Ethical,legal, social,and policy issues in the use of genomic technology by the U.S. Military

Advances in genomic science are attracting the interest of the U.S. military for their potential to improve medical care for members of the military and to aid in military recruitment, training, specialization, and mission accomplishment. While researchers have explored the ethical, legal, and social issues raised by the use of genomic science in a wide variety of contexts, there has been virtually no examination of these issues in connection with the use of genomics by the military. This article identifies potential uses of genomic science by the military, proposes an applicable ethical and legal framework, and applies the framework to provide ethical and legal guidance for military decision-makers.     

Use of laser-scanning confocal microscopy in the detection of diagenesis in bone

This research demonstrates the value of laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) as a research tool in osteological studies, and diagenetic studies in particular. LSCM combines properties of light and scanning electron microscopy using laser light to excite fluorophores throughout the z-axis, developing a 3-D image. Using differential staining and selecting for specific wavelengths of light, one can image targeted materials. This research is divided into two parts: visualizing bone structures such as proteins and their decompositional products and visualizing diagenesis. Part one of this study utilized pig bones as a means of testing the overall ability of LSCM to fluoresce bone. Twenty-three samples were imaged, including 13 samples from a decompositional study conducted 5 years previous, and 10 “fresh” samples collected from a commercial butcher. This part of the study determined that protein and organic components of the bone could be fluoresced and diagenetic alteration could be imaged. The second part of the study used human samples as a means of imaging and mapping diagenetic alterations. The second part of the study used 13 samples, including 4 clinical, 7 ancient, and 2 modern controls. The pig study used Basic Fuchsin and SlowFade Gold stains, while the human study used toluidine blue. Images were also taken with unstained elements. The results of the non-human study found that a fresh bone fluoresced differently than that of a 5-year subset, while the results of the human study confirmed these findings and determined that the bone diagenesis can be mapped using LSCM.     

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.     

Household formation, institutions, and economic development: Evidence from imperial Russia

Household formation patterns have been adduced in recent years by historians and other social scientists to account for the economic development of western Europe. The so-called European Marriage Pattern, which prevailed throughout northwest Europe, is viewed as having been particularly conducive to early industrialisation and economic growth. But to what extent were household formation systems exogenous to the broader economic and social context in which they were located? Evidence from nineteenth-century Russia indicates that family systems were influenced by the same variables that determined the shape of the local economy; they were part of a complex web of institutions and thus cannot be viewed as independent determinants of economic development.     

Enduring neoliberalism in Alberta's oil sands: the troubling effects of private–public partnerships for First Nation and Métis communities

Changes in federal government relations with First Nations and Métis in Canada have been described as shifting over time, from fur trade colonialism, to welfare colonialism, to neoliberal partnerships. Acknowledging changes and continuities in Aboriginal peoples–state relations over time, this article examines the effects of recent policies that emphasize private–public partnerships for economic development on Indigenous communities in northern Alberta. We argue that while the term ‘partnership’ connotes equality, cooperation, and consensus, the actual workings of partnerships are anything but equal, and the effects include fragmentation, competition, and lack of overall accountability. These outcomes work against the needs and aspirations of Indigenous communities.     

Taphonomic changes to blunt force trauma: a preliminary study

This study examines the effects of taphonomic processes on blunt force trauma (BFT) through an experimental study involving pig heads. Of particular concern is the possibility that taphonomic changes can create pseudo-trauma and/or conceal evidence of actual trauma. BFT was inflicted on 10 pig skulls using a hammer. The skulls were subsequently exposed to the environment for 12 months. Seven taphonomic changes were evaluated: the freeze-thaw cycle; rodent gnawing; carnivore scavenging; presence/weight of soil; presence/weight of rain and snow; movement/displacement of bones; and discoloration due to sun bleaching and grass staining. Taphonomic effects varied between cancellous, compact, fresh, and degreased bone. Freezing and thawing, exposure to rain and snow, movement of the skulls, and soil erosion altered and, in some cases disguised, pre-existing trauma. Rodent and carnivore activity did not obliterate evidence of BFT. Recommendations for evaluating BFT on remains affected by taphonomic processes are presented. As each taphonomic process outlined by this study has the potential to disguise antemortem injury, the authors propose that one must carefully examine large, circular openings in the skull that may represent the remnant evidence of BFT.     

Personal Identification Using the Frontal Sinus*

Abstract: The frontal sinuses are known to be unique to each individual; however, no one has tested the independence of the frontal sinus traits to see if probability analysis through trait combination is a viable method of identifying an individual using the frontal sinuses. This research examines the feasibility of probability trait combination, based on criteria recommended in the literature, and examines two other methods of identification using the frontal sinuses: discrete trait combinations and superimposition pattern matching. This research finds that most sinus traits are dependent upon one another and thus cannot be used in probability combinations. When looking at traits that are independent, this research finds that metric methods are too fraught with potential errors to be useful. Discrete trait combinations do not have a high enough discriminating power to be useful. Only superimposition pattern matching is an effective method of identifying an individual using the frontal sinuses.