¿Aplicar la ética, aplacar la ética, o aplicarse en ética? una visión crítica de la ética ambiental en cuanto ética aplicada / Applying ethics, placating ethics, or applying ourselves to ethics? a critical view of environmental ethics as applied ethics

Existe hoy en día una tendencia generalizada a considerar la ética ambiental y la bioética como casos específicos relativos a una supuesta especie de "ética aplicada". La aplicación puede entenderse en dos sentidos diferentes: un sentido concreto, como en las aplicaciones técnicas, y un significado psicológico, como cuando nos aplicamos mentalmente en hacer bien una tarea. La ética se ha pensado siempre como un conocimiento práctico, en un sentido "práxico" y no en uno "poiético". La ética tiene que ver con "fines", no con "medios"; en este sentido la ética es "inútil". Dado que la ética tiene que ver con el sentido último de las cosas, las opciones éticas dan sentido a todas las actividades prácticas. En ese sentido la ética, en lugar de ser inútil, debe considerarse como "supra-útil" (Maritain). Hoy en día la política tiende a instrumentalizar la ética para objetivos políticos. La consecuencia ha sido la reconceptualización de una ética específica como ética aplicada. La ética ambiental y la bioética son sometidas a la política, siguiendo la lógica de aplicaciones técnicas. La ética ambiental y la bioética, consideradas como éticas aplicadas están en riesgo de convertirse no sólo en inútiles, sino también en algo que, en tanto que éticas, carece de sentido

There is actually a pervasive tendency to consider environmental ethics and bioethics as specific cases pertaining to a supposed kind of "applied ethics". Application can be understood in two different meanings: a concrete sense, as in technical applications, and a psychological meaning, as when we mentally apply ourselves to a task. Ethics has been always thought as a practical knowledge, in a "praxical" sense and not in a "poietic" one. Ethics has to do with "ends" not with "means"; in this sense ethics is "useless". Since ethics has to do with the ultimate meaning of things, ethical choices give meaning to all practical activities. In that sense ethics instead of being useless must be considered as "over useful2 (Maritain). Nowadays politics tend to instrumentalize ethics in order to political objectives. The consequence has been the reconceptualization of specific ethics as applied ethics. Environmental ethics and bioethics are then submitted to politics following the logic of technical applications. Environmental ethics and bioethics considered as applied ethics are at risk to becoming not only useless, but also meaningless

[Applying Ethics, Placating Ethics, or Applying ourselves to Ethics? A Critical View of Environmental Ethics as Applied Ethics]. / ¿Aplicar La Ética, Aplacar La Ética, o Aplicarse en Ética? Una Visión Crítica de la Ética Ambiental en cuanto Ética Aplicada.

There is actually a pervasive tendency to consider environmental ethics and bioethics as specific cases pertaining to a supposed kind of ″applied ethics″. Application can be understood in two different meanings: a concrete sense, as in technical applications, and a psychological meaning, as when we mentally apply ourselves to a task. Ethics has been always thought as a practical knowledge, in a ″praxical″ sense and not in a ″poietic″ one. Ethics has to do with ″ends″ not with ″means″; in this sense ethics is ″useless″. Since ethics has to do with the ultimate meaning of things, ethical choices give meaning to all practical activities. In that sense ethics instead of being useless must be considered as ″over-useful″ (Maritain). Nowadays politics tend to instrumentalize ethics in order to political objectives. The consequence has been the reconceptualization of specific ethics as applied ethics. Environmental ethics and bioethics are then submitted to politics following the logic of technical applications. Environmental ethics and bioethics considered as applied ethics are at risk to becoming not only useless, but also meaningless.

Bioética web

Bioética en la web es una plataforma que surge en el año 2001 con el objetivo de facilitar información y el diálogo sobre temas de bioética.Trata los temas de bioética en animales, básica, en la sociedad, demografía, ecología, enfermedades, el enfermo y la sociedad, final de la vida, fundamentación ética, generalidades, genética, inicio de la vida, legislaciones, sexualidad y textos religiosos.Brina información sobre actividades de formación en bioética, libros, diccionarios y videos en la web. Además de consejos sobre cómo publicar, la wiki y el blog.

Chromosomal mapping of the major and minor ribosomal genes, (GATA)n and (TTAGGG)n by one-color and double-color FISH in the toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus (Teleostei: Batrachoididae).

