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BIOETHICS DICTIONARY - "C"s
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CADAVER:
A dead body.
CADAVER TRANSPLANTS:
Transplants of tissue derived froma cadaver. (See also ORGAN DONATION,
ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION) (DM)
CADAVERIC:
Adj., tissue derived from a dead body/tissue/foetus. (JA)
CAESARIAN:
(Latin
Caesar lex
'Caesar's law'). The surgical removal of a fetus
through an incision in the pregnant woman's abdominal tissue
and uterine wall. In the first labor, the most common reason for
caesarean delivery is when the fetus is too large or the pelvis
too small for a safe vaginal delivery (a condition known as cephalopelvic
disproportion). The second most common reason is fetal distress
and abnormal presentation, such as breech and transverse lie. Although
the risk of caesarean delivery increases slightly with each procedure,
it is considered that there is no limit to the number a woman can
undergo. (DM+IP).
CAFFEINE:
(Arabic
qahwah
"coffee") a bitter crystalline alkaloid drug, C8H10N4O2.H2O,
obtained from coffee, tea, some cola beverages, chocolate and certain
stimulant pharmaceuticals. Caffeine - the most consumed drug in
the world - is a central nervous stimulant and can be prescribed
to counteract migraine, drowsiness and mental fatigue. It should
be used with caution in individuals with heart disease and peptic
ulcer and avoided or reduced to no more than the equivalent of 1-2
cups of brewed coffee per day when trying to conceive and during
pregnancy. Concerns about adverse effects on health have increased
the popularity of decaffeinated coffee or DECAF. (IP)
CALCULUS:
The branch of mathematics that deals with the differentiation and
integration of functions; for example, calculus can be used to find
the rate at which the velocity of a body is changing with time at
a particular instant, or in reverse process finding the end result
of known continuous change. (IP)
CALORIE:
(Latin
calor
'warmth') A unit of energy approximately equal to 4.2
joules. The small calorie (cal) is defined as the amount of energy
needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree
Celsius at atmospheric pressure. A kilocalorie (Cal) - also called
large or great calorie - is defined as the amount of energy needed
to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree
Celsius at atmospheric pressure and is the unit used to denote the
heat expenditure of an organism, and the energy value of food. It
should be noted, however, that since the specific thermal capacity
of water changes with temperature, these definitions are not strictly
accurate. (IP)
CANCER:
(Latin
kan'ser
'crab') is not a single disease, but many different diseases
with a common characteristic - abnormal growth, division and proliferation
of cells which, given time, metastasize (spread) from their site
of origin to distant parts of the body. The transformation of normal
cells to cancerous cells is believed to reside in alterations in
DNA but many potential causes are recognized with the mechanism
of action not clearly understood. A mass of cells growing independently
of their previous function is called a tumor or neoplasm. Not all
neoplasms are malignant (cancerous) as some tumors are benign but
not necessarily risk-free. There are many causes of cancer apart
from the general wear and tear of cells due to aging. Prominent
are chemical carcinogens such as tobacco smoke, industrial carcinogens
such as asbestos, ionizing radiation which can induce leukemia and
thyroid cancer, and viruses such as the hepatitis B virus which
is associated with liver cancer and the human papilloma virus associated
with cancer of the cervix. Typically, cancer is a disease of the
elderly, however, lung and breast cancer among younger women is
on the increase. Cancer is not inevitably fatal if identified and
treated early. (See METASTASIS; TUMOUR NECROSIS FACTOR) (IP)
CANE TOAD:
The large South American toad
Bufo marinus
. A failed example of biological control, the cane toad was introduced
into north-eastern Australia as a predator of sugarcane pests, but
became a more significant pest in its own right. The range of the
toad is now from the mid-NSW coast to the Kakadu World Heritage
Area, competing for habitat with native frogs and causing predators
to be poisoned. (See BIOLOGICAL CONTROL) (MP)
CANNABIS:
(Greek:
kannabis
"hemp"). The hemp plants
Cannabis sativa
and
Cannabis indica,
or their flowering buds and leaves. Hemp fibers are a multi-purpose
material useful for the production of a broad range of products.
The exuded resin, dried flowers and leaves are used to produce the
drugs hashish (purified extract) and marijuana - popular for their
euphoric effects. (See HEMP, MARIJUANA, HASHISH, DOPE, THC) (IP)
CANOPY:
The uppermost layers of foliage and branches of the trees in a forest
community, especially in the tropical rainforest where they join
to form a continuous habitat with a large specialized biodiversity.
(See TROPICAL RAINFOREST) (MP)
CAPACITY BUILDING:
A term widely used in humanitarian international development and
reconstruction, ‘capacity building’ refers to the grcapacity
for selfmic support, to security and good governance. (See PEACE
BUILDING, DEVELOPMENT, FOURTH WORLD, MINORITY GROUP, EMPOWERMENT)
(MP)
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT:
The killing (e.g. by hanging, electrocution, lethal injection or
shooting) of a convicted criminal. A significant number of countries
have by now outlawed capital punishment and those which still practise
it use it for fewer crimes, often only murder, than was once the
case. Often cited intrinsic arguments against capital punishment
include the assertion that only God has the right to take human
life. However, in some societies a significant proportion of people
don't believe in God, and, anyway, many religions permit people
to be killed in certain circumstances, e.g. in war. One intrinsic
argument in favour of capital punishment is that the right punishment
for certain crimes - e.g. murder, treason or piracy - is to forfeit
one's life. There are also consequentialist arguments both
for and against capital punishment. Indeed, much of the information
that would be needed to reach a rigorous consequentialist conclusion
is uncertain. For example, does capital punishment act as a significant
deterrent to crime and how often is the wrong person killed under
capital punishment? (MR)
CAPITALISM:
Capitalism is any economic system in which people make money out
of other people's labour. It is generally the goal of capitalists
to make as much money as possible by paying the labourer just a
little less than one needs to support a family. But labour movements
have forced employers, under threat of strikes, sometimes violent,
to be more generous in their salaries. It used to be thought that
socialism was the opposite of capitalism. But deeper analyses (such
as by movements like the Industrial Workers of the World) pointed
out that the leaders of socialist communities or societies are also
living off the work of others, but calling themselves "leaders"
or "managers" or "statesmen" rather than "capitalists".
(FL)
CARBON:
Sixth
ELEMENT
(q.v.) in the Periodic Table. Along with hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen
and a few other elements, carbon is an essential constituent of
all known life. Chemicals with more than just one or two carbon
atoms are said to be 'organic'. All other chemicals are
inorganic. (MR)
CARBON-BASED ELECTRONICS:
See MOLECULAR ELECTRONICS.
CARBON CHEMISTRY:
See ORGANIC CHEMISTRY.
CARBON CREDITS:
See ENVIRONMENTAL COMPENSATION, GLOBAL WARMING.
CARBON CYCLE:
The redistribution of carbon between organisms and the atmospheric,
oceanic and terrestrial compartments. The cycle is primarily driven
by the action of biological processes such as the removal of carbon
from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and its return to the
atmosphere during respiration. Human utilization of fossil fuels
such as oil, natural gas and coal, have resulted in carbon dioxide
being produced and released into the atmosphere faster than it is
being removed by living organisms. (see CARBON, GREENHOUSE EFFECT,
NITROGEN CYCLE, PHOSPHORUS CYCLE) (MP)
CARBON DATING:
See RADIOCARBON DATING.
CARBON DIOXIDE:
(Chemical formula CO2;
Latin
carbo
'coal' + Greek
dis
'twice' and
oxys
'sharp'). A colorless, odorless gas produced naturally
by the complete oxidation of carbon. It occurs in the atmosphere
0.03% and is found in solution in sea-water and rivers. CO2
plays an essential part in metabolism and ecosystem stability -
a waste product of cellular respiration (carbohydrate and fat metabolism)
utilized by plants during photosynthesis. That is, plants absorb
carbon dioxide to obtain the carbon needed to build their tissues
while plants and animals expel the gas as a product of food oxidation.
In its solid form (dry ice) it is used in the treatment of some
skin conditions. It is also used in fire-extinguishers, aerated
water and in the bakery industry where bubbles of carbon dioxide
liberated by yeast (or baking powder) in the dough lightens the
dough rendering it more palatable. (See PHOTOSYNTHESIS, RESPIRATION,
CARBON FIXATION, GLOBAL WARMING, GREENHOUSE EFFECT) (IP)
CARCINOGEN:
Substance that causes or increases the risks of developing cancer.
(See
CANCER)
(DM)
CARDINAL NUMBERS:
Whole numbers such as 1, 2, 3 ... that are used for counting or
for specifying the total number of items. (IP)
CARDINAL VIRTUES:
The traditionally primary virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude
and temperance. (See VIRTUES) (MP)
CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE:
(Greek
kardia
'heart'). Any abnormal condition characterized by the
dysfunction of the heart or blood vessels such as arteriosclerosis,
rheumatic heart disease and systemic hypertension. In affluent western
societies such as the USA and Australia, cardiovascular disease
is the leading cause of death. (See STRESS; DISEASES OF ADAPTATION;
GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME) (SG2+IP)
CARING:
With the rise of
VIRTUE ETHICS
(q.v.) a caring person is increasingly recognised in ethics as a
particular instance of a good person. Caring is not to be equated
with
BENEFICENCE
(q.v.), having a more relational quality to it.
FEMINISM
(q.v.) has seen caring as a central human virtue yet one that has
traditionally been undervalued both in academic ethics in particular
and in patriarchal societies more widely. It has been strongly argued
that caring is central to such professions as nursing and teaching.
(MR)
CARRIER:
Someone who may transmit a
recessive
genetic condition but who normally does not show any evidence of
the disease (DM). It is possible to distinguish two types of carriers,
sex-linked and autosomal carriers. In the first case, only women
are carriers, and may transmit the disease gene to either sex of
her children, but only boys will be affected in a ratio of 1 in
2 (50% chance). In the second case, if both parents are carriers
of a mutant gene, any child has a chance of 1 in 4 (25%) to suffer
the disease (GK).
CARRIER TESTING:
Used to detect individuals who possess a single copy of a gene which
follows an autosomal recessive pattern of inheritance. Such an individual
will not normally develop any disease or disorder but may pass on
the gene to his or her offspring.
CARRYING CAPACITY:
Carrying capacity (represented by the symbol K in ecology) is the
maximum population density able to be sustained by an environment
for a prolonged period of time without causing lasting damage or
degradation. The concept also has applications to human ecology,
for example in international development, food production or ecotourism
management. (See SUSTAINABILITY, LIMITS OF ACCEPTABLE CHANGE) (MP)
CARSON, RACHEL:
(1907-1964). Biologist and writer whose 1962 book
Silent Spring
has widely been hailed as heralding the environmental movement in
the West. Carson initially specialised in English but her ambition
to become a writer was initially overcome by her interest in natural
history. For much of her working life she was genetic biologist
and then editor-in-chief for the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In
Silent Spring
Carson presciently argued that chemical pollution, particularly
through the widespread use of agricultural pesticides, was both
killing wildlife and upsetting the balance of nature.
