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Genetic Technologies (genetic + technology)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Humanities and Social Sciences	31%
Medical Sciences	15%
Business, Economics, Finance and Accounting	15%
Life Sciences	10%

Selected Abstracts

Genetic approaches and technologies for improving the sustainability of livestock production,

JOURNAL OF THE SCIENCE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE, Issue 9 2004
Stephen C Bishop
Abstract Livestock production industries worldwide face considerable conflicting challenges and pressures. In developed countries the challenge is to remain sustainable and competitive in the face of declining prices and increasing costs, competition and public pressures. In developing countries the strong increase in demand for livestock products must be met in circumstances where infrastructure is often minimal, there are limitations on inputs and the environment places demands on management and on the adaptive fitness of the livestock. In both situations, solutions to these problems must be sustainable and appropriate, yet be technically feasible, cost-effective and publicly acceptable. This paper summarises the impact of two technologies that will make considerable contributions to sustainable livestock production systems, namely information technology and genetic technologies that utilise naturally occurring genetic variation. Genetic technologies are inherently sustainable owing to the permanent and cumulative nature of genetic change, and range from simple to sophisticated. They include breed choice, within-breed selection and the use of genetic markers linked to gene variants conferring favourable attributes. Breeding goals include increased output, where required, enhanced product quality and increased disease resistance. These goals are illustrated by examples for the hill sheep and pig sectors in the UK and by challenges facing animal health in developing countries. Central to all examples is the gathering, management and interpretation of information, ie information technology, which enables rational genetic and management decisions to be made. Additionally, in all sustainable livestock production systems the maintenance and utilisation of biodiversity will help manage the risks of today as well as the challenges of the future. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry [source]

Genetic technology and family conflict

CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2000
Deborah B. Gentry
Modern technologies are taking laypersons and professionals into uncharted waters, prompting many to ask: Just because we can, should we? Specifically, genetic technologies are presenting numerous issues for which there are no easy answers. What role can family mediators play in resolving family conflicts related to genetic testing, treatments, and therapies? [source]

Comparative and developmental study of the immune system in Xenopus

DEVELOPMENTAL DYNAMICS, Issue 6 2009
Jacques Robert
Abstract Xenopus laevis is the model of choice for evolutionary, comparative, and developmental studies of immunity, and invaluable research tools including MHC-defined clones, inbred strains, cell lines, and monoclonal antibodies are available for these studies. Recent efforts to use Silurana (Xenopus) tropicalis for genetic analyses have led to the sequencing of the whole genome. Ongoing genome mapping and mutagenesis studies will provide a new dimension to the study of immunity. Here we review what is known about the immune system of X. laevis integrated with available genomic information from S. tropicalis. This review provides compelling evidence for the high degree of similarity and evolutionary conservation between Xenopus and mammalian immune systems. We propose to build a powerful and innovative comparative biomedical model based on modern genetic technologies that takes take advantage of X. laevis and S. tropicalis, as well as the whole Xenopus genus. Developmental Dynamics 238:1249,1270, 2009. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Religion and Reproductive Genetics: Beyond Views of Embryonic Life?

JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 4 2007
JOHN H. EVANS
Advances in new reproductive genetic technologies have spawned a very polarized public and political debate. As with the abortion debate, most formal opposition to these technologies comes from religious organizations that are concerned about embryonic and fetal life. In this article we conduct an analysis of the first nationally representative opinion survey on religion and reproductive genetics. We find, as in the abortion debate, that evangelicals, fundamentalists, and traditionalist Catholics are more opposed than more liberal religious groups. When we compare respondents with the same views on embryonic life, we find that differences remain in the level of approval for genetic technologies, suggesting that there is more to this debate than concern about embryos. We also find that religious conservatives are more distinct from the religious nonattenders in their views of health objectives of reproductive genetic technologies and less distinct in their views of improvement objectives. [source]

Genetic approaches and technologies for improving the sustainability of livestock production,