The karyotype of Halobatrachus didactylus presents 46 chromosomes, composed of eight metacentric, 18 submetacentric, four subtelocentric, and 16 acrocentric chromosomes. The results of FISH showed that the major ribosomal genes were located in the terminal position of the short arm of a large submetacentric chromosome. They also showed a high variation in the hybridization signals. The products of amplification of 5S rDNA produced bands of about 420 pb. The PCR labeled products showed hybridization signals in the subcentromeric position of the long arm of a submetacentric chromosome of medium size. Double-color FISH indicated that the two ribosomal families are not co-located since they hybridized in different chromosomal pairs. Telomeres of all the chromosomes hybridized with the (TTAGGG)n probe. The GATA probe displayed a strong signal in the long arm of a submetacentric chromosome of medium size, in the subcentromeric position. The double-color FISH showed that the microsatellite GATA and the 5S rDNA gene are located in different chromosomal pairs. The majority presence of GATA probes in one pair of chromosomes is unusual and considering its distribution through different taxa it could be due to evolutionary mechanisms of heterochromatine accumulation, leading to the formation of differentiated sex chromosomes.

Cytogenetic characterization of the sole Solea senegalensis (Teleostei: Pleuronectiformes: Soleidae): Ag-NOR, (GATA)n, (TTAGGG)n and ribosomal genes by one-color and two-color FISH.

A cytogenetic analysis of the sole Solea senegalensis was carried out using silver staining for the nucleolus organizer region (Ag-NOR) identification, one-color FISH for chromosomal mapping of 45S and 5S ribosomal DNAs (rDNAs), (GATA)n, and (TTAGGG)n, and two-color FISH for co-localization of both rDNAs. The Ag-NORs and the 45S rDNA were mapped to a medium-sized submetacentric chromosomal pair. Hybridization with the 5S rDNA showed a major signal on the short arm of a medium-sized submetacentric chromosome pair and a minor signal on a centromeric site of a small acrocentric chromosome pair. Differences in the Ag-NOR and 45S and 5S rDNAs FISH signal sizes were observed between homologous chromosomes and among individuals. A two-color FISH co-localized 45S and 5S rDNAs to a medium-sized submetacentric chromosomal pair. The hybridization with the telomeric (TTAGGG)n repeat displayed small signals at all chromosomal telomeres. Finally, the (GATA)n probe produced dispersed and small hybridization signals on all chromosome spreads, showing its ubiquitous existence in the genome. These results were compared with those from other Pleuronectiformes and discussed in terms of karyotype evolution.

Molecular characterization and chromosomal mapping of the 5S rRNA gene in Solea senegalensis: a new linkage to the U1, U2, and U5 small nuclear RNA genes.

Some units of the 5S rDNA of Solea senegalensis were amplified by PCR and sequenced. Three main PCR products (227, 441, and 2166 bp) were identified. The 227- and 441-bp fragments were characterized by highly divergent nontranscribed spacer sequences (referred to as NTS-I and NTS-II) that were 109 and 324 bp long, respectively, yet their coding sequences were nearly identical. The 2166-bp 5S rDNA unit was composed of two 5S rRNA genes separated by NTS-I and followed by a 1721-bp spacer containing the U2, U5, and U1 small nuclear RNA genes (snRNAs). They were inverted and arranged in the transcriptional direction opposite that of the 5S rRNA gene. This simultaneous linkage of 3 different snRNAs had never been observed before. The PCR products were used as probes in fluorescence in situ hybridization experiments to locate the corresponding loci on the chromosomes of S. senegalensis. A major 5S rDNA chromosomal site was located along most of the short arm of a submetacentric pair, while a minor site was detected near the centromeric region of an acrocentric pair.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization of rDNA, telomeric (TTAGGG)n and (GATA)n repeats in the red abalone Haliotis rufescens (Archaeogastropoda: Haliotidae).

The physical location of 18S-5.8S-28S rDNA, telomeric sequences with (TTAGGG)n DNA probe and (GATA)n microsatellites were performed by fluorescence in situ hybridization in chromosomes of red abalone Haliotis rufescens. The karyotype of red abalone showed a diploid number of 36 (8M+9SM+1ST). FISH performed with rDNA probe, showed the location of major ribosomal clusters in the terminal region of the large arms of two submetacentric pairs (chromosome 4 and 5). Localization of heteromorphisms of FISH-rDNA was found between chromosome homologues and sister chromatids in all metaphases analyzed. This indicates that rDNA clusters are variable within the red abalone genome. The variability in the NOR-bearing reported using silver staining in other gastropods and our result are discussed. In addition, the presence of microsatellite (TTAGGG)n and (GATA)n was demonstrated after FISH treatment by DNA probes. The telomeric sequence occurred at the ends of all mitotic chromosomes, while the (GATA)n repetitive was found on chromosomal interstitial zones as well as at the telomeres in abalone chromosomes.

The 'whole-animal approach' as a heuristic principle in neuroscience research.