(MR)
CARTEGENA PROTOCOL OF THE BIODIVERSITY
CONVENTION:
Ratified by fifty countries, this international treaty came into
force on 11 September, 2003. It regulates the inter-country transfer
of LMOs and GMOs. (DM)
CASUISTRY:
A method of ethical analysis that emphasizes practical problem-solving
through examining individual cases that are considered to be representative.
(DM)
CATALYST:
1. A chemical which remains unchanged but acts to initiate or increase
the rate of a chemical or biological reaction. 2. More generally,
a catalyst may be any substance, course of action or idea which
initiates or increases the efficiency of any process of change.
(See ENZYME) (MP)
CATHEKONIC ETHIC:
A philosophical principle that deals with the relationship between
parts and the whole. (JA)
CATHOLIC:
Universal. So, strictly, the Catholic Church is either the whole
body of Christians or the whole Christian Church before it separated
into the Greek (Eastern) and Latin (Western) branches. In practice,
though, the Catholic Church is widely understood as the Roman Catholic
Church, namely that part of the Latin Church which remained under
Roman authority after the Reformation. Roman Catholic theology has
been and remains important in much medical ethics, for example with
regard to the
PRINCIPLE OF DOUBLE EFFECT
(q.v.) and such issues as
ABORTION
(q.v.),
CONTRACEPTION
(q.v.) and
EUTHANASIA
(q.v.), with Roman Catholic teaching being strongly and consistently
against all three. (MR)
CAUCASIAN:
a term once used to describe an appearance including light skin
and straight light to brown hair; that is, generally meaning of
European descent. (See RACE; RACISM) (SG2)
CAUSATION:
An interaction which produces or brings something about, pertaining
to the cause and effect relation. Causes have consequences; affects
have effects; act-contact-impact over time. Causation implies a
pre-impact
necessary connection
and
constant conjunction
. Correlation or logical necessity may not necessarily indicate
causation. Many things have a plurality of causes, the multitude
of which leads to ‘ultimate’ causation and the freedom/determinism
debate. (See CORRELATION, AFFECT, EFFECT, PROOF, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT)
(MP)
CBD: see CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY (JA)
CELL:
The smallest component of life. Biological component of tissue -
contains nucleus and cytoplasm (protoplasm). A membrane-bound protoplasmic
body capable of carrying on all essential life processes. A single
cell unit is a complex collection of molecules with many different
activities all integrated to form a functioning, self-assembling,
self-regulating, and self-reproducing biological unit. (DM)
CELL CULTURE:
The propagation of cells removed from multicellular organisms in
a laboratory environment that has strict sterility, temperature,
and nutrient requirements. (DM)
CELL FUSION:
The joining of the membrane of two cells, thus creating a single
hybrid cell that contains nuclear matter from both the parent cells.
(DM)
CELL HYBRIDIZATION:
artificial formation of living cells through hi-tech biotechnological
process of genetic manipulation and recombination technology and
by the fusion of two or more cells by means of techniques that do
not occur naturally. (JA)
CELL SUSPENSION:
Made by cutting bits of tissues when shaken in liquid nutrient medium
forms a single cell or clusters of cell suspension and having similar
property as that of adult plant/animal. (JA)
CELSIUS DEGREE (°C):
(Swedish scientist Anders Celsius, 1701-1744). A unit of temperature
difference equal to one hundredths of the difference between the
temperatures of freezing and boiling water at one atmosphere pressure.
On the Celsius scale water freezes at 0°C and boils at 100°C. Also
called centigrade. (See FAHRENHEIT, TEMPERATURE) (IP)
CELLULAR AUTOMATA:
Software ‘organisms’ which emictable programs ‘with
a life of their own’ which have biological analogues such as
heredity, fecundity, symbiosis, and the rapid evolution of complexity.
(See GENETIC ALGORITHMS, ARTIFICIAL LIFE, ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS)
(MP)
CELLULAR TRANSPLANTATION:
Experimental transfer of cellular body components Eg. Blood transfusion,
bone marrow /pancreatic islet cells. (JA)
CENSUS:
1. Statistics: a census is a survey which investigates every member
of a statistical population to determine its parameters. 2. Sociology:
a government- sponsored obligatory survey of all individuals in
a country or region. Early censuses (from 1801 in Britain) were
in the form of simple head-counts, but today census forms ask for
a wide range of personal and household information. Privacy and
trust issues make it preferable that the census be anonymous. Census
data may be disaggregated to provide localized political, academic
and market research. Social statistics are an important resource
for investigating trends in social well being, stratification and
sustainability. (MP)
CENTIGRADE:
See CELCIUS DEGREE (°C).
CENTENARIAN:
A person who has reached the age of one hundred years. (See LIFE
EXTENSION) (MP)
CENTIMORGAN:
A unit of measure of genetic recombination frequency. One centimorgan
is equal to a 1 percent chance that a genetic locus will be separated
from a marker due to recombination in a single generation. In human
beings, 1 centimorgan is equivalent, on average, to 1 million base
pairs. The recombination frequencies between two loci on a chromosome
are not the same in both sexes, and may be quite different from
one chromosomal region to the other. Therefore, genetic distances
measured in centimorgans are just an approximate measure of the
physical distance as measured in base pair units. (DM+GK)
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM (CNS):
The major coordinating components of the nervous system and associated
nerve cords, normally including the cerebral ganglia (brain) and
ventral nerve (spinal cord). (See BRAIN, NEURON, AUTONOMIC NERVOUS
SYSTEM) (MP)
CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU):
The central 'brain' of the computer, able to perform logical
and mathematical operations on data and control the execution of
programming instructions. (See COMPUTER, MICROCHIP) (MP)
CENTRAL TENDENCY:
See MEASURES OF CENTRAL TENDENCY.
CENTRE FOR ASIAN AND INTERNATIONAL BIOETHICS:
A centre under the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University
of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.. The Centre conducts cross-cultural
research into the foundations of ethics in Israeli and other Asian
countries. It conducts a Mother and Child Health Education project,
for Dalit (q.v.) village mothers in India, in cooperation with the
Dalit Liberation Education Trust, and the Delta School of Nursing,
Kadalure, Tamil-Nadu. The project began with the help of Mashav,
the Department of International Cooperation of the Israeli Foreign
Ministry. The Centre is preparing similar projects for other locations
in developing countries. (FL)
CENTRIC:
Adj. Mode of living in line with the centrality given to a concept/person.
See CENTRISM. (JA)
CENTRISM:
A model of concentric importance, giving a centrality of living/placing
an object/person/concept a central guiding force, other life activities
are determined/controlled/regulated in terms of such a centrality
of living. Eg. Theocentrism (God centred), biocentrism (life), ecocentrism
(green technology), Anthropocentrism (human), webcentrism (computer).
(JA)
CENTROMERE:
The small
junction area
between the two arms of a chromosome. (DM+GK)
CERES:
Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies.
CEPH-GENETHON (Centre d"_tude des
polymorphismes humains):
French cell and DNA bank keeping a collection of DNA samples and
immortalized cell lines from 58 Caucasian family donors. The families
representing the panel have large kindred (6 children) and 4 living
grand-parents, accounting for 1.212 meiosis. It has also developed
a high density microsatellite physical map for each human chromosome,
suitable for linkage analyses. (GK)
CEPHALOPODA:
Members of the mollusc class Cephalopoda include the nautilus, cuttlefish,
squid and of course the octopus, generally considered to possess
the greatest intelligence of invertebrate organisms. (See MOLLUSCA)
(MP)
CERVIX:
(Latin
cervix
"neck") that part of the uterus that protrudes into the
cavity of the vagina - also called the "neck of uterus".
Cancer of the cervix is a major cause of death among women. (see
CERVICAL CANCER; CERVICAL MUCUS; OVULATION METHOD OF FAMILY PLANNING)
(IP)
CERVICAL CANCER:
a neoplasm (abnormal development of cells that may be benign or
malignant) of the uterine cervix that can be detected in the early,
curable stage by the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear test. If left untreated
cervical cancer invades the adjacent tissues and organs and eventually
metastasizes through lymphatic dispersal. Carcinoma
in situ
, on the other hand, may be easily treated by excision or cryosurgery.
Factors, which may be associated with the development of cervical
cancer, are coitus at an early age, relations with many sexual partners,
genital herpesvirus infections, multiparty, and poor obstetric and
gynecologic care. (see PAP SMEAR TEST) (IP)
CERVICAL MUCUS:
a secretion of the lining of the upper portion of the cervical canal
of the uterus. The mucus" consistency and appearance changes
throughout the menstrual cycle. Around the time of ovulation, the
volume of mucus increases and becomes thin, clear elastic, and easily
penetrable by sperm; during the infertile periods of the menstrual
cycle the mucus is thick and less penetrable to bacteria and sperm.
The cervical-mucus method of birth-control is based on the detection
of this change in the vaginal mucus in order to avoid intercourse
during the likely fertile period. (IP)
CESAREAN: see
CAESARIAN.
CHAKRABARTY VS DIAMOND CASE:
The famous Diamond V Chakrabarty case in 1980 deals with the patenting
of a genetically modified “ crude oil eating” bacterium.
The Se in nature and has the potential for significant utility value
in environmental protection and cleaning. (JA)
CHAIN REACTION:
A self-sustaining series of reactions, in particular those of nuclear
fission in which the particles released by one nucleus trigger the
fission of at least as many further nuclei. (See CRITICAL MASS,
CHINA SYNDROME, RADIOACTIVITY, NUCLEAR FISSION) (MP)
CHANGE:
See TIME, PROCESSES.
CHAOS THEORY:
The notion in the natural sciences that a very small change in a
system may have massive, unpredictable consequences. Memorably summed
up by the 'Butterfly effect' in which it is possible,
though of course, not certain, that the beating of a butterfly's
wings in one part of the world may lead, a few weeks later, to a
storm thousands of miles away. The indeterminacy of
Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle
(q.v.) and chaos theory effectively ended belief in a Newtonian,
determinate world-view in which an accurate description of a system
allows its future to be predicted absolutely. Nowadays, for example,
scientists predict that however accurate our measuring instruments
and powerful our computers we will never be able to predict local
weather variations more than a couple of weeks ahead. (MR)
CHARACTER:
One set of symbols such as a letter, number, punctuation mark or
symbol that can be represented in a computer. A character is stored
and manipulated in the computer as a group of bits. (See BYTE) (IP)
CHASTITY BELT:
a lock-and-key device said to be worn by some women in the Middle
Ages to cover their genitals to prevent sexual intercourse during
their husband's absence in battle etc. Similar devices have
been discovered in the Caucasus and among the Cheyenne First Nation
people in America. The use, if indeed they were made use of, of
these devices epitomizes negative societal attitudes towards women
by emphasizing their belonging - property of - another. (IP)
CHEMICAL POLLUTION:
See POLLUTION.
