The Living Disappeared

2020 ◽  
pp. 149-172
Author(s):  
Mariana Herrera Piñero ◽  
Eric Stover ◽  
Melina Tupa ◽  
Víctor B. Penchaszadeh

This chapter tells the story of the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo, or Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, and their search for more than 500 grandchildren who were kidnapped by the Argentine military or born in captivity during military rule from 1976 to 1983. Most of the parents of these children were executed and buried in clandestine graves, while their children were given to childless military and civilian couples. Hope turned the Abuelas into detectives. Over many years, they examined thousands of pages of public documents, conducted stakeouts, and went undercover in their search for clues to the whereabouts of their missing grandchildren. But sleuthing was easy compared to convincing courts that the children they had located were biologically related to the grandparents who claimed them. In spring 1984, several foreign geneticists came to the aid of the Abuelas. Six months later, the first grandchild was identified on the basis of genetic analysis and returned to her grandmother. DNA sequencing soon followed, and in 1987, the Argentine Congress passed a law establishing the Banco Nacional de Datos Genéticos (National Genetic Data Bank), dedicated exclusively to identifying Argentina’s missing children. To date, 127 stolen children have been identified, most of them based on DNA analysis. While tracing this history, the chapter explores the scientific, legal, and psychosocial challenges that have arisen during the Abuelas’ search for their missing grandchildren.

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 366
Author(s):  
Raisa Rodrigues Santos Rios ◽  
Maria Clara Alves Santarém ◽  
Karlos Antônio Lisboa Ribeiro Júnior ◽  
Breno Araujo de Melo ◽  
Sybelle Georgia Mesquita da Silva ◽  
...  

The species of the Culicoides genus are hematophagous, and some of them are vectors of important human and animal diseases. This group of insects is distributed worldwide, varying according to local species. Knowledge of the geographic distribution of specific species is crucial for the development and implementation of control strategies. The aim of this work was to investigate the occurrence of Culicoides in the state of Alagoas in northeast Brazil. Midges were captured with CDC light traps, and their identification and morphological analyses were performed by the Ceratopogonidae Collection of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ/CCER) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Morphological analyses were performed using the key to Culicoides from the guttatus group and comparison with other deposited specimens. DNA sequencing, genetic analysis and comparison with sequences in the Genbank database, confirmed the identification of the flies as Culicoides insignis. This was the first formal report of C. insignis being found in Alagoas.


1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (9) ◽  
pp. 1220-1230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soon-Chun Jeong ◽  
David D Myrold

Specificity between Ceanothus species and their microsymbionts, Frankia, were investigated with nodules collected from three geographically separated copopulations of Ceanothus species. Nodules were analyzed using DNA sequencing and repetitive sequence polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) techniques. DNA sequencing of the intergenic spacer region between 16S and 23S rRNA genes suggested that Ceanothus-microsymbiotic Frankia are closely related at the intraspecific level. Diversity of the microsymbionts was further analyzed by genomic fingerprinting using repetitive sequences and PCR. A newly designed direct repeat (DR) sequence and a BOX sequence were used as PCR primers after justification that these primers can generate Frankia-specific fingerprints from nodule DNA. Analysis of the nodules using BOX- and DR-PCR showed that Ceanothus-microsymbiotic Frankia exhibited less diversity within each copopulation than among copopulations. These data suggested that geographic separation plays a more important role for divergence of Ceanothus-microsymbiotic Frankia than host plant.Key words: Frankia, Ceanothus, rep-PCR, diversity.


2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meeghan E Gray

Infanticide by adult males occurs in a variety of species. While infanticidal attacks have been documented in several equid species in captivity, it has never been witnessed in free-roaming feral horses. I report an infanticide attempt by a free-living feral stallion on a recently born female foal. The stallion picked up the foal by the shoulders, tossed it around twice and bit in on the neck several times. The dam of the foal charged the stallion and successfully protected her foal from additional attacks. The foal survived the attack and later weaned successfully. The stallion recently took over the band and was excluded as the sire through genetic analysis. While this type of attack is rare, this case lends support to the sexual selection hypothesis and further demonstrates that equids have evolved with the risk of infanticide. Furthermore, it shows that maternal protectiveness can be successful against attacks by infanticidal males.