Neuroscience embraces a heterogeneous group of disciplines. A conceptual framework that allows a better articulation of these different theoretical and experimental perspectives is needed. A 'whole-animal approach is proposed as a theoretical and hermeneutic tool. To illustrate the potential of this point of view, an overview of the research that has been performed in the extinction of fear-conditioned responses from Pavlov to the present is discussed. This is an example of how a whole-animal-based approach may help to organize and integrate basic and clinical neuroscience research. Our proposal is in agreement with recent statements calling for more integrative approaches in biological and neuropsychiatric research.

The 'whole-animal approach' as a heuristic principle in neuroscience research

Neuroscience embraces a heterogeneous group of disciplines. A conceptual framework that allows a better articulation of these different theoretical and experimental perspectives is needed. A `whole-animal approach' is proposed as a theoretical and hermeneutic tool. To illustrate the potential of this point of view, an overview of the research that has been performed in the extinction of fear-conditioned responses from Pavlov to the present is discussed. This is an example of how a whole-animal-based approach may help to organize and integrate basic and clinical neuroscience research. Our proposal is in agreement with recent statements calling for more integrative approaches in biological and neuropsychiatric research.

La relación médico-paciente y el problema de la mercantilización de la medicina / The psycsician-patient relations and the problem of the commercialization of medicine

La medicina moderna, llamada científica, se encuentra hoy en día sometida a diversos cambios y, por lo mismo, a múltiples exigencias que provienen de las transformaciones culturales de la sociedad y que se trasuntan en criterios de tipo comercial, económico o administrativo que pretenden regularla. Algunos han pretendido que se trata de visualizar la figura del médico como "doble agente": por una parte, su papel tradicional como agente de salud y, por la otra, su nuevo papel de asignador de recursos humanos y financieros en el dinamismo económico de las nuevas técnicas y medios con los que cuenta la profesión. Sin embargo, muchos médicos critican esa interpretación, argumentando que el segundo aspecto mencionado no es de su competencia y que modificar o limitar su accionar, basándose en estas consiedraciones, constituiría una suerte de traición para sus enfermos. La actividad médica, como todas las actividades humanas posee una dimensión propia y específica, y una multitud de dimensiones accidentales. Tener una mayor conciencia de la dimensión económica del actuar profesional puede y quizá debe - en la hora actual - ser estimulada en los médicos. Lo anterior, sin embargo, no hace del médico un doble, triple o cuádruple agente, ya que la relación médico paciente es esencialmente una relación de ayuda entre personas y no una venta de servicios, y los aspectos económicos son adyacentes a esa realidad y no pueden superponerse a ella

Jaime Alvarez and the case against slow axoplasmic transport: some epistemological reflections

The 'slow axoplasmic transport theory' has been the prevailing view over the last forty years in order to explain the metabolic maintenance of neuronal axons and nerve endings. A significant amount of evidence against this theoretic interpretation of the existing experimental data has been presented by J. Alvarez, A. Giuditta and E. Koenig in an exhaustive review. They propose an alternative theoretical interpretation called the 'local synthesis model', integrating recent evidence for axon biology and regeneration. We present some epistemological considerations that reinforce the above criticisms and propositions.

Biophilosophical and epistemological problems in the study of living beings: reflections on the views of Humberto Maturana

Theories on the nature of living beings have been present in our culture since the beginnings of science and philosophy in ancient Greece. The two major theoretical approaches to living beings, philosophical mechanism and Aristotelian realism, appear today with renewed force in almost every confrontation concerning the theoretical considerations of life. In recent times a strong and prolific school of thought has risen, headed by the Chilean neurobiologist Humberto Maturana. This author and his school have developed a complex and articulated theoretical system beginning with a theory of living beings and a 'biology of cognition, and extending to ethical, political, and even metaphysical considerations. This work is one of the first efforts to perform a scholarly analysis of Maturana's doctrines on living beings, starting with the analysis of On machines and living beings. The book's introduction is placed under scrutiny in this paper. A strongly mechanist philosophical manifesto is dogmatically stated at the beginning of a supposedly purely scientific approach. The challenges for a rational foundation of philosophical mechanism are critically highlighted and briefly discussed.

Desafíos éticos de la técnica biomédica contemporánea / Ethical challenges of the contemporary biomedical technique

El surgimiento de una preocupación ética apremiante en la medicina moderna se encuentra en estrecha relación con el desarrollo moderno de la técnica. Se esbozan en este trabajo tres de los principales problemas planteados por ella. 1)La dificultad inherente a toda obra humana para poder predecir a priori y de modo exhaustivo la aparición de efectos colaterales deletéreos. 2)La necesidad de poner en práctica criterios éticos para discernir las prioridades en la implementación y financiamiento de nuevas técnicas. 3)La dificultad para percibir los límites de la intervención técnica cuando es el hombre mismo el objeto de su aplicación. SE ejemplifica este punto con lo que está ocurriendo en la actualidad en relación con la manipulación embrionaria