CHEMISTRY:
The study of the states, reactions, and products of elements and
compounds. (RW)
CHEMOSYNTHESIS:
The formation or synthesis of organic nutritive substances in plants
or animals by the use of energy derived from simple chemical reactions.
For example, anaerobic bacteria such as the methanogens which live
within the decaying sediments of bogs and marshes and produce methane
gas. (See ANAEROBE, PHOTOSYNTHESIS) (MP)
CHEMOTAXIS:
the process whereby bacteria that possess flagellae for propulsion
sense a concentration gradient of a chemical substance in the medium
and move either toward or away from it (see TAXIS). (IP)
CHEMOTHERAPY:
the treatment of diseases with chemical agents. The procedure involves
the exploitation of biochemical differences between the disease
process and the host tissue in order to interfere selectively with
the disease process; for example, in selectively destroying cancer
cells. Modern biochemical pharmacology is based on designing specific
inhibitors targeted to discriminate against a metabolic process
that is specific to the pathological condition. (IP)
CHERNOBYL:
A city in the Soviet Republic of Byelorussia and the site of the
world’s most disastrous nuclear accident in April 1986. The
nuclear energy red radiation-related ailments such as endocrine/immune
system problems and birth defects. (See CHINA SYNDROME, NUCLEAR
FISSION, RADIOACTIVITY, THREE MILE ISLAND, BHOPAL) (MP)
CHI-SQUARE TEST:
A measure of how well a theoretical probability distribution fits
a set of data. The test is typically used in analyzing experimental
data with standard normal distributions. (See ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE,
SCIENTIFIC METHOD, STATISTIC) (IP)
CHILD ABUSE:
physical, sexual, or emotional mistreatment of an infant or child
by any adult or adults. Major therapeutic and statutory concerns
are identifying dysfunctional family members, friends or relatives
and the children at risk. A duty of care falls on any individual
who is confronted with children with obvious physical signs (the
"battered-child syndrome") such as burns, welts, bruises,
frequent physical mishaps/fractures, suspected sexual molestation,
or signs of emotional distress and overall failure to thrive. Characteristically,
abuse may be seen as the final behavioral consequence of multiple
factors compounded by a variety of stressful circumstances; such
as drug abuse, lack of emotional support within the family unit
or lack of nurturing experience, possibly by victims of child abuse
themselves. Child Sexual Abuse is the involvement of dependent,
developmentally immature children and adolescents in sexual activities
to which they are unable to give informed consent, and which violate
the social taboos of family responsibilities. Despite recent insights,
there still remain a large number of uncertainties and confusions
surrounding child abuse. To some degree, this may be due to the
particular protection society affords to "family business"
and problems adults have in dealing with sexuality in themselves
and in children. Additionally the area of child abuse is difficult
to research objectively because it raises issues about power, secrecy,
shame and guilt. (See ABUSE;
elder abuse
; DRUG ABUSE) (IP)
CHILD NEGLECT:
See CHILD ABUSE.
CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE:
See CHILD ABUSE.
CHILDREN:
In the US it is the age designation for humans 2-12 years old.
(DM)
CHILDREN WARRIORS:
See CHILD ABUSE, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.
CHIMERA:
An organism formed by the aggregation of cells taken from different
genotypes. Chimeric embryos may occur naturally or artificially.
An inter-species chimera is when the cells are from different species.
Combination of unrelated species, ancient mythical gods with human-lion,
human horse, human monkey, human-elephant head combinations in Hindu
and Greek mythology. Insertion of foreign animal genes in plant/human
in a particular species. Cell fusion of two species, Sheep-goat
resulting in a Geep. See GEEP. Ethical
questions include - is it a sheep with pig genes, or is it a sheep
or a pig? What percentage determines a species in transgenic? Is
a human body with a pig head human or a pig? It dilutes the concept
of speciation. (DM, JA)
CHINA SYNDROME:
A term used to describe a catastrophic nuclear energy reactor core
meltdown, in which the radioactive fuel would melt unstoppably into
the earth, colloquially “all the way to China”. Chernobyl
was a ho (See CHERNOBYL, THREE MILE ISLAND, NUCLEAR FISSION, CHAIN
REACTION) (MP)
CHINDOGU:
A Japanese word for those practically useless consumer goods which
are nevertheless commonly produced and purchased by the wealthy
as a result of the temptations of glossy advertising. Chindogu may
include novelty items, unwanted gifts, technological gizmos and
other wasted resources. (See CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION) (MP)
CHLORDANE:
Chlordane, also known as Octachlor, is a dangerous chlorinated hydrocarbon
pesticide, one of the 'dirty dozen' persistent organic
pollutants. (See PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS) (MP)
CHLORINATED HYDROCARBONS:
Persistent organic pollutants including DDT, Dieldrin, Aldrin, Endrin
and Chlordane used as pesticides but today maligned and phased out
across much of the world because of their medical/ecological impacts
such as toxicity and bioaccumulation. (See PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS)
(MP)
CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS OR CFCs:
Volatile compounds commonly known as "Freons". The chemicals
have been used in association with refrigerant fluids, solvents,
aerosol propellants and blowing agents in the fabrication of foam
plastics. Their extraordinarily high stability enables them to persist
in the atmosphere and to enter the stratosphere where they are the
major culprit in ozone layer depletion (see OZONE HOLE). Lag times
before the effects of human-driven change emerge can often be long;
for example, CFCs released into the atmosphere now will damage the
ozone layer in thirty to eighty years time, risking a false sense
of safety. (IP)
CHLOROPLAST:
Those structures within plant cells where photosynthesis occurs.
They contain small
circular
DNA molecules that replicate independently of the nucleus.
(DM)
CHOICE:
See SCIENCE OF CHOICE.
CHORDATA:
The bilaterally symmetrical animal phylum characterized by the presence
of a flexible, rod-like notochord during at least some stage of
development. The notochord serves as the main internal structural
element in primitive chordates, but develops into a true backbone
in others, such as the Vertebrata. (RW)
CHORIONIC VILLI:
Finger-like projections growing from the external surface of the
chorion that contribute to the formation of the placenta. (DM)
CHORIONIC VILLUS SAMPLING (CVS):
The procedure used in prenatal diagnosis to take a small sample
of the chorionic villi for testing, such as genetic screening. (DM)
CHRIST, JESUS:
Central figure of the Christian faith, understood in a unique way
as God's Son and, along with God the Father and the Holy Spirit,
as one of the Trinity. Seen by some other faiths as a great prophet.
(MR)
CHRISTIAN ETHICS:
System of belief about right and wrong actions and attitudes derived
from, or at least strongly influenced by, Christianity (faith in
Jesus, the Christ as the one son of God). Much Christian ethics
derives from scripture, so discussions / disagreements among Christians
about such matters as divorce often cite particular verses in the
bible that deal with the issue. Many of today’s ethical issues,
of course, lack much or any specific scriptural reference –
e.g. genetic engineering, euthanasia, cloning, and the conservation
of endangered species. Christian ethicists typically still draw
on more general scriptural principles – e.g. about the place
of God in creation, and stewardship – as well as reason and
tradition when debating such issues. (MR)
CHRISTIANS:
The disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ were called Christians in
the city of Antioch (Bible. Acts. 11:26). Their life style was so
unique that King Agrippa replied St Paul " Do you think that
in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian"
(Acts. 21:28). Till about 300 AD, Christians were persecuted (1
Peter 4:16) like the people living in Cappadocia (now in Turkey).
Although there are two major divisions, namely Protestants and Roman
Catholics, these groups are not found in the Bible, there are now
many sects among Christians, which are based on minor doctrinal
differences. (JA)
CHROMOSOMAL ABNORMALITIES:
Congential disorders or genetic mutations involving changes in the
number and structure of chromosomes. (see DOWN'S SYNDROME,
XYY KARYOTYPE) (DM)
CHROMOSOMAL DISORDERS:
See CHROMOSOME ABNORMALITIES.
CHROMOSOME:
chromo (clor) soma (body), stains with basic dyes. Specific to each
species. A structure that lies inside a cell's nucleus. A chromosome
is composed mainly of DNA. Each normal cell of the human body has
23 pairs of chromosomes.
The organelle found in which they are found is the nucleus, containing
DNA 23 pairs in human being. (See KARYOTYPE, AUTOSOME) (JA)
CHRONICALLY ILL:
See CHRONIC DISEASE, CRITICALLY ILL, DISABLED, REHABILITATION, TERMINALLY
ILL.
CHRONOCENTRISM:
(From the Greek "chrono-"= time + center+ ism)
A belief or viewpoint which holds that a particular time period
is better than others, and that the society which lives in that
time period is superior to societies which live/d in other time
periods. During the 20th century, many new terms were coined to
acknowledge the growing awareness that being self-focused (either
as an individual or as a group) has negative aspects, and that there
are multiple viewpoints and perspectives that need to be recognised.
The terms "racism", "sexism", "antisemitism",
and "ageism" demonstrate examples of discrimination applied
to certain groups of people, based upon the conditions of their
birth, whether gender, ethnicity, race or religion are a factor.
The coining of "ageism" also shows awareness of a person's
age and how that affects the way that person is viewed in society.
There is also recognition of the problem of discrimination of people
with disabilities of various sorts. However, there is another subtle
form of self-centered thinking, which has not been acknowledged
with a special term, and this is why the term "chronocentrism"
is being offered.
It is difficult to claim that chronocentrism
is a form of discrimination in the usual sense of the word. The
reason is that generally chronocentrism is applied towards people
who are not currently alive. Chronocentrism is not quite the same
as discrimination against people who were born earlier, and thus
lived their formative years in a different societal and technological
setting. It is also not quite the same as discrimination applied
towards a traditional society that is considered "backward".
In both cases, the discrimination is applied to people, and the
negative attitude towards those people's ideas is given as
the reason for the discrimination. However, in the case of chronocentrism,
the negative attitude is applied to a society, rather than towards
a particular person. That society is held to be "inferior"
to one's own. In some ways, this parallels negative attitudes
towards foreign societies that are contemporary with one's
own. However, in the case of chronocentrism, the negative attitude
is applied even towards one's own society of a different time
period. While this does not have a direct affect on a particular
human being, it can have affect on a large number of people, because
chronocentrism is directed at the values and lifestyle of society.
Derivative forms include "chronocentric" for an adjectival
form, "chronocentrist"- "one who practices chronocentrism".
(AG)
CHU HSI:
(pinyin spelling Zhu Xi) (1130-1200) Confucian scholar and philosopher.