Author(s):  
Dara Hallinan

This chapter discusses the range of types of data which might be subject to genetic analysis to produce socially relevant information. These genetic data include raw genomic data as well as other types of data, such as phenotype data and inheritance data. Genetic analysis of these types of data is currently capable of producing a wide range of socially relevant information, including information concerning identity, genetic relationships, phenotype, health, and social and behavioural traits. It is not the case, however, that each type of genetic data can be subject to only one type of genetic analysis to produce only one type of socially relevant information. Rather, each type of genetic data, particularly genomic data, can be subject to multiple types of genetic analysis. Nor is it necessarily the case that genetic analyses produce socially relevant information which is completely accurate. Rather, the degree of accuracy of information will usually depend on multiple factors. The chapter then looks at the range of parties about whom socially significant information may be produced.


2016 ◽  
Vol 91 (5) ◽  
pp. 605-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.G.N. Santos ◽  
M. Chame ◽  
V.A. Chagas-Moutinho ◽  
C.P. Santos

AbstractOncicola venezuelensisMarteau, 1977 was found parasitizing adults ofLeopardus pardalis(Linnaeus) found dead in Serra da Capivara National Park, Piauí state, Brazil, a new geographical locality reported for the species. The diversity ofOncicolaTravassos, 1916 species is large, but genetic data are scarce. This article presents the results of genetic, morphological and ultrastructural studies carried out for taxonomic purposes. The first ultrastructural view showed a globular, short proboscis with 36 hooks, divided into six longitudinal rows of six hooks each. Hooks differ in size and shape: hooks I, II and III have a ‘chisel-shaped’ tip. The genetic profile included new sequences of ribosomal DNA ITS1, 5.8S and ITS2, and partial 28S rRNA regions. The results of maximum-likelihood tree analyses for each region showed Oligacanthorhynchidae Southwell et Macfie, 1925 close to Gigantorhynchidae Hamann, 1892 (supported >91%). Both use mammals and birds as definitive hosts. Morphological and ultrastructural studies combined with genetic analysis shed more light on the diversity ofOncicolaspecies.


1995 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 367-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil A. Holtzman

The Genetic Privacy Act (GPA) is a comprehensive effort to protect individuals from unauthorized analysis of their DNA and from unauthorized disclosure of information resulting from genetic analysis. Irrespective of merit, every bill must survive legislative scrutiny. This is a considerable challenge, particularly for a bill as complex and far-reaching as the GPA. To illustrate my point, I describe the fate of two bills introduced into the Maryland Senate in 1995 by Senator Jennie Forehand. The first, also entitled the Genetic Privacy Act (S. 645), was a slightly modified version of the model legislation prepared by Annas, Glantz, and Roche. After a hearing, the bill received a 9-2 unfavorable vote from the Economic and Environmental Affairs Committee. The second was a much shorter bill, DNA Testing – Informed Consent and Confidentiality (S. 707), which simply stated that “DNA analysis may only be performed with the informed consent of the person being analyzed” and that the results of such analysis “are the exclusive property of the person tested, are confidential, and may not be disclosed without the consent of the person being tested.” This bill had a hearing but was never put to a vote by the Judicial Proceedings Committee. My principal aim is to examine the testimony on these bills. I will conclude with some suggestions about accomplishing the goals of genetic privacy legislation.


2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-447
Author(s):  
Jonathan Nakane ◽  
David Broemeling ◽  
Roger Donaldson ◽  
Andre Marziali ◽  
Thomas D. Willis ◽  
...  

A large fraction of the cost of DNA sequencing and other DNA-analysis processes results from the reagent costs incurred during cycle sequencing or PCR. In particular, the high cost of the enzymes and dyes used in these processes often results in thermal cycling costs exceeding $0.50 per sample. In the case of high-throughput DNA sequencing, this is a significant and unnecessary expense. Improved detection efficiency of new sequencing instrumentation allows the reaction volumes for cycle sequencing to be scaled down to one-tenth of presently used volumes, resulting in at least a 10-fold decrease in the cost of this process. However, commercially available thermal cyclers and automated reaction setup devices have inherent design limitations which make handling volumes of <1 μL extremely difficult. In this paper, we describe a method for thermal cycling aimed at reliable, automated cycling of submicroliter reaction volumes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 1209-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Cardinale ◽  
Stefano Mariani ◽  
Joakim Hjelm

