| 1. |
- Carver, Rebecca Bruu, et al.
(author)
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Young Adults' Belief in Genetic Determinism, and Knowledge and Attitudes towards Modern Genetics and Genomics : The PUGGS Questionnaire
- 2017
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In: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 12:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In this paper we present the development and validation a comprehensive questionnaire to assess college students' knowledge about modern genetics and genomics, their belief in genetic determinism, and their attitudes towards applications of modern genetics and genomic-based technologies. Written in everyday language with minimal jargon, the Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics (PUGGS) questionnaire is intended for use in research on science education and public understanding of science, as a means to investigate relationships between knowledge, determinism and attitudes about modern genetics, which are to date little understood. We developed a set of core ideas and initial items from reviewing the scientific literature on genetics and previous studies on public and student knowledge and attitudes about genetics. Seventeen international experts from different fields (e.g., genetics, education, philosophy of science) reviewed the initial items and their feedback was used to revise the questionnaire. We validated the questionnaire in two pilot tests with samples of university freshmen students. The final questionnaire contains 45 items, including both multiple choice and Likert scale response formats. Cronbach alpha showed good reliability for each section of the questionnaire. In conclusion, the PUGGS questionnaire is a reliable tool for investigating public understanding and attitudes towards modern genetics and genomic-based technologies.
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| 3. |
- Gericke, Niklas, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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Exploring Relationships Among Belief in Genetic Determinism, Genetics Knowledge, and Social Factors
- 2017
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In: Science & Education. - : Springer. - 0926-7220 .- 1573-1901. ; 26:10, s. 1223-1259
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genetic determinism can be described as the attribution of the formation of traits to genes, where genes are ascribed more causal power than what scientific consensus suggests. Belief in genetic determinism is an educational problem because it contradicts scientific knowledge, and is a societal problem because it has the potential to foster intolerant attitudes such as racism and prejudice against sexual orientation. In this article, we begin by investigating the very nature of belief in genetic determinism. Then, we investigate whether knowledge of genetics and genomics is associated with beliefs in genetic determinism. Finally, we explore the extent to which social factors such as gender, education, and religiosity are associated with genetic determinism. Methodologically, we gathered and analyzed data on beliefs in genetic determinism, knowledge of genetics and genomics, and social variables using the "Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics" (PUGGS) instrument. Our analyses of PUGGS responses from a sample of Brazilian university freshmen undergraduates indicated that (1) belief in genetic determinism was best characterized as a construct built up by two dimensions or belief systems: beliefs concerning social traits and beliefs concerning biological traits; (2) levels of belief in genetic determination of social traits were low, which contradicts prior work; (3) associations between knowledge of genetics and genomics and levels of belief in genetic determinism were low; and (4) social factors such as age and religiosity had stronger associations with beliefs in genetic determinism than knowledge. Although our study design precludes causal inferences, our results raise questions about whether enhancing genetic literacy will decrease or prevent beliefs in genetic determinism.
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| 4. |
- Gericke, Niklas, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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Investigating the relationship between beliefs in genetic determinism as related to knowledge in genetics and genomics
- 2018
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genetic determinism can be described as the attribution of the formation of traits to genes, where genes are ascribed more causal power than what scientific consensus suggests. This belief is especially problematic when it engenders intolerant attitudes such as racism and prejudice against sexual orientation. The rationale for this is a naturalistic fallacy in genetic deterministic discourse, assuming that what is natural (in this case genetically predetermined) is inherently good or right.In this study we investigate the relationship between belief in genetic determinism and knowledge of genetics and genomics. The aim is to examine whether knowledge in genetics and genomics can counteract the development of beliefs in genetic determinism. From a scientific point of view there has long been awareness that the description of the gene as an active agent determining phenotypic traits by itself is a ‘strawman model’ used in genetic studies as an instrumental model focusing on the genetic factor ignoring environmental factors. Moreover, in the last decades the development of genomics and epigenetics has reinforced the notion of gene action as probabilistic and mutually interdependent with the environment through gene activity regulatory processes, further reducing the understanding of genes as sole active agents in the construction of phenotypes. Hence, one can conjecture that knowledge in modern genetics and genomics counteracts beliefs in the excessive power of genes and, thus, beliefs in genetic determinism.We gathered and analyzed statistically data by means of a newly developed questionnaire instrument, “Public Understanding and Attitudes towards Genetics and Genomics” (PUGGS), applied to a group of 427 Brazilian freshmen university students. The results shows no correlations between belief in genetic determinism and knowledge in genetics and genomics. Hence, this study does not give empirical support for the argument that enhancing genetic literacy can prevent genetic deterministic beliefs. There were however indications that social factors (age and religiousness) may have importance for the formation of genetic deterministic beliefs.The result also shows that belief in genetic determinism is a complex construct that seems to differentiate into two constructs or belief systems: a belief in social traits and a belief in biological traits. The study did not give any support for the existence of widespread beliefs in genetic determination of social traits. This is an unexpected result, which contradicts much of what has been suggested in the literature.
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| 5. |
- LeDuc, Richard D., et al.
(author)
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Proteomics Standards Initiative's ProForma 2.0 : Unifying the Encoding of Proteoforms and Peptidoforms br
- 2022
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In: Journal of Proteome Research. - : American Chemical Society (ACS). - 1535-3893 .- 1535-3907. ; 21:4, s. 1189-1195
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- It is important for the proteomics community to have a standardizedmanner to represent all possible variations of a protein or peptide primary sequence,including natural, chemically induced, and artifactual modifications. The HumanProteome Organization Proteomics Standards Initiative in collaboration with severalmembers of the Consortium for Top-Down Proteomics (CTDP) has developed astandard notation called ProForma 2.0, which is a substantial extension of the originalProForma notation developed by the CTDP. ProForma 2.0 aims to unify therepresentation of proteoforms and peptidoforms. ProForma 2.0 supports use casesneeded for bottom-up and middle-/top-down proteomics approaches and allows theencoding of highly modified proteins and peptides using a human- and machine-readable string. ProForma 2.0 can be used to represent protein modifications in a specified or ambiguous location, designated bymass shifts, chemical formulas, or controlled vocabulary terms, including cross-links (natural and chemical) and atomic isotopes.Notational conventions are based on public controlled vocabularies and ontologies. The most up-to-date full specification documentand information about software implementations are available athttp://psidev.info/proforma.
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| 6. |
- Peacock, Christopher S, et al.
(author)
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Comparative genomic analysis of three Leishmania species that cause diverse human disease.
- 2007
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 39:7, s. 839-847
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Leishmania parasites cause a broad spectrum of clinical disease. Here we report the sequencing of the genomes of two species of Leishmania: Leishmania infantum and Leishmania braziliensis. The comparison of these sequences with the published genome of Leishmania major reveals marked conservation of synteny and identifies only 200 genes with a differential distribution between the three species. L. braziliensis, contrary to Leishmania species examined so far, possesses components of a putative RNA-mediated interference pathway, telomere-associated transposable elements and spliced leader–associated SLACS retrotransposons. We show that pseudogene formation and gene loss are the principal forces shaping the different genomes. Genes that are differentially distributed between the species encode proteins implicated in host-pathogen interactions and parasite survival in the macrophage.
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