The intricate debate over genetically modified organisms (GMOs) involves powerful economic interests, as well as ethical, legal, emotional and scientific aspects, some of which are dealt with in this paper.(It is possible to identify two main groups of scientists across the GMOs divide: the triumphalist and the critical group.) Scientists in the triumphalist group state that GMOs and their derivatives are safe for the environment and do not offer health hazards any more than similar, non-genetically modified, products. This view is disputed by the critical scientists, who are prompted by the scarcity of studies on the environmental impacts and toxicity of GMOs, and who point out flaws in tests performed by the same companies which hold the patents. They are also critical of the current state of the process of gene transference, lacking accuracy, a fact which, coupled with the scant knowledge available about 97% of the genome functions, may produce unforseeable effects with risks for the environment and public health yet to be assessed. Examples of such effects are: the transference of alien genes [??] to other species, the emergence of toxins, the creation of new viruses, the impacts on beneficial insects and on biodiversity in general.
SummaryData are reported about the occurrence of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G-6-PDD) and abnormal hemoglobins in a sample (316 males and 679 females) of the Negroid population of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The prevalence of double carriers (AS/G-6-PDD) was that expected from the isolated incidence of both anomalies. A review of the literature shows similar results for 3491 males and 289 females from African and American Negroid groups both from areas with and without malaria. Therefore there seem to exist no grounds for postulating an adaptive interaction between these two polymorphisms.
SummaryStudies on the glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity of erythrocytes from 416 males and 820 females are reported. The total number of deficient males (intermediate + complete) varied from 3.9% among the whites (102 persons) to 15.1% among Dark Mulattoes (99 individuals); the incidence in the Negroid sample in general (316 persons) was 12.4%. The data obtained among the women were utilized to study problems of penetrance of the G-6-PDD genes. Results obtained in both sexes were employed to verify, unsuccessfully, possible selection differentials through age analysis and the comparison of the gene incidences of people affected with minor ailments and controls. Problems of gene flow analysis in populations like this one in which the “Negro” and “White” forms of the deficiency are present were stressed.
Interview with chemist and geneticist Flávio Lewgoy, who was also an expert criminal and environmental investigator. Lewgoy was at the center of important struggles for human health and environmental quality in Rio Grande do Sul, and was one of the people behind state (1982) and federal (1989) laws governing pesticide use. He believed he had a duty to use scientific knowledge to support his positions on environmental activism and saw this activity as an ethical commitment, a way of paying back society for the education he received in public institutions.
Summary
Incipient sexual isolation between two strains of D. metanogaster was tested by male choice experiments. During ten years (150 generations) one strain, named Se, was reared in a food medium containing 10‐‐4 M sodium selenite, while the other, named Co, was kept under normal conditions. Both strains were derived from the same natural population. There was no evidence of preference for a mate of the same strain. There was an interaction between type of female and duration of time available for mating. Se males inseminated fewer females and fewer Se females were inseminated overall.
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