Abstract Svedäng et al. (2018) concluded that “the occurrence of locally spawned cod eggs suggests that spawning on the Swedish Skagerrak coast takes place, which belong to either a coastal subpopulation that is a remnant stock of a once much larger cod population, or a newly formed subpopulation that is now successfully inhabiting the coastal ecosystems along the Swedish Skagerrak coast”. However, after carefully reviewing the results and the data presented by the authors, we were no longer convinced that the information presented provided enough evidence for a local, distinct, coastal cod population in the Swedish Skagerrak. Thus, we requested the original genotype data, which the authors kindly provided to us. This allowed us to explore the substructure of these samples further using STRUCTURE 2.3.2. Re-analysis of the data consistently rejects the existence of an independent coastal Swedish stock in contrast with Svedäng et al. (2018) conclusions. We acknowledge the observation of cod spawning in the area but, based on re-analysis of the original genetic data of Svedäng et al. (2018), we currently lack the scientific basis to assume the existence of established local stocks, and even less the demographic expansion of an older, relict population in the area.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (5_suppl) ◽  
pp. 110-110
Author(s):  
Himisha Beltran ◽  
Kyung Park ◽  
Scott T. Tagawa ◽  
Roman Yelensky ◽  
Doron Lipson ◽  
...  

110 Background: NEPC is an aggressive and lethal variant of prostate cancer that most commonly arises from existing prostate adenocarcinoma (PCA). Little is known about the underlying biology of NEPC, as metastases are rarely biopsied. The purpose of this study is to determine the spectrum of somatic mutations in NEPC by using a novel DNA sequencing platform and to evaluate for targetable molecular alterations. Methods: 44 NEPC and mixed NEPC/PCA were evaluated and 77 high density foci of NEPC, PCA, and benign areas were selected for DNA extraction. Massively parallel sequencing via HiSeq2000 was performed using indexed seq libraries constructed by adapter ligation followed by hybridization with optimized capture probes. Data was processed using publicly available and newly validated software tools to make mutation assignments for base alterations, indels, and CNAs in 182 cancer associated genes and common sites of rearrangement for 15 genes. Results: 5/8 biopsies and 62/65 (overall 93%) of prostate foci yielded sufficient DNA (>50 ng) for analysis from 40m of FFPE tissue. Average median sequence coverage was 934x. TMPRSS2-ERG fusion was present in 28% of NEPC. Recurrent homozygous deletions involving PTEN and RB1 were seen, and 1 tumor with BRCA2 loss. Several high confidence non-synonymous mutations were identified including TP53 (40%), CTNNB1 (12%), and less frequently mutations involving PTEN, PIK3CA, AR, as well as other novel mutations/fusions. There was high concordance between NEPC and PCA foci in mixed tumors, as well as between primary tumor and metastases. High confidence lesions were validated with exome sequencing and FISH. Conclusions: This study shows feasibility of an in-depth DNA analysis using FFPE tissue, and even biopsy material. Comprehensive genome sequencing has nominated novel biologic pathways and provides insight into disease progression from PCA to NEPC, as well as potential new drug targets for a tumor that is currently lethal. This is a useful and comprehensive sequencing tool to evaluate tumors such as NEPC and other metastatic tumors, where obtaining tissue is challenging.


2014 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sona Jain ◽  
Giulia Marchioro ◽  
Lucyana Mendonça ◽  
Marcus Batista ◽  
Edilson Araujo

Abstract Propolis is produced by the honeybees by using resin and other plant secretions. Propolis from different geographical regions have different chemical compositions. This is because the chemical constituents of propolis depend on the vegetation surrounding the apiary. In this report we present a new approach using DNA barcoding for the identification of the botanical origin of propolis. Red propolis samples were collected at different times of the year from the state of Sergipe situated in Northeast Brazil. Extraction of the DNA from propolis was made using a CTA B method. Amplification was done using ITS 2 universal primers, followed by DNA sequencing. Sequence analysis confirmed the presence of Dalbergia ecastaphyllum in the Brazilian red propolis. Formononetin is a chemical marker for the Brazillian red propolis and D. ecastaphyllum. Propolis samples analysed by DNA sequencing, were also checked by Ultra-Fast Liquid Chromatography for the presence of formononetin. Peaks corresponding to formononetin were observed in all the analysed propolis samples. This is the first report of the botanical origin of propolis using DNA technology.


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