His most influential work included commentary of the classical Confucian
texts. Zhu Xi's interpretations became the official interpretation
of Confucian texts, and so, his commentaries exerted considerable
influence on Chinese thought for centuries. (AG)
CHUANG TZU:
Chinese philosopher (c.369-286 BCE). The work which bears his name,
the Chuang Tzu, is one of the key philosophical texts of Taoism
along with the Tao Te Ching. (See TAOISM, TAO TE CHING, LAO TSE)
(MP)
CIA:
Central Intelligence Agency (U.S.).
CIESIN:
Center for International Earth Science Information Network (US).
CIGUATERA:
food item that is not toxic in itself becomes toxic due to contamination
- bacterial/toxic diatoms/heavy metals. (JA)
CILIA:
Short hair-like structures on a cell or microorganism, the movement
of which aids mobility of the cell and transfer of materials across
its surface. (See FLAGELLA) (MP)
CIRCUMCISION, MALE:
Practiced for religious reasons by Jews and Muslims, and for medical
reasons to a large extent in the United States and Canada. Reviews
conducted by committees of the Canadian Pediatric Society and the
American Medical Association acknowledged some benefits of the operation
for reducing sexually transmitted disease, penile cancer and neonatal
urinary tract infections. But they also noted dangers of surgical
error and complications. Both the benefits and the risks are statistically
small, and they are close to equal. So both committees recommended
against routine medical neonatal circumcision. Their reports were
published, however, before more recent research suggesting that
circumcision may protect against AIDS because receptors for the
HIV virus are located on the inner side of the foreskin and at the
point where the foreskin is attached to the penis.
There is a debate in Jewish tradition between
those who believe, with Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Saadia Gaon, that
circumcision improves the baby by removing an unnecessary piece
of skin, and those who believe, with Maimonides (q.v.) that nature
never does anything unnecessarily, and that whatever nature does
routinely (as opposed to mutations) is for the good of health. Maimonides
believed that the foreskin performs a perfectly healthy function,
contributing to pleasure and erectile Function, and that Jews are
commanded to remove it in order to reduce sexual pleasure to no
more than is needed to perform the Biblical commandment to be fruitful
and multiply. There are religious Jewish movements today, associated
with Reform Judaism, who want to do away with infant circumcision.
(FL)
CIRCUMCISION, FEMALE:
See FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION.
CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE:
Common-sense notion of indirect information that suggests the most
likely explanation for some event. For example, if a gun shot is
heard from a room with only one entrance/exit and I then walk out
and others then find a dead woman in the room, there is circumstantial
evidence that I killed her. Of course, it could be that she killed
herself, that I shot her but she was already dead, etc. (MR)
CITES:
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE:
An individual or community action which, although is in violation
of the law, acts as an expression of personal or ideological values
and a democratic plea for legal change. Examples include ‘Reclaim
the Streets’ for pedestrians and the ‘Mardi Grass’ for
advocates of pot decriminalization. (See CRITICAL MASS, RECLAIM
THE STREETS, MARDI GRASS, ACTIVISM, NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION) (MP)
CJD:
see CREUZFELDT-JABOB DISEASE.
CLAIRVOYANCE:
(French: "clear-seeing") The clairvoyant is a person who
claims, without apparent sensory means, awareness of events occurring
at a distance or the ability to foretell future events. (See EXTRA-SENSORY
PERCEPTION, TELEPATHY, PRECOGNITION) (MP)
CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS:
A popular term emphasizing the role of inter-civilizational differences
as one of the causes of wars, cold war and international tension,
for example contrasts between the dominant religious/political/ideological
systems of the Sinic, Islamic and Western civilizations. Popularized
by Samuel Huntington's 1997 book of the same name, the clash
of civilizations hypothesis experienced a revival after the 2001
terrorist attacks upon America. Although a useful basis for peace
research and the search for common philosophical ground, care should
be taken not to promote the concept of a divided world. Such generalizations
should not ignore the positive international effects of multiculturalism,
trade, travel and human diversity, nor the fact that civilizational
differences are often merely used as an excuse to justify war -
the true underlying reasons for war usually more directly involve
power, territory, resources and/or economics. (See CIVILIZATION,
WESTERN CIVILIZATION) (MP)
CLASS:
(Latin:
classis
"rank") 1. Sociology: A division or classification of
people by economic, cultural or social ranking, or containing members
sharing common attributes. Social rank, economic stratum and cultural
caste may be useful classifications for understanding socioeconomic
systems, but should be broken down to bring people together rather
than emphasizing difference and encouraging prejudice. (See CASTE
SYSTEM) 2. Biology: The taxonomic classification of organisms below
the phylum, and containing one or more orders. For example Class
Reptilia, or Class Mammalia which includes humans. (MP)
CLASSICAL MECHANICS:
A system of mechanics that is based on Newton's laws of motion;
that is, the laws of bodies acted on by forces. Einstein's
theory of relativity and Planck's quantum theory are not taken
into account. Classical mechanics is essentially experimental and
its laws are based in intuitive deduction. (See NEWTON, SIR ISAAC,
NEWTON'S LAWS OF MOTION, QUANTUM THEORY, RELATIVITY THEORY)
(IP)
CLAUSEWITZ, CARL VON:
Prussian-born military officer and strategist Carl von Clausewitz
(1780-1831) was the author of
On War,
considered one of the definitive collections of insights on the
subject. Although his work has negligible emphasis on morality or
war ethics, its contributions to the theory and nature of war include
valuable insights. Clausewitz argues that politics is the source
and objective of war, which is mere "continuation of policy
by other means". (See INSTITUTION OF WAR) (MP)
CLEAN PRODUCTION:
A worldwide movement towards greener production practices, 'cleaner
production' (or 'clean production', emphasizing the
shift towards zero impacts) includes efforts towards the minimization
of resource use, ecological disruption, social impacts, industrial
emissions and wasteful products or processes. (MP)
CLEAVAGE:
The stage of cell division that takes place immediately after fertilization
and that lasts until the cells begin to segregate and differentiate
and to develop into a blastocyst. (IP)
CLIA 88:
Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment of 1988 by the FDA, prescribing
federal regulations in genetic testing.
CLIMATE:
Conditions of temperature, rainfall, humidity, etc. in a region.
Of little ethical concern until in recent years when it has been
realised that climate can be affected by human actions, as, for
example, in GLOBAL WARMING (q.v.).
(MR)
CLIMATE CHANGE:
See GREENHOUSE EFFECT, GLOBAL WARMING.
CLINICAL ETHICS:
The identification, analysis, and resolution of moral problems that
arise in the care of individual patients. (DM)
CLINICAL ETHICS COMMITTEES:
Institutional committees established to protect the welfare of patients.
(See ETHICS COMMITTEES) (DM)
CLINICAL TRIALS:
A general term for attempts to make testing of new drugs as scientific
as possible. Clinical trials are the central method for applying
the ideal of "Evidence Based Medicine", i.e. allowing
into the physician's pharmacopoeia and clinical repertoire
only those drugs and techniques which have been scientifically proved
to be safe and effective. This is still far from reality, however,
as it is generally understood that the majority of treatments in
use today are still based upon the collective experience of the
profession, and not on scientific evidence. Also, controlled clinical
trials of surgical techniques lag far behind those of drugs.
After a new drug is studied in vitro and
with animal subjects (a bioethical issue in itself) controlled clinical
trials are performed on human subjects, ideally with the free informed
consent of the patient, although this is problematic in pediatric,
psychiatric and geriatric medicine. Trials are "controlled"
in that the test group may be compared with a group which receives
no treatment, or with a group receiving an existing treatment, or
with a group receiving a placebo. The most recent version of the
Helsinki Declaration (q.v.) however, recommends using an existing
treatment for comparison rather than a placebo. The bioethical reason
is that patients may find that their only hope for cure is to enter
a trial and take a risk of getting the placebo rather than the real
treatment. This would be a form of coercion. Trials are also supposed
to be "double blind" in the sense that both the physician
and the patient are not supposed to know who is getting the treatment
and who is getting the placebo.
Clinical trials are usually sponsored by
the corporation which has invested in developing the drug, and which
hopes to eventually make a profit. This can lead to many bioethical
problems. For example, there is little uniformity among contracts
between drug companies and physician-researchers, but some have
clauses forbidding the physician to divulge to a third party or
to publish information learned during the conduct of the trial,
unless the drug company gives permission. A physician, whose first
loyalty must be to one's patients, and to patients in general,
has a bioethical dilemma when one has concluded that the drug is
detrimental to the patients, but the drug company is slow about
giving permission to publish this information. By the time the drug
company gets around to giving permission, some patients can be hurt.
Physicians who have seen their loyalty to their patients, and their
academic freedom to publish data which can prevent future harm to
patients, as more important than their contract with the drug company,
have not always been supported by their hospitals and universities.
(FL)
CLINICAL TRIALS, INFORMED CONSENT IN PEDIATRIC,
PSYCHIATRIC AND GERIATRIC:
The requirement for freely-given informed consent becomes problematic
when the patient is incapable of clearly understanding and freely
assenting, or when the patient's competence is on the borderline.
Such cases may be more the rule than the exceptions in hospitals,
where even the most sane, intelligent and well-informed patients
may be in pain, in fear and under great emotional pressure. These
problems are amplified when the patient is a baby, or mentally ill
or a geriatric patient in or close to dementia, or when the patient
is in coma. In order to allow research to proceed, the concept of
a "proxy" or "surrogate" was devised. A parent
of a baby, for example, or a family member of an adult incompetent
patient, is allowed to give the "free informed consent"
thereby preserving the ideology of "autonomy". But this
is a legal and bioethical fiction.
When the treatment under trial is indicated
for the clear medical benefit of the patient, then there is room
for proxy assent. Obviously a parent can impose treatment (an unpleasant
vaccine injection, for example) when it is clearly for a baby's
good. But more attention must be paid to formulating ethics of interventional
trials on healthy babies, or on other patients who are incapable
of giving free informed consent by themselves. (FL)
CLONE:
A collection of cells or organisms that are genetically identical.
An identical genetic copy of an organism - animal/plant/ human being.
(DM, JA)
CLONING:
The process of asexually producing a group of cells (clones), all
genetically identical to the original ancestor. In recombinant DNA
manipulation procedures to produce multiple copies of a single gene
or segment of DNA. The production of a cell or an organism from
a somatic cell of an organism with the same nuclear genomic (genetic)
characters - without fertilization. (See STEM CELLS) (DM, JA)
CLOSED LOOP RECYCLING:
See DEEP DESIGN VALUE SYSTEM.
CLOSED QUESTIONS:
Questions which have a restricted range of answers. In research
such as social surveys this may facilitate statistical analysis.
Closed questions only requiring short answers include ‘Who?’,
‘When?’ and ‘Where?’, and are not as effective in
encouraging the shy communicator to speak at social occasions. (See
OPEN QUESTIONS) (MP)
CNIDARIA:
The phylum of exclusively aquatic, invertebrate animals characterized
by radial symmetry, a sac-like internal cavity and nematocysts stinging
cells. There are four major groups of cnidarians: The Anthozoa include
the corals, sea pens, and anemones. The Hydrozoa include many medusae,
the hydroids, and siphonophores. The Scyphozoa are the true jellyfish.
