Academic literature on the topic 'Genetics – Research – Fiction'

the social conditions of Indians as Native Americans for the treatment of white people who are immigrants from Europe in America. This research explores aspects of the reality of Indian relations with European immigrants in America that have an impact on discriminatory actions against Indians in John Steinbeck's novel The Pearl. Social facts are traced through fiction as part of the genetics of literary works. The research method used is genetic structuralism, a literary research method that traces the origin of the author's imagination in his fiction. The imagination is considered a social reality that reflects events in people's lives. The research data consist of primary data in the form of literary works, and secondary data are some references that document the background of the author's life and social reality. The results of this research indicate that racist acts as part of American social facts are documented in literary works. The situation of poor Indians and displaced people in slums is a social fact witnessed by John Steinbeck as the author of the novel The Pearl through an Indian fictional character named Kino. Racism is an act of white sentiment that discriminates against Native Americans, namely the Indian community.

The contributors to this discussion teach in three different Faculties at the University of East Anglia (UEA) – Science, Arts & Humanities and Medicine & Health Sciences. They have each used science fiction to explore learning outcomes in their distinct teaching practices. The discussion below highlights how contemporary science fiction can operate as a touchstone for debate that informs biochemistry teaching. Laura, Helen and Richard have all studied basic sciences, gaining PhDs in various aspects of biochemistry and molecular biology, and each have taught undergraduates and postgraduates at UEA. Helen and Richard are based in the Faculty of Science. Laura is based in the Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, and uses her interest in science communication to explore university teaching practices that involve science fiction. Christine gained a PhD from her research of technology and performance in science fiction film and is based in the Faculty of Arts & Humanities.

Designer babies, a concept once relegated to science fiction, are now a burgeoning topic of discussion and exploration in genetics and bioethics. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the designer baby phenomenon, examining its definition and evolution from cinematic fantasy to scientific possibility. We delve into the intricate mechanisms behind designer babies, shedding light on the genetic engineering technologies, particularly CRISPR, that underpin this concept. While these technologies hold immense promise, they are still nascent, awaiting rigorous development and ethical scrutiny. The paper highlights the current state of designer baby research, emphasising that successful implementations on human subjects remained unverified as of its writing. Notably, we recount the controversial case of He Jiankui, whose unapproved and ethically questionable experimentation with CRISPR on embryos in China sent shockwaves through the scientific community. The arguments surrounding designer babies are dissected, presenting both proponents' views, such as the potential to eradicate genetic diseases and enhance human potential, and critics' concerns about ethical dilemmas, reduced genetic diversity, social inequality, and unpredictable consequences. Ethical considerations are paramount, touching upon human dignity, social justice, eugenics, unintended consequences, autonomy, and the impact on religious and moral convictions. Once a fantastical notion, designer babies have become a tangible subject of scientific inquiry and ethical discourse. This paper endeavours to provide a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted dimensions surrounding designer babies, allowing readers to contemplate the ethical, social, and scientific implications of a future where genetic engineering may shape the very essence of human existence. As society grapples with these profound questions, we must navigate this uncharted territory with wisdom, responsibility, and an unwavering commitment to ethical principles.

Are the dramatic images that many scientists now use to liven up their research papers a good way of communicating science to an untrained audience? Or are they starting to blur the border between fact and fiction, sacrificing truth for visual effect?

The article offers a critical appraisal of the rise of international governance in the field of genetics and reproductive technologies as “legal cloning.” It critically explores two of the dominant approaches to the homogenization of international law: the instrumentalist approach promoted by legal realists (law and science) and the deterministic approach advanced by legal surrealists (law and science fiction). As an alternative to both, the article offers an account of bio-technology’s modus operandi, and its power to “clone,” namely, to reduce human diversity – whether genetic, moral, or legal – not to identity but to a controlled and standardized uniformity. By examining three case studies of international law and transnational law – the UN declaration on human cloning, the recent restriction of the patenting of human embryonic stem cell research by the CJEU – along with Aldous Huxley’s classic novel Brave New World, the article unveils three different ways in which cloning operates in international law: international law versus cloning, international law as cloning, and the cloning of international law.

Abstract Nutraceutical supplements have become requisite fare in equine stables across North America and Europe, and a robust marketing engine has propagated the notion that every horse owner has the ability to contribute to the management – and even treatment – of some of the most important health and performance issues facing the modern horse. The voracious appetite of horse owners and managers for these supplements has vastly outpaced research into equine-specific efficacy, safety or toxicity of the majority of available products. Indeed, even government regulators have been left scrambling to accommodate the unique characteristics of nutraceuticals for horses within existing feed and drug guidelines, whilst the groundswell of consumer demand creates a fertile and attractive venue for a myriad of equine nutraceutical products. This presentation will identify peculiarities of horses and horse enthusiasts which define the opportunities and challenges associated with equine nutraceutical products. The current state of scientific inquiry will be explored, focusing on supplements targeting common equine health issues including arthritis, laminitis and gastrointestinal disorders. This critical mass of scientific evidence is then compared with popular marketing of equine nutraceuticals, in order to caliper the distance between science and fiction.

Adipose-derived stromal cells (ASCs) are often referred to as adipose-derived stem cells due to their potential to undergo multilineage differentiation. Their promising role in tissue engineering and ability to modulate the immune system are the focus of extensive research. A number of clinical trials using ASCs are currently underway to better understand the role of such cell niche in enhancing or suppressing the immune response. If governable, such immunoregulatory role would find application in several conditions in which an immune response is present (i.e., autoimmune conditions) or feared (i.e., solid organ or reconstructive transplantation). Although allogeneic ASCs have been shown to prevent acute GvHD in both preclinical and clinical studies, their potential warrants further investigation. Well-designed and standardized clinical trials are necessary to prove the role of ASCs in the treatment of immune disorders or prevention of tissue rejection. In this paper we analyze the current literature on the role of ASCs in immunomodulationin vitroandin vivoand discuss their potential in regulating the immune system in the context of transplantation.