Consenting to bio-risk: xenotransplantation and the law

LEGAL STUDIES, Issue 3 2005
Barrister, Sara Fovargue LLB
Research into alternative sources of organs for transplantation, including the use of organs from non-human genetically engineered animals, has occurred since the introduction of allotransplantation in the 1960s. Xenotransplantation is different from other developing genetic technologies because whilst the potential benefit is to the individual, the possible risks are to society as a whole. The risks include the transmission of unknown and currently indeterminable infectious diseases. This article explores whether the current regulator framework is able to address this issue and, in particular, whether,first-party'consent to involvement in a clinical trial is a sufficient to protect third parties from harm. The competence of a xeno-recipient to consent is also considered, and it is suggested that, at the very least, public debate and participation in deciding whether clinical trials should be permitted must occur, because by allowing xenotransplant trials to help an individual, the risks will be borne by all. [source]

The "I" in the gene: Divided property, fragmented personhood, and the making of a genetic privacy law

AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 2 2007
MARGARET EVERETT
In this article, I explore the making and remaking of Oregon's Genetic Privacy Act, one of the first genetic privacy laws passed in the United States. New genetic technologies have provoked debates about medical privacy and property rights to the body and products derived from the body, and a majority of states have passed legislation regarding the use and disclosure of genetic information. Research in medical anthropology has increasingly focused on the politicized and fragmented body in modern science. As genetic privacy debates demonstrate, however, not only is the body increasingly subject to fragmentation but the property and privacy interests in bodies, body parts, and products derived from bodies are also increasingly subject to division. This article is based on my role as a member of two statewide advisory commissions from 1999 to 2005, the recordings and minutes of their meetings, legislation, testimony from legislative hearings, media coverage of the debate in Oregon, and letters to the editors of local newspapers. [source]

Characterization of the MIPS gene family in Glycine max

PLANT BREEDING, Issue 5 2006
A. S. Chappell
Abstract Phytic acid (myo -inositol-1,2,3,4,5,6-hexakisphosphate) is the primary storage component of phosphorus in plant seeds. The first step in phytic acid biosynthesis is the de novo synthesis of myo -inositol, which is catalyzed by the enzyme D -myo -inositol 3-phosphate synthase (MIPS EC 5.5.1.4). Previous work detected four MIPS genes in soybean (Glycine max). However, only a limited amount of data were available for the MIPS gene family and some of the data were conflicting. The work described here clears up these data and characterizes the MIPS gene family for the purposes of reverse genetic technologies. The complete genomic sequence of all four genes was determined and their expression profile was examined by quantitative real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Our results indicate that the four MIPS genes are highly conserved and temporally and spatially expressed. The MIPS gene family in the low phytic acid soybean line, CX1834, was also characterized since this line displays a phenotype similar to previously characterized MIPS mutants. These data demonstrate that mutations in MIPS genes are not the cause of the low phytic acid phenotype. [source]

Integrating molecular genetic technology with traditional approaches for genetic improvement in aquaculture species

AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 1 2000
G P. Davis
Genetic improvement of aquaculture species offers a substantial opportunity for increased production efficiency, health, product quality and, ultimately, profitability in aquacultural enterprises. Technolo-gies exist that can be implemented immediately to improve multiple traits that have economic value, while simultaneously accounting for inbreeding effects. Genetic improvement techniques for delivering genetic gain include formal definition of the breeding objective, estimation of genetic parameters that describe populations and their differences, evaluation of additive and non-additive genetic merit of individuals or families and defining the structure of a breeding programme in terms of mating plans. Novel genetic technologies involving the use of DNA-based tools are also under development for a range of aquaculture species. These gene marker technologies can be used for identification and monitoring of lines, families and individuals, monitoring and control of inbreeding, diagnosis of simply inherited traits and genetic improvement through selection for favourable genes and gene combinations. The identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL), and direct or linked markers for them, will facilitate marker-assisted selection in aquaculture species, enabling improvement in economically important traits, particularly those that are difficult to breed for, such as food conversion efficiency and disease resistance. [source]