The Cubozoa are the box jellies. (RW)
CNS:
See CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.
COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT:
See INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT, STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT.
COBE:
Cosmic Background Explorer satellite, launched on 18 Nov. 1989 to
map radio-wave data and investigate the nature and origin of the
early universe. (See SATELLITE, BIG BANG, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION)
(MP)
COCA:
A species of South American shrub
Erythroxylum coca
, native to Bolivia and Peru containing a natural source of cocaine.
Traditionally, the leaves are dried and chewed or prepared in coca
tea for their mild stimulant effect. (See COCAINE HYDROCHLORIDE)
(IP)
COCAINE:
See COCAINE HYDROCHLORIDE.
COCAINE BABIES:
the birth of a growth retarded infant with birth defects caused
by exposure to cocaine prior to conception or during pregnancy.
Direct causes may be poor sperm or egg quality of a male or female
cocaine user, and/or drug-effects
in utero
adversely affecting the developing embryo and fetus. Contributing
causes may be poor nutritional habits and abuse of additional substances
such as alcohol and tobacco. (see COCAINE HYDROCHLORIDE; CRACK;
ADDICTION) (IP)
COCAINE HYDROCHLORIDE:
a crystalline alkaloid derived from coca leaves but can also be
manufactured synthetically. Traditionally used as a local anesthetic
cocaine, when taken internally, is highly toxic with serious psychotropic
effects. It is one of the most powerful dopamine-enhancing drugs
and achieves its effect at the nerve synapse by blocking the neuron’s
recycling system for dopamine; thus dramatically increasing the
amount of dopamine messenger available to stimulate neurotransmission.
Throf excitability characterized by euphoria, optimism, increased
energy and decreased need for sleep. The euphoric effect lasts about
30 minuttement, restlessness, incoherent speech, fever, hypertension,
and cardiac arrhythmias which can lead to convulsions, respiratory
arrest and ssion so frequently abuse it (see CRACK; COCA; COCAINE
BABIES; ADDICTION). (IP)
CODE:
A set of principles. (see GENETIC CODE)
CODE OF HAMMURABI:
(actually should be Hammurapi, based on Ugaritic texts) Major lawcode
of ancient Mesopotamia. This lawcode is named for Hammurapi, the
king 6th king of the first dynasty of Babylon (1792-50 bce). On
the stele of Hammurapi, the king is protrayed as receiving the lawcode
from Shamash, the sun god. The laws in the code demonstrate three
levels in society: the awilum (free man), the mushkenum (the dependant,
of somewhat lower status than the awilum), and the wardum (slave).
Each is judged according to his social class, and greater damages
are awarded to an awilum who was injured than a mushkenum or wardum
who was injured. The principle of "an eye for an eye"
is applied to the extreme in this lawcode. Many of the cases in
the code of Hammurapi are dealt with in the Torah as well, and so,
this lawcode has become a popular source of comparison between Babylonian
law and Jewish law. The text of the code is written in the Babylonian
dialect of the Akkadian language. (AG)
CODES OF CONDUCT:
See ENVIRONMENTAL CODE OF CONDUCT.
CODES OF ETHICS:
Systems of principles or rules of ethical professional conduct,
usually established by professional societies. An ethical code governs
, for instance, the use of a technology or the Patient -Doctor relationship.
Ethical considerations form a guideline evoking acceptable behavior
based on moral values and practical experiences. It serves as a
regulatory principle e.g. marketing and labeling of GM food, confidentiality
in the treatment of people living with HIV and AIDS. (DM,
JA).
CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION (CAC):
The joint FAO-WHO Intergovernmental body that makes legally binding
standards for international regulation of food quality, safety and
trade.
(DM)
CODOMINANT:
1.
From the phenotypic point of view, status of the alleles of an autosomal
gene, where both contribute to the phenotype due to that particular
gene in a heterozygote. 2. From the molecular point of view, differences
in the two copies of a specific gene in a heterozygous person, that
can be visualized by molecular methods (i.e., two sizes of a STR
or a VNTR, or presence/absence of a restriction site from a RFLP
marker). (GK)
CODON:
A sequence of three DNA base pairs which codes for an amino acid.
Consist of three nucleotides, a three lettered code word (e.g. UUU
for phenylalanine/AAA= lysine) for each of 20 amino acids. (DM,
JA)
COEFFICIENT VARIATION:
It is the measure of how much bigger is the standard deviation when
compared with the mean. (JA)
COELENTERATES:
Coelenterata is previous taxonomical terminology for the phylum
Cnidaria. The coelenterates (cnidarians) include corals, hydrozoans
and jellyfish. (See CNIDARIA) (MP)
COERCION:
An action taken to force another to adopt a behaviour. Issues include
force feeding, and mandatory programs as compared to voluntary programs.
(DM)
COGNISANCE:
(Latin:
cognitio
'apprehend')
1. knowledge, awareness, perception, bioethics self-awareness 2.
to investigate for the purpose of knowing, to understand, learn
knowledge, recognition by observation or information 3. consciousness,
state of awareness. (IP)
COGNITIVE-BEHAVIORAL THERAPY:
was conceived and developed by Aaron Beck, a professor of psychiatry
at the University of Pennsylvania, and emphasizes the power of positive
thinking. Basically the therapy assumes that, given accurate information,
the brain can "think" its way back to health; that is,
by harnessing its powerful intelligence, the brain can learn to
be objective about itself and replace old destructive thinking patterns
with new, constructive adaptive ones. Cognitive-behavioral therapists
believe that conscious thought, rather than unconscious motivation,
determines social behavior; therefore, with professional guidance,
individuals can learn to change their maladaptive attitudes toward
other people. This form of therapy differs from the older psychodynamic
therapies by placing greater emphasis upon the active participation
of the patient, with the ultimate goal being the regaining of personal
control of the social environment through self-education and learned
optimism. These therapies have been compared, head-to-head, with
antidepressant drugs in the treatment of acute episodes of depression,
and found to be effective, especially in milder illness. It seems,
therefore, that thinking about how one thinks is an essential tool
because it provides a sense of personal control and complements
the wise use of medication. (see ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY) (IP)
COGNITIVE LIMITS:
See IMPOSSIBILITY, UNKNOWABLE.
COHERENCE:
A set of beliefs or theories are in coherence when they are mutually
supportive and none are inconsistent with any other. (See CONSILIENCE,
CORRELATION) (MP)
COHORT:
A group of individuals of the same age/generation within a population.
It is often useful in ecological management and marine conservation
to track cohorts through their life cycle within the general population.
(See AGE DISTRIBUTION) (MP)
COITUS:
(Latin
coire
‘to go together’). An act of intercourse that usually, but
not always, involves penetration of the penis into the vagina and
results in sexual excitation and, as a rule, orgasm. (See COITUS
INTERRUPTUS) (IP)
COITUS INTERRUPTUS:
Withdrawal of the penis from the vagina just before ejaculation.
It is thought to be the oldest method of contraception and is mentioned
in the Book of Genesis. The method is not reliable (failure rate
is above 15%) because small amounts of sperm containing seminal
fluid may be emitted before full sensation leading to ejaculation
is felt. Unwanted conceptions may carry the risk of conflict, resentment
and prenatal/postnatal neglect.
(See NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING METHODS, CONTRACEPTIVES, CONDOM) (IP)
COLEOPTERA:
The insect order containing the beetles, Coleoptera is such a diverse
and widespread order that beetles comprise over a quarter of all
species found on Earth today. (MP)
COLLATERAL DAMAGE:
(Collateral: "situated beside" + Damage: "injury
or loss") A military term referring to civilian victims and
casualties of military operations, including non-combatant deaths
or injuries and damages to civil property. The 1949 Geneva Convention
and 1977 Geneva Protocol outline internationally recognized protections
for innocent civilians. Scrutinized strategic targeting with modern
precision weapons has changed the nature of war in comparison to
the deliberate targeting of civilian populations in World War II.
Collateral damages are today generally unintentional, and can be
used for propaganda purposes and war crimes allegations. The term
collateral damage is a good example of the use of euphemism to render
distasteful concepts obscure to the layperson. (See GENEVA CONVENTIONS,
JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL, EUPHEMISM, REFUGEES, CASUALTIES, POST TRAUMATIC
STRESS DISORDER) (MP)
COLLECTIVE:
A group of people who have assembled together due to similar value
systems and a common cause; for example a collective farm or kibbutz.
(See UNITED) (MP)
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING:
The practice of reaching work and pay agreements directly through
representatives of employers and employees, often bypassing workers
rights protection afforded by industrial dispute institutions such
as trade unions. (See INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, INDUSTRIAL ACTION) (MP)
COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS:
A hypothetical spiritual communion of all thoughts, emotions, memes
and memories into a collective or super-consciousness, perhaps with
emergent properties. (See COLLECTIVE MEMORY, COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS,
INFOSPHERE, MORPHIC RESONANCE) (MP)
COLLECTIVE MEMORY:
The "meme pool", or shared and combined experiences and
memories of the sentient animals on Earth. Although each of us has
a unique set of memories, we also have shared memories of our historical
record and our collective achievements and mistakes. The expansion
of this shared consciousness through the promotion of learning can
help to guide us towards a more ethical future in which previous
human and environmental tragedies are not perpetuated. (See MEME,
CULTURE, DREAMTIME) (MP)
COLLECTIVE SECURITY:
This concept grew out of the Geneva conferences on disarmament after
the First World War. Literally the term meant that under the covenant
of the League of Nations, the member states of the League should
together guarantee the security of each individual member. (See
INSTITUTION OF WAR) (IP)
COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS:
A Jungian psychological theory in which some collective aspects
of consciousness such as community history may be imprinted in the
individual unconscious mind. (See COLLECTIVE MEMORY, COLLECTIVE
CONSCIOUSNESS) (MP)
COLLECTIVISM:
A socio-political ideology in which means of production and control
are placed with the people collectively, usually represented by
the state. The emphasis is on responsibilities rather than rights,
and the collective is more important than personal individuality.