DNA profiling, in which individual being is identified by its cellular structures, was first developed by the geneticist Alec Jeffreys in the 1980s. That this source of identity also forms the instructions through which living organisms are generated has complicated profiling’s place in the cultural imaginary of the late twentieth century. So, while profiling actually deals only in non-coding regions of the genome—matter often referred to as ‘junk DNA’—the significance of DNA as a substance of forensic analysis, in the late twentieth century imaginary, is its resonance as the apparent blueprint of existence. The notable features that this blurring of concepts brings about include a conceptualization of identity as a mass of information; notions to do with codes and coding; the presence of the body in the fluids which spill beyond its bounds; and a sense of the body as an archive of heredity and primitivism. In writing specifically about genetic research, Richard Powers’s The Gold Bug Variations (1991) serves a dual function in this chapter, as both an explicatory document and thematic example. But the more substantive analysis is reserved for the work of J. G. Ballard which, from its science fiction origins in novels such as The Drowned World (1962), through the controversial era of Crash (1973), to its trilogy of autobiographical texts (Empire of the Sun (1984), The Kindness of Women (1991), and Miracles of Life (2008)) articulates a form of identity that has close, though often oblique, affinities with all the most prominent features of DNA profiling.

On the one hand, genetic criticism involves transferable skills such as aspects of transcription and digital scholarly editing. On the other hand, it also involves more abstract theoretical issues relating to matters of authorship, collaboration, authority, agency, intention, and intertextuality, i.e. the critical stance that colours the critic’s reading of the genesis. This ‘colouring’ is inevitable. What matters is to be aware of one’s own critical stance and to be open about it at the start of a genetic analysis. This chapter discusses strategies of conjuring the hermeneutic potential of archival material and writing processes, involving traces of the creative process (such as notes, drafts, and other manuscripts). The key question here is how to read those traces: not only traces such as deleted words in the drafts but also traces of other books—the intertextual condition. The materiality of these traces is a crucial element in this type of research: if a writer decides to destroy their manuscripts, there is not much to work with. But the research object of genetic criticism is actually the dynamics of the creative process, which emerges from a tension between the concrete objects and the abstract retrospective reconstruction of the process that produced them. This reconstruction implies a form of cognition enactment, not unlike the consciousness enactment that is required from readers to recognize and interpret fictional minds. The chapter ends with a discussion of genetic narratology—the analysis of narratives across versions.

Eros is one of the main themes of world literature. The theory of love, dialectically expounded by Plato in The Banquet, had a great influence on all European cultures, especially on morality, fiction, and fine arts. The experience of world literature confirms Plato’s theory, including the poetry of Virgil, his works «Bucolic», «Georgica» and «Aeneid». The purpose of the paper is to identify the characteristic features of the mythology of Eros in the works of Virgil, to clarify the nature of the eternal relevance of Plato’s philosophical discovery of earthly love and heavenly love, his vitality in literary works. Methodology. The choice of methods is determined by the peculiarities of the scientific problems of the topic, the solution of which is based on the selection, systematization, comparison, and textual analysis of the relevant material. The main method of research is comparative-historical with genetic and contact approaches, which are in the direct or indirect dialogue of Virgil with other authors. The psychological method was used to know the inner world of the artist, and his author’s interpretation of the mythology of Eros. Results of the survey. Objectively substantiated results are obtained, structural, thematic, and ideological characteristics of Eros mythology are systematized in their interrelation as a complex phenomenon during a certain period in Virgil’s poetry, and established ideas about the mythopoetic paradigm in ancient literature are developed. Plato’s teachings on Eros, its two stages – lower (Earthly love) and higher (Heavenly love) actualize the works of Virgil: «Bucolics», «Georgics», «Aeneid». Рractical implications and value. The practical significance of the work and its value are determined by the possibility of using it in the course of lectures at higher educational institutions. The same results can be taken into account when writing monographs, textbooks, and manuals, in the development of lectures, courses, and special courses on the history of foreign literature. In the Bucolics, Virgil raises the issue of the harmony of man and nature associated with the beauty of Eros. Virgil’s «Bucolics» testify to the complex inner world of man, to the dissonances of his soul, tired of the big city. Rural themes, full of beauty and love of life with all the colors of the Italian land, with the poet’s favorite evening – the constant motifs of the idyllic world of Virgil, which encourages love. In the Georgics, Virgil considers four themes: love, renunciation, death, and rebirth, developing Plato’s theory of the lower and higher levels of Eros – earthly and heavenly love. Virgil denies earthly love. He focuses on libido sexual – sexual desire as the lower stage of Eros. Virgil condemns not only carnal love but also all passion. The vanity of horses rushing to the finish line is no different from human vanity. An example of renunciation of love and all passion is the bee kingdom in Book IV «Georgik». Dido’s tragic love for Aeneas began with libido. Virgil equates the queen’s love affair with illness, a terrible element, a catastrophe. The spirit of great tragedy hovers throughout the fourth book of the Aeneid. Sympathizing with Dido, Virgil condemns her love for Aeneas as a destructive, destructive force, a mad shawl of love passion. However, the poet does not deny purified, that is, ideal love in the Platonic sense. It begins with love for the native land, for beauty, and reigns in all his works. It is love for nature, which permeates the artistic world of the poet, for native lares and penates, love for parents and paternal and maternal love, a mutual friendship between kindred spirits, and finally – love for all things: trees, celestial bodies, space life. Universal love dominates all the works of Virgil.