ENHANCING EVOLUTION AND ENHANCING EVOLUTION

BIOETHICS, Issue 8 2010
IAIN BRASSINGTON
ABSTRACT It has been claimed in several places that the new genetic technologies allow humanity to achieve in a generation or two what might take natural selection hundreds of millennia in respect of the elimination of certain diseases and an increase in traits such as intelligence. More radically, it has been suggested that those same technologies could be used to instil characteristics that we might reasonably expect never to appear due to natural selection alone. John Harris, a proponent of this genomic optimism, claims in his book Enhancing Evolution that we not only have it in our power to enhance evolution, but that we also have a duty to do so. In this paper, I claim that Harris' hand is strong but that he overplays it nevertheless. He is correct to dismiss the arguments of the anti-enhancement lobby and correct to say that enhancement is permissible; but ,good' is different from ,permissible' and his argument for the goodness of enhancement is less convincing. Moreover, he is simply wrong to claim that it generates a duty to enhance. [source]

An Embryonic Nation: Life Against Health in Canadian Biotechnological Discourse

COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 1 2005
Rebecca Sullivan
This article traces the protracted public debate over reproductive and genetic technologies in Canada through an examination of the federal government's efforts to pass legislation in the area. Four attempts were made, in 1997, 2000, 2003, and finally 2004, before a bill was passed that regulated the use of embryos in both infertility treatments and nonreproductive genetic therapies. At stake in the debate was the supremacy of health over life as a fundamental value of Canadian national identity, and the role of biotechnology in ushering Canada into a new era of prosperity and global leadership. Using a feminist cultural framework, the author challenges notions of modernity versus postmodernity in the social construction of bodies, nations, and knowledge. She critiques the legal intrusions on women's bodies in particular for the way that they, perhaps inadvertently, offer some limited form of autonomy for embryos as valuable commodities in scientific progress. [source]

Monogenic diabetes: information seeking and genetic testing access via e-mail

EUROPEAN DIABETES NURSING, Issue 2 2010
M Shepherd RGN, PhD Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer
Abstract Background: Confirmation of monogenic diabetes by molecular genetic testing has allowed many patients, often previously assumed to have type 1 diabetes, to transfer from insulin injections to sulphonylurea tablets, with improvements in glycaemic control and quality of life: www.diabetesgenes.org provides information about monogenic diabetes and genetic testing. Aim: To investigate key issues raised by individuals who e-mailed the monogenic diabetes team about genetic testing and monogenic diabetes management. Methods: Sixty e-mail enquiries, received over a six-month period from patients and professionals worldwide, were analysed using a qualitative thematic content approach. Results: Five themes emerged: 1. Accessing genetic technology: patients and professionals both enquired about access to testing; 2. Presentation of evidence: medical facts presented by patients and professionals included characteristics specifically relevant to diagnosing monogenic diabetes; 3. Experiences of healthcare: patients often researched their condition online and some felt dissatisfied with routine consultations; 4. Seeking specialist advice regarding treatment: specific information was sought relating to management of neonatal diabetes or monogenic diabetes and pregnancy; 5. Searching for a cure through genetic technology: patients questioned whether genetic advances would lead to a cure for diabetes. Conclusion: This project offers the first insights into use of e-mail as a means of gaining access to a specialist monogenic team and information about genetic testing. Although providing advice via e-mail can prove complicated, particularly when received from patients under the care of other clinicians, it is an efficient means of communicating specialist knowledge. Study findings will aid development of a ,frequently asked questions' section of www.diabetesgenes.org. Copyright © 2010 FEND [source]

Product attributes, consumer benefits and public approval of genetically modified foods

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 5 2003
Ferdaus Hossain
Abstract The use of biotechnology in food production has generated considerable debate involving the benefits and risks associated with its use. Consumer acceptance of genetically modified foods is a critical factor that will affect the future of this technology. Using data from a national survey, this study examines how public acceptance of food biotechnology is related to consumers' socioeconomic and value attributes as well as the benefits associated with the use of this technology. Empirical results suggest that consumer acceptance of food biotechnology increases considerably when the use of this technology brings tangible benefits for the public. Consumers with different socioeconomic and demographic attributes have diverging views of food biotechnology only when its use brings specific benefits to them. When the use of genetic technology confers no additional benefit, public attitudes towards genetically modified foods are driven primarily by their scientific knowledge, views of scientists and corporations associated with biotechnology as well as public trust and confidence in government. [source]