Collectivism may incorporate aspects of family, democracy, socialism
and/or Confucianism. (See INDIVIDUALISM) (MP)
COLONIALISM:
The domination of a country by the imposition of economic, religious,
cultural and language practices of the colonial power upon local
populations. Examples include the colonization of the African, Asian,
Australian and American continents by the English, French, Dutch,
Spanish and Portuguese during the 15th to 18th centuries. Most of
these colonies have now been granted political autonomy, although
usually with the maintenance of cultural and economic ties. Any
Western expansionist policies left over from the Ages of Discovery
and Imperialism have today been replaced by economic ones. (MP)
COMA:
Unconscious state, which may occur after a traumatic accident or
stroke. Usually afer two weeks a person is either dead, or enters
persistent vegetative state. (See BRAIN DEATH, PVS). (DM)
COMMENSALISM:
A symbiotic relationship in which one species gains some benefit
from an association with another species, but in which the second
partner has neither benefit nor detriment. An example of a commensal
organism is the rainforest epiphyte, which grows on the trunk of
a host tree and gains the advantage of support, shelter, access
to leaf litter, water flow and sunlight. (See SYMBIOSIS, PARASITE)
(MP)
COMMON GOOD:
The good of every body. (See JUSTICE) (DM)
COMMON LAW:
1. the part of a system of laws of any state or nation that is of
a general and universal application 2. the system of laws originated
and developed in England, based on court decisions, on the doctrines
implicit in those decisions, and on customs and usages, rather than
on codified written laws (see STATUTE LAW) (IP)
COMMON SENSE:
The basic level of practical knowledge and judgment that we all
need to help us live in a reasonable and safe way. Common sense
varies between people and culture, though it is still called "common".
(DM)
COMMONS:
Land not owned privately but in public ownership. (See TRAGEDY
OF THE COMMONS)
(MR)
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES:
Diseases that can be transferred between individuals, infectious
diseases. (DM)
COMMUNICATION:
The sending and reception of useful information between two or more
parties. (See DISCOURSE)
(MR)
COMMUNISM:
The belief in a society without different classes in which the methods
of production are owned and controlled by all its members and everyone
works as much as they can and receives what they need. It is a system
of political and economic organization in which property is owned
by the state or community and all citizens share in the common wealth,
more or less according to their need. Many small communist
communities have existed at one time or another, most of them on
a religious basis, generally under the inspiration of a literal
interpretation of Scripture. In 1848 the word communism acquired
a new meaning when it was used as identical with socialism by Karl
MARX and Friederich ENGELS in their famous
Communist Manifesto
. They and their followers used the term to mean a late stage of
socialism in which goods would become so abundant that they would
be distributed on the basis of need rather than of endeavour. The
Bolshevik wing of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party,
which took power in Russia in 1917, changed its name to the All-Russian
Communist Party in 1918. Thus the Soviet Union and other states
that were governed by Soviet-type parties were referred to as “Communist”
and their official doctrines were called “Communism,”
although in none of these countries had a communist society in its
original meaning been fully established. (DM)
COMMUNITARIANISM:
An ethical and political philosophy which combines meritism in the
allocation of rights with collectivism in regard to freedom. Central
to the communitarian idea of democracy is that citizens' true
opinions can only be detected by observing the community's
traditional responses to ethical issues; that is, the citizens have
to condone traditional values such as, for example, the prohibition
of contraceptives on religious grounds. There are two main dividing
lines between the most important late twentieth-century theories
of ethical and political philosophy. The first distinction concerns
the nature of human individualism; that is, freedom or liberalism.
The second distinction concerns the nature of human rights or entitlements
of help from others in situations where they cannot cope for themselves.
These categories can be divided into the ethics of self-actualization
and the ethics of caring and are, clearly, interrelated since the
second (freedom from need) is a prerequisite to the first (liberty
to freely express ones genetic potential). Within these two main
dividing lines there are four distinct principles of social and
political philosophy; libertarianism, socialism, communitarianism
and liberal utilitarianism. All of these four doctrines can be democratic
in their own special ways, but the content and principles of democracy
varies considerably from one theory to another. (See LIBERTARIANISM;
LIBERAL UTILITARIANISM; UTILITARIANISM; SOCIALISM; DEMOCRACY) (IP)
COMMUNITY CARE:
government program to provide long-term care for the elderly, disabled
and mentally ill within the resources offered by the community,
rather than in hospitals or institutions. The policy was first introduced
in the UK and Australia in the early 1990s and represented a far-reaching
National Health Service reform aimed at replacing traditional institutional
provision of long-term care by community outreach programs. It was
claimed that the major aim was to offer the long-term patient a
better quality of life; however, the scheme has suffered considerable
criticism on the grounds that, as old institutions closed, the level
of support for people in need had correspondingly dropped placing
a greater burden on non-professional carers, typically the children
or partners of the disabled or elderly. (IP)
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT:
COMMUNITY SERVICES:
Health care and related support services which are based in the
local community.
(DM)
COMPASSION:
The emotion associated with sharing the suffering of another together
with the desire to give aid. (See BENEFICENCE, CARING, LOVE, VIRTUES)
(DM)
COMPENSATION:
Payment for injury. (DM)
COMPETENCE:
Mental capacity to make responsible choices. Compare to incompetence,
which is used to refer to someone unable to make choices. (See INFORMED
CONSENT) (DM)
COMPETITION:
(Latin:
competere
'to come together or seek in common')
1. Act of competing in the market, sport, examination etc. 2. In
biology a process that determines how available resources are distributed
among entities that demand them. The supply of any resource at the
scale of biological organisms (including humans), is generally finite.
Organisms that are best able to gather a resource amongst the efforts
of other organisms to do the same, obtain more of this resource,
and are said to be most competitive with respect to that resource.
Indirect harm may be caused by the most competitive entity to any
less competitive entities who receive less of the resource, especially
if the resource is essential to their physical operation. One example
of competition concerns plants regenerating in a place cleared of
vegetation, but left for plants to regrow. Some plant species are
very good at growing quickly, and they gain primary access to sunlight
above slower-growing species, reducing the likelihood of their survival
if they are unable to cope with reduced light. In this example,
only a certain amount of light arrives at the surface of the earth,
and this is the finite resource. The plants that are superior at
acquiring light (by growing taller), do so at the expense of plants
who are less competitive (slower growing). A related, and ethically
relevant example is competition for space and other resources between
humans and species of plants and animals. Humans are able to acquire
vast areas of space (by habitat modification) at the expense of
the organisms that occupied this space previously (unable to exist
in the modified environment). Interestingly, some organisms might
be better able to occupy the modified habitat, and they profit (e.g.
establish larger populations) compared to their ability in the unmodified
habitat. What, if anything, determines how much a particular organism
should harm a competitor by reducing the amount they receive of
an essential resource? Large bodies of empirical and theoretical
research into aspects of competition exist in the ecological and
economic literature. (See TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS) (IP+HM)
COMPLACENCY:
See APATHY.
COMPLEMENTARY DNA (cDNA):
DNA that is synthesized from a messenger RNA template; the single-strand
form is often used as a probe in physical mapping. (DM)
COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE:
is a vast, heterogeneous set of therapies which generally have a
common philosophy which is a belief in a holistic approach to health.
Therapies focus, to varying degrees, on the integration of mind,
body and spirit to restore health. Complementary medicine is also
known as complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), natural therapies,
alternative medicine, unconventional medicine and integrative medicine.
Terms including "alternative" are now considered to be
inappropriate as they imply a polarized position to that of allopathic
or conventional medicine and is sometimes used in a pejorative sense
to imply some form of quackery. A general definition is that complementary
therapies are those therapies that are not taught as a normal part
of medical education or provided within conventional health care
facilities. However this becoming an increasingly impractical definition
due to increased integration of complementary and conventional health
care. In addition there is a culture context where therapies considered
complementary in one culture may be mainstream in another e.g. acupuncture
in China. (JW)
COMPLEX:
1. Unpredictable, intricate, complicated or composed of many parts.
(See COMPLEXITY) 2. Psychology: A group of related feelings, emotions
or ideas which are activated, expressed, repressed and selected
for together. (See MEME COMPLEX) (MP)
COMPLEXITY:
Lack of predictability in a system due to nonlinear collective behavior.
General order of complexity in the sciences, from the simplest or
most predictable system mathematics, whose statements are logical
consequences or tautologies, then increases through physics, chemistry,
microbiology and biology, to greatest complexity in ecology and
human sociology. A crude measure of complexity is the amount of
information or symbols required for description. The emerging science
of complexity theory tries to elucidate the universal features of
complexity among systems. It uses synthesis as an opposing complement
to reductionism, at the level of the behavior of subsystems and
whole systems. (See COMPLEX, COMPLEXITY THEORY, SYSTEMS THEORY,
EMERGENT PROPERTIES, SIMPLICITY, SIMPLEXITY, COMPLICITY, COMPLICATEDNESS,
CHAOS) (MP)
COMPLEXITY THEORY:
the investigation of information, predictability, algorithms and
natural patterns which display common features across many scales
and levels of organization. Systems are composed and organized in
‘nested’ hierarchies of subsystems, leading to coordinated
behavior and ‘emergent properties’ in meta-systems.
Complexity theory studies the context, patterns and organization
of this information across time, for example simplicity, complexity,
complicity, simplexity, consilience, cybernetics, chaos and order.
Some of these trains of thought have a philosophical lineage in
‘rational morphology’ and the search for ‘laws
of form’ (e.g. Kant, Goethe, Waddington). Many reductionist
scientists see little need for it, but synthesis requires different
tools than does reduction to components. Complexity theorists have
included Stuart Kauffman, Christopher Langton, Brian Goodwin, Danny
Hillis, Jack Cohen, Ian Stewart, E.O. Wilson and James Lovelock.
(See COMPLEXITY, EMERGENT PROPERTIES, SYSTEMS THEORY, CONSILIENCE,
CONTEXT, HIERARCHY, NETWORK, PROCESS) (MP)
COMPLICATEDNESS:
Difficulty of analysis and understanding due to the presence of
many interconnected elements.
(See COMPLEXITY) (MP)
COMPLICITY:
1. Complicity is being in partnership; having an accomplice and
sharing responsibility. 2. Complexity theorists Jack Cohen and Ian
Stewart use complicity to mean the ‘emergence’ of large-scale
simplicity from the convergence of different subsystems of rules,
which ‘enlarges the space of the possible’. Examples include
evolution, consciousness, economics. Complicity is also referred
to as ‘super emergence’ (‘regular emergence’ is
expressed in ‘simplexity’). (See SIMPLICITY, SIMPLEXITY,
COMPLEXITY, EMERGENT PROPERTIES) (MP)
COMPONENTS:
Units, parts, parameter, factors of a system, independent and interdependent
units. Biotic components: genes, cells, organs, organisms, populations,
communities. Abiotic components: Matter and energy (JA)
COMPROMISE:
1. Compromise is the process or result of concessions from both
sides of a dispute with the aim of finding common middle ground.
