What history tells us XXXX. The success story of the expression “genome editing”

International audienceThe expression « genome editing » designates the possibilities opened by the CRISPR-Cas9 enzyme to cut and modify genemes at precise positions. This expression has been rapidly adopted by biologists, but also journalists and laymen. I descibe steps in the recent emergence of this expression, as well as the reasons of its success.L’expression « édition du génome » désigne la possibilité ouverte par l’enzyme CRISPR-Cas9 de couper et de modifier le génome à des sites précis. Cette expression est utilisée aussi bien par les biologistes que par les journalistes et le grand public. Nous montrons dans cet article que cet usage est récent, nous décrivons les étapes qui ont conduit à sa diffusion et les raisons de son succès

Alberto Lista’s El Espectador sevillano (1809): an example of revolutionary discourse?

El Espectador sevillano, redactado por Alberto Lista, se publicó en Sevilla del 2 de octubre de 1809 al 29 de enero de 1810. Aunque se trata de uno de los periódicos más importantes del momento, se le ha estudiado poco. Redactado en la ciudad que, por las circunstancias bélicas, había pasado a ser capital de la España libre, ofrece una exposición sistemática de los fundamentos de la doctrina política liberal, que se plasmarían algunos meses después en la Constitución de Cádiz. En estas breves reflexiones, se trata de situar la publicación en el complejo e intenso debate de ideas de que fue entonces teatro Sevilla, para tratar de determinar hasta qué punto puede calificarse de revolucionario el pensamiento del Lista de 1809.El Espectador sevillano is a journal that was edited by Alberto Lista between 1809 (2 October) and 1810 (29 January). It happened to be published in Seville for the town had just become the capital city of unoccupied Spain. El Espectador sevillano provides us with a systematic account of the fundaments of political liberalism as a doctrine that led to the writing of the Constitution of Cadiz a few months after the termination of the journal. However little attention has been paid to El Espectador sevillano despite it is being one of the most political influential journals at that time. In this paper, we fill in this research gap by locating El Espectador sevillano within the complexity of the vibrant political debate that took place in Seville during this period, in order to assess to what extend Lista’s thinking in 1809 can be labelled as revolutionary

From Free Housing Policy to the Payment of Rates and Taxes in South African Cities 1994 - 2003: The Cape Town and Port Elizabeth Cases

Volume entitled: Ten Years of Democratic South Africa. Transition Accomplished? edited by Aurelia Wa Kabwe-Segatti, Nicolas Péjout and Philippe GuillaumeBetween the beginning of the 1990s and 2003, the housing policy has shifted from "housing for all" to a more comprehensive, rationalized and complex urban strategy. The RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) housing strategy favoured quantitative objectives (building as many houses as possible) and chose a subsidy-based private property model. The implications of such options are fi nancially problematic for local authorities and led to a rather unsustainable urban model.Entre le début des années 1990 et 2003, la politique du logement est passée de "un logement pour tous" à une stratégie urbaine plus large, plus complexe et plus rationnelle. La stratégie du logement du RDP (Reconstruction and Development Programme) avait visé des objectifs quantitatifs (la construction d'autant de maisons que possible) et choisit le modèle de la propriété privée subventionnée. Les implications de ces choix sont fi nancièrement problématiques pour les autorités locales et conduisent à un modèle urbanistique relativement peu viable

What history tells us XXXXI. Ubiquitin and proteolysis

International audienceThe importance of the discovery, at the beginning of the 1980s, of a complex mechanism pf protein degradation involving multiple additions of a small protein called ubiquitin, and the use of energy (ATP), is unanimously acknowledged. I describe the multiple obstacles that the quality of the experimental work permitted to overcome. The idea that protein degradation could be an important step of cellular control was not obvious for molecular biologists. The use of ATP for such a process seemed unnecessary. And the complexity of the system was unexpected. This discovery deeply transformed molecular biology

Changer les gènes ? Un projet qui n'est plus prioritaire

International audienceModification of the human germ line has remained a distant but valuable objective for most biologists since the emergence of genetics (and even before). To study the historical transformations of this project, I have selected three periods—the 1930s, at the pinnacle of eugenics, around 1974 when molecular biology triumphed, and today—and have adopted three criteria to estimate the feasibility of this project: the state of scientific knowledge, the existence of suitable tools, and societal demands. Although the long-awaited techniques to modify the germ line are now available, I will show that most of the expectations behind this project have disappeared, or are considered as being reachable by highly different strategies.La modification ciblée de la lignée germinale (et donc de l'espèce humaine) est restée un objectif distant mais raisonnable, depuis l'émergence de la génétique (et même avant) jusqu'à ces dernières années. J'ai choisi trois temps pour étudier les évolutions historiques de ce projet – dans les années 1930, au sommet du mouvement eugéniste, autour de 1974 quand la biologie moléculaire triomphait, et aujourd'hui – et j'ai sélectionné trois critères pour estimer la faisabilité d'un tel projet – l'état des connaissances scientifiques, l'existence de techniques adaptées, et les demandes de la société. Bien que les techniques longtemps espérées pour modifier la lignée germinale soient aujourd'hui disponibles, je montrerai que la plupart des attentes qui soutenaient ce projet ont disparu, ou sont considérées comme pouvant être atteintes par des stratégies totalement différentes

Transport of phosphorus in a sewage plume

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1997.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 40-41).by Arnaud L. Morange.M.Eng

Cushing’s disease

Cushing’s disease, or pituitary ACTH dependent Cushing’s syndrome, is a rare disease responsible for increased morbidity and mortality. Signs and symptoms of hypercortisolism are usually non specific: obesity, signs of protein wasting, increased blood pressure, variable levels of hirsutism. Diagnosis is frequently difficult, and requires a strict algorithm. First-line treatment is based on transsphenoidal surgery, which cures 80% of ACTH-secreting microadenomas. The rate of remission is lower in macroadenomas. Other therapeutic modalities including anticortisolic drugs, radiation techniques or bilateral adrenalectomy will thus be necessary to avoid long-term risks (metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease) of hypercortisolism. This review summarizes potential pathophysiological mechanisms, diagnostic approaches, and therapies

Knowledge politics and new converging technologies: a social epistemological perspective

The “new converging technologies” refers to the prospect of advancing the human condition by the integrated study and application of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and the cognitive sciences - or “NBIC”. In recent years, it has loomed large, albeit with somewhat different emphases, in national science policy agendas throughout the world. This article considers the political and intellectual sources - both historical and contemporary - of the converging technologies agenda. Underlying it is a fluid conception of humanity that is captured by the ethically challenging notion of “enhancing evolution”