The Lockhart Review: where now for Australia?

In 2005 a Legislation Review Committee, known as the Lockhart Review, undertook a review of the Commonwealth legislation regulating human embryo research. The report that emanated from the review was released in December 2005. If the report recommendations are implemented by the Federal Government, Australian scientists will be permitted to create human embryo entities currently known as "human embryo clones" by the process known as somatic cell nuclear transfer to develop stem cell lines for research purposes. Many argue that stem cells have the potential to be developed into valuable medical therapies that could assist with, or cure, serious diseases such as Type 1 diabetes and Parkinson's disease. This article analyses the evidence presented to the Lockhart Review and the report recommendations. It assesses where the Lockhart recommendations would place Australia in terms of worldwide embryo research. It is argued that the Federal Government should fully embrace the recommendations so that Australia can progress stem cell research to its fullest potential.     

A forensic case study of a naturally mummified brain from the bushveld of South Africa

The present study reports our observations of a naturally mummified human brain found in the bushveld of South Africa. This case extends the geographic and climatic ranges in which mummified brains have been found, and it represents an additional case where no human activity has led to the mummification. The mummified brain was c. one fifth the size of a normal human brain, while the gyral and sulcal patterns of a typical human brain were clear. CT scanning of the brain revealed that subcortical structures, normally evident in this type of imaging, were not discernable, indicating a slow mummification process. Histological examination of the tissue revealed near complete degradation of the microanatomical structure, with only putative Nissl bodies remaining as identifiable neural microstructures. The specimen appears to have survived several veld fires, as well as a high annual rainfall, and a high relative humidity. It is thought that specific conditions amenable to brain mummification, but not other soft tissues, occurred in the skull of this specimen in the weeks postmortem.     

Validation of the Cozart Amphetamine Microplate EIA for the analysis of amphetamines in oral fluid

The purpose of this study was to determine the performance characteristics of the Cozart Amphetamine Microplate EIA for detecting amphetamine in oral fluid. Oral fluid samples were collected using the Cozart RapiScan Collection System from 135 volunteer donors from drug treatment clinics. A further 35 oral fluid samples were collected from volunteer donors who were not drug users. The samples were analyzed in the laboratory using the Cozart Amphetamine Microplate EIA and confirmed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The samples were stored frozen until analysis by GC-MS. The intra-assay precision for the Cozart Amphetamine Microplate EIA for amphetamine in oral fluid over forty assays was 2.74-7.1% CV (within assay) and 3.4-7.0% CV (within day). A total of 78 samples were positive for various amphetamines and related designer drugs. The Cozart Amphetamine Microplate EIA, using a cutoff of 45 ng/ml amphetamine equivalents in neat oral fluid, had a sensitivity of 91.7+/-3.3% and a specificity of 95.9+/-1.9% versus GC-MS using a cutoff of 30 ng/ml. A series of potential adulterants of oral fluid were evaluated and shown not to alter the outcome of the test result.     

The Search for “Fred”: An Unusual Vertical Burial Case,

Police witness intelligence stated a murdered adult male “Fred” had been vertically buried in wooded hilly terrain 30 years ago in the Midlands, U.K. Conventional search methods were unsuccessful; therefore, the police requested a geophysical investigation to be undertaken to determine whether “Fred” could be detected. A multiphased geophysical approach was conducted, using bulk ground conductivity and metal detectors, then follow‐up magnetics and ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey profiles on electromagnetic (EM) anomalous areas. A tight grid pattern was used to account for the reduced target size. Relatively high‐resolution EM and GPR techniques were determined optimal for this terrain and sandy soil. Geophysical anomalies were identified and the most promising intrusively investigated, and this was found to be a large boulder and tree roots. Study implications suggest careful multiphase geophysical surveys are best practice and give confidence in cold case searches. This study yielded a no‐body result, effectively saving police time and costs from further investigations.     

If the State Decertified Gender,What Might Happen to its Meaning and Value?

As jurisdictions reform gender identity laws to accommodate transgender and intersex people, this article speculatively explores a more fundamental shift: eliminating state law's role in determining and assigning gender status altogether. Adopting a feminist perspective, we explore what the meaning and effects of comprehensively reforming legal gender might be upon gender's constitution as a socio‐legal property, differentially recognized and protected by diverse but unequal bodies. Our discussion proceeds along two intersecting paths. The first concerns the different classificatory methods which could enable state law, without assigning gender, to continue to regulate gender identity decisions, thereby allowing state law to remain involved in tackling gender discrimination. The second concerns the changing form gender might take in conditions where state law withdraws its allocative function. These paths converge in a final discussion which considers what legal and political effects might follow from gender becoming a property that is individually and collectively cultivated.     

Russia's Artificial Intelligence Strategy: The Role of State-Owned Firms

In 2017, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that whichever country becomes the leader in artificial intelligence (AI) “will become the ruler of the world.” Yet Russia lags competitors like China and the United States substantially in AI capabilities. What is Russia's strategy for boosting development of AI technologies, and what role do groups within the Russian elite play in shaping this strategy? Russia's AI development strategy is unique in that it is led not by the government, nor by the private sector, but by state-owned firms. The government's distrust of Russia's largest tech firm, Yandex, has sidelined the company from national AI planning. Meanwhile, Russia's defense conglomerate Rostec publicly appears to focus less on artificial intelligence than on other high-tech priorities. As a result, Russia's AI development has been left to a state-owned bank, Sberbank, which has taken the lead in devising plans for government-backed investment in AI.     

Panel on the Economic and Political Consequences of Chernobyl'

This article summarizes a discussion by a panel of leading experts on Soviet energy analyzing the consequences of the accident at the Chernobyl' nuclear plant in the Ukraine on April 26, 1986.

The near-term economic costs associated with clean-up, relocation, and compensating for losses to electricity supplies are significant but manageable. The longer-term effects will focus on likely modifications in Soviet strategies for the nuclear industry, which may shift emphasis back towards conventional fuels and conservation.

The political consequences were managed fairly well by the leadership. Consistent with Secretary Gorbachev's policy of glasnost' (openness) more information has been available on this event than was the case in previous analogous situations. Journal of Economic Literature, Classification Numbers: 027, 124, 723.