recent dramatic declines of An. gambiae in east Africa with imperfect ITN coverage suggest mosquito populations can rapidly collapse when forced below realistically achievable, non-zero thresholds of density and supporting resource availability. Here we explain why insecticide-based mosquito elimination strategies are feasible, desirable and can be extended to a wider variety of species by expanding the vector control arsenal to cover a broader spectrum of the resources they need to survive. The greatest advantage of eliminating mosquitoes, rather than merely controlling them, is that this precludes local selection for behavioural or physiological resistance traits. The greatest challenges are therefore to achieve high biological coverage of targeted resources rapidly enough to prevent local emergence of resistance and to then continually exclude, monitor for and respond to re-invasion from external populations