Settlement of differences is achieved from mutual adjustment of
conflicting claims/principles by yielding a part of each. Compromise
is possible for disputes but may be more difficult for institutionalized
conflict. Cultural values or human needs such as identity and security
may not be subject to compromise. 2. A concession made at the expense
of one’s integrity or original values; exposure to danger or
suspicion, especially of repu to subject it to risk of passage to
an unauthorized person. ‘Compromise’ is from the original
Latin:
compromissum
‘mutual promise to abide by a decision’, now obsolete but
appropriate to biohe previous positions. (See CONSENSUS, CONCILIATION,
COLLABORATION, CONDITIONALITY, NEGOTIATION, FACILITATION, ARBITRATION,
DISPUTE, CONFLICT) (IP & MP)
COMPREHENSION:
Understanding by a patient or research subject of information disclosed
orally or in writing. (DM)
COMPUTER:
Any automated device or machine that can perform calculations on
information or data. The data must be received in an appropriate
form that is then processed according to specific instructions.
The most widely used is the digital computer - an automatically
controlled calculator machine in which data is represented by combinations
of discrete electrical pulses. The information is analyzed according
to a set of instructions or programs. At the same time as the computer's
electronic circuits have decreased in size they have become smaller,
faster and much more powerful. Fields such as science, technology,
industry, commerce, education and communication could not cope in
the modern world without the use of modern computers. (See COMPUTER
MODELING) (IP)
COMPUTER MODELING:
The development of a description or mathematical representation;
i.e. a model, of a process or living system using a computer. This
model can then be used to study the mechanism or behavior of the
system under varying artificially controlled conditions, and analyzing
likely outcomes. For example, the likely effect of a climatic change
in areas where certain types of fauna and flora flourish maybe be
amenable to modeling. To explore variables to an extent that is
not possible by any other experimental means makes computer modeling
a powerful tool in predicting possible ecological reactions under
modern environmental stresses. (See COMPUTER) (IP)
COMPUTER VIRUS:
An unauthorized computer program or software fragment which has
the ability to propagate itself within a networked computer system
or across the internet. It parasitizes other software, often damaging,
deleting or otherwise interfering with data and/or the normal operations
of programs. A 'virus' propagates itself by latching onto
another program or data file. A 'worm' is able to self-propagate
copies or segments of its programming autonomously. A 'Trojan
horse' masquerades as a useful program whilst covertly accessing
or altering restricted information. Computer viruses may be programmed
by hackers, targeted at specific organizations by hacktivists, indiscriminately
released by hacks, or strategically employed to jam data and communications
during cyber-warfare. Viruses may arrive as executable e-mail attachments,
and are often targeted at Microsoft products because of the widespread
use of this software. Reproduction can be rapid and global, for
example using e-mail address lists for propagation. This necessitates
constant engineering of antivirus software, an interesting example
of which is the 'viral predator' sent down the same electronic
pathways in an attempt to hunt down and neutralize the virus and
its progeny. (See WORM, BUG, VIRUS, ARTIFICIAL LIFE, HACKERS, HACKTIVISM)
(MP)
COMPUTER WORM:
See WORM.
CONCENTRATION CAMP:
Internment centers for political prisoners. The British were the
first to have instituted a system of concentration camps in Cap
Colony and the Transvaal during the Boar War of 1901-1902. However,
the most notorious concentration camp system was that used in Nazi
Germany during the Second World War. Among the most infamous were
Belsen, Buchenwald, Dachau, Auschwitz, Oranienburg, Papenburg, Maidenec
and Treblinka. On account of their ethnicity, millions of innocent
people were starved, tortured and killed in these camps as a deliberate
act of mass extermination. (See INSTITUTION OF WAR, NAZI(S)) (IP)
CONCEPTION:
The fertilization of the egg by a sperm that initiates the formation
of a zygote (has been used for implantation also). (See FERTILIZATION)
(DM)
CONCEPTUS:
This term refers to the products of fertilization. It includes the
embryo proper as well as extraembryonic structures and tissues that
develop from the zygote (e.g. placenta). It is also called the
preembryo.
(DM)
CONCILIATION:
Dispute resolution in normal relationships by the offer of friendly
gestures and overtures. (See CONFLICT RESOLUTION) (MP)
CONCUBINE:
archaic term for a class of woman who co-habits in the same house
without being married to her partner. The famous orator of Greece
Demosthenes (384-322 BC) placed things of Eros in perspective by
defining "
We have hetairas
(prostitutes)
for sensual pleasure, concubines for our daily bodily needs, and
legal spouses to give birth to pure children and to be faithful
guardians of the home
." In the majority of nations the legal rights of the de-facto
partner or modern concubine approaches that of marriage (see marriage).
(See
MARRIAGE, OPEN MARRIAGE, ADULTERY)
(IP)
CONDITIONALITY:
1. Depending upon certain conditions for a particular outcome. 2.
A term pertinent to discussions of international development, often
referring to the conditionality imposed upon ‘structural adjustment’
loans issued by instor elementary school education in developing
countries. (MP)
CONDOM:
is a barrier method of contraception and protection from sexually-transmitted
diseases (STDs) including AIDS. The term is derived from the Latin
condus
meaning receptacle and was originally designed as a prophylactic
against STDs associated with prostitution. When properly used it
ranks relatively high in effectiveness; however, its failure rate
of between 10 and 15 percent, among the young especially, is often
high. (see FEMALE CONDOM) (IP)
CONFIDENCE LIMITS:
Numbers that indicate the statistical certainty of a particular
value. For example, if the 95% confidence limits for the mean mass
(3.2 g) of a particular species of snail in a named wood are ±0.13
g it means that there is a 5% chance that the mean mass of that
species of snail in that wood lies outside the range 3.07 to 3.33
g. (MR)
CONFIDENTIALITY:
One of the important components of bioethical principles and a fundamental
component in the physician-patient relationship, stemming primarily
form the Hippocratic oath. All information of a person, whether
personal, private or genetic is confidential and not to be revealed
to others without the individual's consent. In the case of
AIDS patients their visit to the testing place and results of testing
should be held in confidence (DM, JA).
CONFLICT:
A situation in which opposing viewpoints have come into physical
confrontation. Conflicts are more intractable than simple disputes
because of the existence of institutionalized, fundamental disagreement
with limited malleability of participants or the situation. (See
DISPUTE, CONFLICT RESOLUTION) (MP)
CONFLICT OF INTEREST:
Can arrive any time personal, family, national or financial interests
distort the pure pursuit of truth, goodness, love or health. This
can apply to anyone, for example a cab driver who takes you for
a longer ride than necessary, or a member of the family of a terminally-ill
mentally incompetent patient, who makes a "proxy" or "surrogate"
decision to stop treatment, ostensibly for the patient's good
but really to benefit from an inheritance, or because of the high
cost of medical treatment (in those countries which do not yet have
universal, government-supported, free health care), or because of
the simple burden of care.
Bioethical attention, however, is usually
given to conflicts of interest of scientists, scholars and health
professionals. Cases are clear when a physician prescribes drugs
manufactured by a company from which the physician benefits financially,
or when a scientist publishes an article with positive conclusions
about a drug or other product of a corporation for which the scientist
works. Things are more complicated when a nurse hesitates to complain
about medical negligence for fear of jeopardizing employment or
advancement, or when a physician eats a free lunch supplied by a
drug company for all who attend a staff lecture or grand rounds.
It is hard to be totally pure and free of
conflict of interest. You may refuse to fly to a conference if the
tickets are supplied by a corporation which you would like to be
free to criticize, only to discover later that the disinterested
scientific association which invited you received donations from
that same corporation. And if you pay for the tickets from research
funds which you receive from your own university, you might want
to look into the corporations whose donations are allowing your
university (and you and your family!) to survive. Nor does it help
to say that everything is alright if you have academic freedom to
say what you want. During the United States war in Vietnam, universities
which existed on weapons research contracts were happy to employ
radical anti-war professors, whose noisy presence gave the university
a liberal image. Even if one could get free of financial interests,
personal and emotional interests would remain. There is a school
of literary criticism called "deconstructionism" which
seeks the hidden motives of authors of literary creations. Ideas
from this school have had some influence on philosophical and scientific
criticism. Medical journals are beginning to require that authors
list possible conflicts of interest. (FL)
CONFLICT RESOLUTION:
Conflict resolution is an important feature of both personal and
international relations. Conflict analysis, negotiation, mediation,
conciliation, facilitation, arbitration and judicial settlement
are aspects of collaboration towards a compromise or consensus decision.
Negotiation can be aided by good working relationships, persuasive
value systems and ‘soft power’. Mediationtion provt, whereasTION,
COMPROMISE, CONSENSUS, CONCILIATION, PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY, PEACE
BUILDING, PEACE MAKING, PEACE KEEPING) (MP)
CONFUCIUS:
(c.551-479 bce) Philosopher of ancient China. The teachings of Confucius
were recorded by his students, especially in the book known as Lun
Yu (or in English: Analects). Confucius stressed the importance
of acquiring virtue and acting according to proper moral behavior.
His teaching places special emphasis on the importance of family,
and on filial obligations towards parents. The father-son relationships
is one of the Five Relationships (see Five Relationships). Confucius'
teachings were influential not only in China, but also in Japan,
Korea, Vietnam and other parts of East Asia. (AG)
CONFUCIAN CANON:
Chinese texts of Confucianism containing the philosophy of Confucius,
or K'ung Fu-tzu (551-479
BCE
), originally comprising the Five Classics ("Shih Ching",
"Li Ching", "Shu Ching", "Chun Chiu"
and "I Ching"), later reorganised by Chu Hsi (1130-1200
CE
) into four
Books ("Analects of Confucius", "Book of Mencius",
"Great Learning" and "Doctrine of the Mean").
(See CONFUCIUS) (MP)
CONGENITAL DISORDER:
A defect present at birth, regardless of cause, which may or may
not be inherited. (JA, DM)
CONGENITAL MALFORMATION:
structural or anatomical aberrations or less obvious physiological,
functional, immunological or behavioral defects in neonatal or postnatal
offspring. (see TERATOGEN) (DM+DR)
CONIFEROUS FOREST:
The coniferous, or ‘boreal’ foresrous forest, or ‘taiga’,
con forests provide important habitat for hawk, owl, mink, elk,
moose, bears and wolf. (See TAIGA, GYMNOSPERM, SOFTWOOD) (MP)
CONJECTURE:
Conjecture simply means taking a guess. For example, a hypothesis
is a refined and structured kind of conjecture. An educated guess
is made by an expert with some backing in related knowledge. Heuristics
is the use of educated guesses in the search for a solution. (See
HYPOTHESIS, HEURISTICS, ASSUMPTION) (MP)
CONJOINT TWINS:
Two fetuses developed from the same ovum that are physically united
at birth. Conjoint twins are the result of identical twins where
the split is incomplete and the two new embryonic axes fail to separate
in their entirety. The degree of union may be slight or extensive,
and the twins may be joined at any part of their bodies. Most conjoined
twins do not survive after birth and frequently suffer from major
heart malformations. Ever since medical science made the separation
of conjoined twins a possibility, there have been concerns about
the ethics involved; sometimes one of the twins is sacrificed for
the sake of the other. The famous 'Siamese' twins, Eng
and Chang Bunker, were born in 1811, lived for 63 years and had
22 children between them. Their wives lived in separate houses and
the twins spent alternate weeks with each of them. (See TWINS/TWINNING)
(IP)
CONJUGATION:
The reproductive process by which DNA is transferred between bacteria
during cell-to-cell contact. (DM)
CONSANGUINITY:
Descent from common ancestors. (DM)
CONSCIENCE:
The ethical sense of right and wrong which is generally valued as
the hallmark of a true existence as it represents the ability to
choose and decide to take action and assess reaction. What one believes
is right or wrong. It is sometimes thought of as an "inner
voice". The conscience is a very unreliable guide to ethics.
