Single-cell antisense RNA amplification and microarray analysis as a tool for studying neurological degeneration and restoration

Neurodegenerative diseases typically affect subpopulations of neurons. Characterizing these vulnerable cells and identifying the factors that make them susceptible to damage while neighboring cells remain resistant are essential to the understanding of molecular pathogenesis that underlies neurodegenerative diseases. Classically, molecular analysis of the central nervous system involves the identification and isolation of an anatomic region of interest; next, the relevant tissue is pulverized, and the resulting homogenate is analyzed. Although this method provides useful data, its effectiveness diminishes when used in areas of high cellular diversity or in instances in which one cell type is lost as a consequence of selective cell death or quiescence. A technique that affords the ability to assess molecular events in a very precise anatomical site would provide a powerful tool for this research discipline. In this review, we discuss the amplification of messenger RNA from single neural cells and the subsequent use of the RNA to probe DNA microarrays in an effort to create cell-specific molecular profiles. Specifically, recent work in single-cell expression profiling in Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases is discussed. We also review some new work with neural stem cells and their application to restorative neurobiology. Finally, we discuss the use of cell-specific molecular profiles to better understand the basics of neuronal cell biology.     

Distinctive features of age-specific fertility profiles in the English-speaking world: common patterns in Australia,Canada, New Zealand and the United States, 1970-98

The paper seeks to identify common features in the fertility patterns of the English-speaking world and provide a model basis for comparison of fertility between countries and over time. Attention is focused on the heterogeneity within the fertility patterns of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, similar to that reported earlier for the UK and the Irish Republic. The recent age-specific fertility patterns of these countries display a marked 'bulge' in fertility of women under age 25. A mixture model with two-component Hadwiger functions provides a suitable fit. The heterogeneity thus suggested is related to the proportion of births outside marriage. Additionally, there is some evidence that, in the United States, and lesser extent in New Zealand, this heterogeneity in fertility patterns may be explained by ethnic difference in the timing and number of births.     

A special section for correspondence and controversy

This paper gives crude estimates of the environmental consequences associated with the birth of one baby in the United States. We calculate the magnitude of one hundred environmental impacts which one American born today will cause over a lifetime. The impacts are grouped under five headings: waste generation, mineral consumption, energy consumption, ecosystem alteration, and food consumption. We also consider, but do not quantify, impacts on extinctions of species and indigenous cultures. Our purpose is to emphasize the role of population growth in the creation of environmental problems, and to make potential parents aware of their ability to impact the global environment. We conclude that one especially effective way for individuals to protect the national and global environment, and hence protect the wellbeing of all existing people, is to stop creating more humans.     

Media Coverage of Hazard Events: Analyzing the Assumptions*

Despite the widespread conviction that the mass media tend to “blow risks out of proportion,” the question has received little systematic attention. The mass-media literature also presents the opposite argument, namely that the media minimize the kinds of reporting that might upset large-scale capitalistic industries. Still other perspectives hold, on the one hand, that media reports tend to have more subtle anti-technology effects, created by “even-handed” coverage and on the other hand, that reporters give “establishment” figures the opportunity to “keynote” or “put the facts in perspective” in ways that exert a subtly pro-technology effect. Drawing on a systematic sample of 128 hazard events developed by researchers at another university and factually summarized by Lexis -Nexis , we analyze the effects of emotionalism on actual levels of coverage; a variety of analyses show that the only variables to exert significant effects are those that involve objective information, such as the number of casualties or the level of damage created. Given the argument that the effects of emotionalism can be conveyed in ways that are largely independent of the facts, e.g., by headlines, photographs, and “loaded” words, we next compare the emotionalism conveyed by factual summaries vs. the original stories and headlines. Even for incidents involving nuclear and/or toxic hazards, we find the net effect of the full stories is to lessen the emotionalism. Overall, the hypothesis receiving strongest support is that the “keynoting” helps create an overall impression that the “responsible authorities” are acting more responsibly than might be assumed on the basis of factual summaries alone. The widespread impression within the technical community, while understandable, may well have as much to do with the selective perceptions of scientists and engineers as with the actual pattern of media reporting.     

A TEST FOR THE EFFECT OF CONFORMITY ON CRIME RATES USING VOTER TURNOUT

Using voter turnout to measure conformity, this article examines whether conformity with social norms moderates the crime rate in the United States at the state and county levels. If people are fairly consistent in their response to the perceived local degree of conformity with norms about voting and against crime, analysis predicts a unique quadratic relationship between reported crime rates and voter turnout. A pooled multivariate regression analysis of state crime rates for several index crimes in 1960, 1970, and 1980 confirms the predicted relationship, as do county-level analyses of the violent crime rate in 1985 and 1991. This method might also be used to assess the effect of social conformity on other social choices.