Khairul Abidin Nuar - My World

• Male-to-female transsexualism may in some cases be linked to a particular gene variant, according to a study published in the journal ‘Biological Psychiatry’.
• It is thought that the gene variant, discovered by researchers based at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, may reduce the binding of testosterone to cells, potentially resulting in ‘under masculinisation’ of the brain during fetal development, say the researchers.
• In the hunt for associated gene variants, the researchers analysed DNA from 112 male-to-female transsexual volunteers and compared this to DNA taken from 258 people with normal ‘gender identity’ - their sense of being either male or female. Although the gene identified is carried by everyone, the researchers found that a long version of the gene was slightly more common in transsexual men. Out of the group studied, 55 per cent of the transsexual men carried the long gene variant, compared to 50 per cent of the men with normal gender identity. The gene variant wasn’t carried by all the transexual men studied, suggesting that other environmental and genetic factors also play a part.
• It is hoped that the discovery may help to break down the belief that transexualism is caused by psychological factors in early childhood
• There is a social stigma that transsexualism is simply a lifestyle choice, however our findings support a biological basis of how gender identity develops,’ said study leader Associate Professor Vincent Harley, Head of Molecular Genetics at Prince Henry’s Institute.

Source : BioNews

• In Islam, the embryo is deemed a sacred entity.
• Although deemed sacred, Islam - in contrast to Christianity - does not regard the embryo as a person.
• According to Shiah jurisprudence, aborting fetuses at any stage during gestation is illegal but after ensoulment (determined either by the passing of 4 lunar months of gestation or even before this limit were voluntary movement to be acknowledged), aborting the fetus is no different to infanticide due to the presence of the rational soul.
• In Sunni jurisprudence, the Hanafi and Hanbali schools regard ensoulment as occurring at 120 days and hold that aborting the fetus before this stage is unethical, but not illegal (no fines sentenced).
• By contrast, according to the Shafi’i school , ensoulment arises at 40 days. Like the above two schools, aborting the fetus before the ensoulment stage is merely regarded unethical, but aborting post-ensoulment is considered illegal and open to tort.

Source : BioNews

A single adult stem cell from the prostate of a mouse can develop into an entire functional organ, scientists reported online in Nature. The finding proves that a population of stem cells exists in the adult prostate, as many have long suspected, and it could provide insight into how prostate cancer develops.

Unlike embryonic stem cells, which can potentially develop into any cell type in the body, adult stem cells are tissue-specific. Many organs are believed to house populations of adult stem cells, but in most cases their existence remains unproven. Known adult stem cells, however, can give rise to all the cell types that characterize the organs in which they’re found.

Continue reading MIT Technology Review

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the UK’s Medical Research Council (MRC) have signed an agreement that supports collaborations between the two countries.

Teams of scientists from the UK and California will now be able to file joint grant applications for funding into stem cell research, in an attempt to form international partnerships to amplify research. The MRC will fund the work carried out in Britain, and the CIRM will pay for work of the California team members. Similar agreements were announced in June between the CIRM and the Australian state of Victoria and Canada’s Cancer Stem Cell Consortium.

In the US, a ban was put on the federal funding of research using new stem cell lines in 2001 and funding is only given if the research meets a strict set of rules. California voters, however, approved $3 billion in bonds to support stem cell research four years ago and, since the CIRM was established in 2005, the institute has approved grants worth more than $614 million for research and laboratories.

Source : BioNews

The RCUK office will work with Indian-funding agencies to share strategies, increase dialogue on priorities and promote collaborative research opportunities. The office will be located at the British High Commission along with its Science and Innovation Network.

The top priority of the RCUK office would be to promote research to address key global issues such as food security, energy security, water security, and infectious diseases such as influenza.

In the food security sector, it would focus, among other things, on using the various tools of biotechnology to improve crop productivity and control plant diseases. Climate change studies would be undertaken to provide improved modelling for quicker time scales such as what kind of scenarios could be expected in 2030.

In the energy sector, the focus would include tapping of renewable energy sources such as solar energy.

Source : The Hindu

The new School Report Cards are part of wider changes to strengthen schools’ accountability to parents and the public, raise school standards, and reform pupil testing and assessment.