Psychopathic killers have sometimes thought that their consciences
were telling them to kill. (IP, FL)
CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTOR:
A term that came into prominence during the First World War and
applies to those who object to military service in a fighting capacity
on moral, religious or ethical grounds. The British Military Service
Act of 1916 dealt with conscientious objectors characteristically
harshly. In 1939 provisions were made in the Military Training Act
for exemption of
bona fides
to be allocated to various other appropriate form of national service.
(See VIETNAM WAR, INSTITUTION OF WAR) (IP)
CONSCIOUSNESS:
The registration of an effect, for example, a scale is conscious
of weight. The ability to be aware of one's actions or experiences.
Most biologists would hold that at least many mammals species, including
the non-human primates, exhibit consciousness. Moral agents have
especial duties towards conscious entities since such entities are
aware of their pleasures and PAINS (q.v.). It is difficult to suppose
that there will never be conscious ROBOTS (q.v.).
(MR)
CONSEQUENT:
In logic the second part of a conditional statement; that is, a
statement (or proposition) that is said to follow from, or be implied
by, another statement. For example, if the breeding conditions improve
then the endangered species will flourish - will flourish is the
consequent. (See CONSEQUENTIALISM) (IP)
CONSEQUENTIALISM:
The normative theory that the rightness or wrongness of actions
is determined by anticipated or known consequences, compare to deontologism.
(DM)
CONSENSUS:
A consensual agreement or win-win outcome of collaborative problem-solving
and conflict resolution. A consensus implies that debate has taken
place, the solution is generally accepted rather than a grudging
compromise, and that agreement is deep-rooted enough that it can
stand for some time without need to revisit the issue. (See COMPROMISE,
COLLABORATION, CONFLICT RESOLUTION, DELPHI METHOD) (MP)
CONSENSUS CONFERENCE:
A conference of persons, usually of lay persons, which seeks to
reach consensus on a moral dilemma, which is useful as a model for
society. (DM)
CONSENT:
See INFORMED CONSENT.
CONSENT FORMS:
Papers given to persons to explain a procedure, and request their
signature as a record of agreement. (See INFORMED CONSENT, CLINICAL
TRIALS) (DM)
CONSERVATION:
includes both preservation and protection, preservation for long
term use by the future generation and protection of what we have
on the biosphere (earth). Opposite of hoarding. Needs sound management
practices. Two types - In situ and Ex situ depending on the region
of conservation. see In situ and Ex situ.
In situ Conservation:
- conservation of naturally found ecosystems includes the care and
maintenance of living populations of species in their natural habitats
- domesticated and cultivated species.
Ex situ Conservation:
- When an exotic species is removed from its original habitat and
in an artificial habitat such as the zoo/zoological parks and botanical
gardens/seed banks. Currently there are about 500.000 species of
living creatures in zoos and 35,000 species of plants in 1,500 botanical
gardens which is 15 per cent of world's plant resources. Some
estimates indicate the number of plant species in botanical gardens
as high as 70,000 to 80,000 species. Example - Royal Botanic Gardens
at Kew, UK (JA)
CONSERVATION DEPENDENT SPECIES:
A species which is the focus of a continuing program of taxon or
habitat conservation, such that it would qualify for threatened
species status if the conservation efforts were to cease. (See CONSERVATION,
THREATENED SPECIES, ENDANGERED SPECIES) (MP)
CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY:
See CONVENTION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY.
CONSERVATION OF CULTURE:
See CULTURAL HERITAGE, CULTURAL EVOLUTION.
CONSERVATION OF HERITAGE:
See HERITAGE.
CONSERVATION MOVEMENT:
Widespread belief, accompanied by action, that wildlife and wilderness
areas should be preserved. Many traditional cultures have an implicit
conservation movement, though traditional cultures have also often
caused environmental degradation and have resulted in species going
extinct. In the West the modern conservation movement dates only
from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when increasing
numbers of people became concerned at the threat to rare species,
scarce habitats and unspoilt areas of natural beauty. An increasing
number of non-government organisations have arisen dedicated to
conserving certain aspects of the natural world. (See GREEN
MOVEMENT) (MR)
CONSILIENCE:
The joining together of knowledge and information across disciplines
to create a unified framework of understanding. The concept was
developed by Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson in a book named
Consilience: the unity of knowledge
(1997). (See E.O. WILSON, HOLISTIC THINKING) (RW)
CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION:
The consumption of goods based on the desire for social status,
such that the satisfaction is based upon the desire to impress rather
than on any other usefulness or utility of the item to the consumer.
(See CONSUMPTION, CHINDOGU) (MP)
CONSTANT CAPITAL:
The ‘constant capital’ rule implies the passing on to future
generations of an aggregate capital (economic, human and natural
capital) equivalent to that of today. ‘Strong sustainability’
requires the forms of capital to remain in constant proportion,
whereas ‘weak sustainability’ allows substitution between
them. ‘Critical natural capital’
must
remain constant, functioning as it does to provide our global life-support
system. (See STRONG SUSTAINABILITY, WEAK SUSTAINABILITY, NATURAL
CAPITAL, CRITICAL NATURAL CAPITAL) (MP)
CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM:
See SCIENTIFIC METHOD.
CONSUMER PARTICIPATION:
See PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.
CONSUMPTION:
Resource consumption is the utilization of natural capital, involving
flows of energy and materials from the environment. Consumption
creates the demand which is the economic driving force for production
and supply. Personal consumption may be measured per capita in dollars,
energy use, tonnes of CO2 emissions, paper consumption, water usage,
or ecological footprint. Consumption is one of the major socioeconomic
factors leading to environmental destruction. It is a central component
of Ehrlich’s famous equation I=PCT (in which I = ecological
impact, P = population, C = consumption, and T = thasis on materialistic
economic measures of wellbeing. Reality however reminds us that
global limitforms of consumption have environmental costs significantly
disproportional to any real human benefcuous consumption are phased
out or become socially unacceptable. (See ECONOMY, CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION,
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SUFFICIENCY) (MP)
CONTACT TRACING:
A public health practice of identifying persons who have been exposed
to a communicable disease through person-to-person contact; includes,
for example, identification of the sexual partners of persons infected
with the human immunodeficiency virus. (See AIDS, CONFIDENTIALITY
, COMMUNICABLE DISEASES, PUBLIC HEALTH) (DM)
CONTAINMENT:
The use of biological or physical means to minimize or prevent the
dissemination of biologically active agents which may be hazardous.
(See BIOSAFETY, RECOMBINANT DNA RESEARCH) (DM)
CONTENTS:
1. Important initial reference list of the structure, organization
and themes within a work of (usually) non-fiction. (See INDEX) 2.
Inside elements; ingredients determined by the reductionist approach
of breaking something down into its constituent parts. (See CONTEXT)
(MP)
CONTEXT:
Outside elements; external environment and conditions, investigated
using the Systems Theory approach of checking for interactions and
influences to/from higher scales and surrounding systems. (See CONTENTS)
(MP)
CONTIGS:
Groups of clones representing overlapping, or contiguous, regions
of a genome. (DM)
CONTINUUM:
A plane of thought; a continuous axis or tangent. In mathematics
the continuum is the set of all real numbers. Elements or opinions
are arranged in clumps along many conceptual continuums. Opposites
are at polar extremes of a continuum, but often cannot really exist
without the other. The continuum reminds us that ideas have fuzzy
boundaries, and that most things are not black-and-white but a matter
of degree. (See SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM, FUZZY LOGIC, MIDDLE WAY) (MP)
CONTRACEPTION:
(Latin:
contra
+
concipere
to take in) the prevention of pregnancy, especially through the
use of devices and medications, or through behavioral procedures
such as withdrawal, abstinence, and sterilization. Contraception
by biological means involves the prevention of one or more of a)
formation or release of gametes in the male or the female b) fertilization
c) implantation of the fertilized egg, or development of the early
embryo (see CONTRACEPTIVES) (IP)
CONTRACEPTIVES:
devices or medications used to prevent conception. These include
diaphragms, condoms, intrauterine devices (IUDs), cervical caps,
spermicidal creams, various formulations of the pill, subdermal
implants and injectables (see CONTRACEPTION) (IP)
CONTRACT:
Binding agreement between two or more parties. Most ethicists would
hold that a person generally has a duty to fulfil a contract into
which she has voluntarily entered unless certain unforeseen and
particular circumstances arise so that significant harm would result
from fulfilling the contract.
A social contract, is, roughly speaking,
a presumed, implicit agreement between the members of a
SOCIETY
(q.v.) or between individuals and the state. Thus, for example,
there may exist an unspoken agreement that the state should uphold
the rule of law so that I and other good citizens may live in peace
but that, at the same time, I have certain duties towards the state
- for example, to sit on a jury or even fight on its behalf in a
(just)
WAR
(q.v.).
(MR)
CONTRACTARIANISM:
Ethical and political theories involving a social contract. Negotiations
are capable of yielding mutual principles of conduct, which are
binding upon all parties to create a just society. Ethical philosophers
who had an influence on contractarian thought include Hobbes"
moral theory based on desire, and Kant’s "Metaphysics of
Morals" (1797). The most famous contemporary contractarian
is John Rawls, who in his "A Theo of individual equality. Other
contractarians may define the goals or contracting parties in different
ways, fthe most good for the greatest number. (MP & IP)
CONTROL GROUPS:
Groups that serve as a check or standard of comparison in experimental
studies.
(DM)
CONVENTION OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
(CBD):
It was negotiated before the United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The agreed text
of the convention of biological diversity was adopted by 101 governments
and signed by 159 governments and the European Union. It was adopted
to stress the equity in the use of biodiversity on ethical principles.
CBD has been ratified by a total of 177 countries, excluding the
United States of America. The objectives of the Convention as stated,
in part, are as follows: Article 1 "conservation of biological
diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and
equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of
genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources
and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies". Article
2 "
Biological Diversity
means the variability among living organisms from all sources, including,
inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and
the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity
within species, between species and of ecosystems". (IP, JA)
CONVENTIONAL WEAPONS:
Euphemistic term for missiles, explosives, artillery, small arms
and other weapons, which although distinct from nuclear or other
‘weapons of mass destruction’, have in total produced ovance,
Russia, China and North Korea who have been among major world-wide
distributors of conventional weapons. The boundaries of ