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Genomic technologies
Published in Wendy A. Rogers, Jackie Leach Scully, Stacy M. Carter, Vikki A. Entwistle, Catherine Mills, The Routledge Handbook of Feminist Bioethics, 2022
First, analyses of genomic technologies that treat them as if they were value and gender neutral disregard the ways in which they shape reality (de Melo-Martín 2017). Take, for instance, possible understandings of health, disease and disability. Genomic technologies reduce these complex human phenomena to molecular aspects of human biology that can be easily assessed and managed in medical and technical ways. Similarly, these technologies turn embryos and fetuses into patients. Embryos and fetuses are diagnosed with particular diseases or disabilities and various strategies are presented as actively preventing their “suffering”: prospective parents can choose not to bring them into the world, or can use other medical technologies, e.g. genome editing, fetal medicine, to “cure” them. Furthermore, insofar as these technologies uncover susceptibilities, and to the extent that genome editing technologies can be used to improve people’s health, they transform all human beings into permanent patients, always in need of medical attention, of supervision, always a technological step away from having better health, more or better abilities.
Contradictions cure
Published in Alan Bleakley, Medical Education, Politics and Social Justice, 2020
Other contradictions and paradoxes, however, do not simply offer blockage but also can act as resource. We can reframe power or political contradictions as potential resource, exploring this through a metaphor introduced by Helga Nowotny (2015): “the cunning of uncertainty”. If we give uncertainty voice, we may find that it calls up previously unrecognized, or under-utilized, resources in medicine, such as the artistry and humanity that are central to good practice. Uncertainty’s cunning is realized in “thinking otherwise”. Brought centre-stage, such artistry and humanity can address some of medical education’s current contradictions, turning them into resources. Those who are sceptical of the value of the medical/ health humanities may not have seen what is right under their noses – that medical science and practice are already art forms based on humanistic values. The pedagogical challenge is how to best mobilize such inherent resources. Where human biology boasts an extraordinary array of displays of anatomies and physiologies, we consistently crush this by insistence upon function before form. A pedagogical rule could be: “appreciation before explanation”, the central teaching of the biologist Adolf Portmann.
Cellular and Molecular Basis of Human Biology
Published in Lawrence S. Chan, William C. Tang, Engineering-Medicine, 2019
After completing this chapter, the students should: Understand the overview of all systems of human biology.Understand the major human cell types and their functions.Understand the essential make up of human cells and their corresponding functions, including cell membrane, cell organelles, cellular cytokines, enzymes and the antibodies they produce.Understand the molecular biological aspects of human biology, including genome, proteome, and their major functions.Understand the operation principles of molecular biology technology, including polymerase chain reaction, real-time PCR, and cDNA microarray.
Spinal automaticity of movement control and its role in recovering function after spinal injury
Published in Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 2022
Generally, the feedforwardness of movement control is attributed to sensory cues detected and processed by the brain rather than the spinal networks, as previously reviewed [8]. A drawback of the current approaches used to recover sensorimotor function from paralyzing and pathological states is the emphasis on utilizing the most advanced state-of-the-art technology with insufficient awareness of its compatibility with human biology. For example, the design strategies of some brain interfaces to recover motor tasks is to bypass the neural networks within the spinal cord by projecting signals from the brain directly to muscles. Can the state-of-the-art engineered control systems outperform the neural control system within the spinal cord? The brain and spinal networks have evolved as a single organ system over hundreds of millions of years. One might ask, are we smarter than the trial-and-error strategy of over 300 million years of evolution?
Brazil nut prevents oxidative DNA damage in type 2 diabetes patients
Published in Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2022
Tamires Pavei Macan, Thais Aquino de Amorim, Adriani Paganini Damiani, Ângela Caroline da Luz Beretta, Marina Lummertz Magenis, Thais Ceresér Vilela, João Paulo Teixeira, Vanessa Moraes de Andrade
Se is an essential micronutrient to human biology (Bailey et al.2015). The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of Se is estimated to be 55 µg/day and the tolerable upper intake level (UL) is around 400 µg/day, for both males and females (Institute of Medicine 2000, Kieliszek 2019). This trace element is required as a cofactor by several enzymes, termed selenoproteins, which are associated with the regulation of thyroid hormone metabolism, enzymatic antioxidant defense systems, and several immune functions (Cominetti et al. 2011). Se deficiency might result in suboptimal levels of selenoproteins, which subsequently leads to increased levels of oxidative stress and associated diseases (Thomson et al. 2008, Cominetti et al. 2011). Studies suggested that Se supplementation may have beneficial effects on general health of patients suffering from various diseases. Moreover, several epidemiological studies revealed a negative correlation of Se levels and the incidence rate of type 2 diabetes (T2D), suggesting that high Se levels may help lower the risk for T2D onset and development (Rajpathak et al.2005, Akbaraly et al. 2010, Park et al. 2012).
Neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in schizophrenia: are these opportunities for repurposing?
Published in Postgraduate Medicine, 2022
Zarrin Ansari, Sudhir Pawar, Rajmohan Seetharaman
Human biology is complex, and there are uncountable reactions taking place, resulting in unwanted molecules as by-products. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are one such example of molecular debris, which are neutralized or scavenged by the naturally occurring antioxidants. Any imbalance in the proportions of oxidants and antioxidants is termed as oxidative stress. ROS leads to oxidative damage of the proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, enzymes, DNA, and RNA. The presence of polyunsaturated fatty acid chains in the membranes of the nervous system makes it particularly more vulnerable to the damage caused by ROS. The presence of iron in certain parts of the brain makes it more vulnerable to the oxidative effects of free radical species. Some of the commonly studied antioxidants occurring in vivo are superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GpX), and catalase (CAT) [54,55].