Patient decision-making for clinical genetics

NURSING INQUIRY, Issue 1 2007
Gwen Anderson
Medicine is incorporating genetic services into all avenues of health-care, ranging from the rarest to the most common diseases. Cognitive theories of decision-making still dominate professionals' understanding of patient decision-making about how to use genetic information and whether to have testing. I discovered a conceptual model of decision-making while carrying out a phenomenological-hermeneutic descriptive study of a convenience sample of 12 couples who were interviewed while deciding whether to undergo prenatal genetic testing. Thirty-two interviews were conducted with 12 men and 12 women separately. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and all data were analyzed using three levels of coding that were sorted into 30 categories and then abstracted into three emergent meta-themes that described men's and women's attempts to make sense and find meaning in how to best use prenatal genetic technology. Their descriptions of how they thought about, communicated, and coped with their decision were so detailed it was possible to discern nine different types of thinking they engaged in while deciding to accept or decline testing. They believed that decision-making is a process of working through your own personal style of thinking. This might include only one or any combination of the following types of thinking: analytical, ethical, moral, reflective, practical, hypothetical, judgmental, scary, and second sight, as described in detail by these 12 couples. [source]

Integrating molecular genetic technology with traditional approaches for genetic improvement in aquaculture species

GENETIC ENHANCEMENT , A THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS?

BIOETHICS, Issue 1 2008
ELIZABETH FENTON
ABSTRACT Genetic enhancement is the modification of the human genome for the purpose of improving capacities or ,adding in' desired characteristics. Although this technology is still largely futuristic, debate over the moral issues it raises has been significant. George Annas has recently leveled a new attack against genetic enhancement, drawing on human rights as his primary weapon. I argue that Annas' appeal to human rights ultimately falls flat, and so provides no good reason to object to genetic technology. Moreover, this argument is an example of the broader problem of appealing to human rights as a panacea for ethical problems. Human rights, it is often claimed, are ,trumps': if it can be shown that a proposed technology violates human rights, then it must be cast aside. But human rights are neither a panacea for ethical problems nor a trump card. If they are drafted into the service of an argument, it must be shown that an actual human rights violation will occur. Annas' argument against genetic technology fails to do just this. I shall conclude that his appeal to human rights adds little to the debate over the ethical questions raised by genetic technology. [source]

The molecular genetics of the genodermatoses: progress to date and future directions

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 1 2003
A.D. Irvine
Summary The Human Genome Mapping Project and allied rapid advances in genetic technology over the past decade have facilitated accurate association of allelic variations in several genes with specific skin phenotypes. Currently the genetic bases of the majority of the more common genodermatoses have been elucidated. In scientific terms this work has been extraordinarily successful and has yielded many new biological insights. These advances, although exciting, have yet to be translated into direct benefit for patients with these diseases. Genetic counselling has been greatly aided by gene identification, by the better understanding of genotype,phenotype correlation and by the disclosure of unexpected genetic mechanisms in some families. Knowledge of the molecular basis of these disorders has also been vital in enabling DNA-based prenatal diagnosis in several conditions and DNA-based preimplantation diagnosis has been used in a selected few. While this successful period of gene mapping is now nearing completion, progress towards the next goal, that of developing therapeutic strategies based on the knowledge of these underlying genetic mechanisms, has proven frustratingly slow. Despite the ready access to the skin compared with solid internal organs, the challenges of cutaneous gene therapy are legion and many technical issues need to be surmounted to enable gene replacement or modification of gene expression to have a useful role in these disorders. In this article we make a comprehensive review of progress to date in gene identification, genotype,phenotype correlation, prenatal diagnosis and cutaneous gene therapy, and we examine future directions for research in this field. [source]