The current compulsory national tests at the end of Key Stage 3 will be replaced by improved classroom assessment by teachers and frequent reporting to parents in years 7, 8 and 9, with a stronger focus on one-to-one tuition and catch up support for children in the first years of secondary school.

Key Stage 2 tests are here to stay. They are essential to giving parents, teachers and the public the information they need about the progress of every primary age child and every primary school.

The reforms include:

• Compulsory national tests remain for 11 year olds at Key Stage 2; the Government will continue to pilot and evaluate new ‘single level’ tests as a potential alternative to tests at 11;
• Schools will prioritise Year 7 (age 11) pupils who are behind their peers for one-to-one tuition and other ‘catch-up’ support; the expert group is asked to advise on how best schools might formally assess, and report to parents, children’s progress in catching up during year 7;
• 14 year olds will no longer be required to sit Key Stage 3 tests, but will be assessed through ongoing teacher assessment throughout the key stage, with regular real-time reports to parents; teacher assessments at 14 will continue, as now, to be published at the national and local authority level;
• There will be a stronger focus on maintaining all pupils’ progress in the first years of secondary school, using Key Stage 2 test results and close tracking by teachers to spot and support children who are falling behind, or those who could achieve more;
• National-level sampling for Key Stage 3 will be developed so that standards at age 14 across the education system as a whole can be monitored;
• School Report Cards will bring together performance information in one place, and will help parents understand more clearly how well schools are supporting children’s progress and wellbeing. Alongside School Report Cards, the information currently published in achievement and attainment tables will continue to be available in an easily useable format.

Source : The UK’s Department for Children, Schools and Families

The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada launched a national brand for education designed to attract international students. This will facilitate prospective students access to important information regarding opportunities related to studying in Canada. The brand campaign — “Imagine” — conveys the message that a Canadian education opens the door to a world of opportunities, and serves as a springboard that will help these students realize their ambitions. CMEC News Release | Fact Sheet

Source : Academica Group

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

The launch is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.

One key objective will be to search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the Moon, especially at the poles.

Another will be to detect Helium 3, an isotope which is rare on Earth, but is sought to power nuclear fusion and could be a valuable source of energy in future.

Continue reading BBC News

What does it mean to protect ‘the sanctity of life?’ This is the question that for Hindus, as for those in other religious traditions, lies at the heart of debate on whether embryonic stem (ES) cell research is ethical.

The Hindu Vedas dictate that all life is sacred, including animal and plant life. It is this precept that lies at the heart of the Hindu doctrine of non-violence or ahimsa. We believe that respect for life is a prerequisite; by showing love to all creatures, all living things, we likewise show our love towards God, who is in all things. All things are God’s creation and therefore we must respect all of it, as we love all of God.

However, there is a paradox in this view. The law of nature rules that we must kill in order to survive. Human beings only live and continue to breathe by consuming the plant and, in most cases, the animal life around us. All of Creation works by taking one life for the survival of another.

The ancient Rishis, or divine sages, resolved this paradox by referring to the various stages of evolution of consciousness that we share. They believed plants were at the lowest level of consciousness. Animals then followed, and finally humans were placed at the top of the evolutionary tree. In creating this hierarchy, the Rishis ensured life itself was protected, but within the laws of creation. So, what really matters is that we protect the highest level of consciousness even if we have to kill the lower levels in order to do so.

In Hinduism the soul passes through many species - one ancient scripture suggests as many as 8.4 million species - until it finally evolves to the highest level consciousness, in the form of a human being. It is this human birth that can then bring about salvation from the cycle of rebirth and finally end up with God.

Source : BioNews

The ‘Antibodypedia’ is a wiki-based web portal that allows users to share information about antibodies along with raw data from western blots, immunohistochemistry, protein array and immunofluorescence.

It is the realization that antibodies rarely come in one-size-fits-all-applications that pushed Mathias Uhlén and Erik Björling at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm to develop Antibodypedia (http://www.antibodypedia.org/). “Each antibody should be validated in a specific application, in as standardized a way as possible, and all these data should be shared with the research community,” says Uhlén. “This is what we tried to achieve with this Antibodypedia.”

Source : Nature Signaling Gateway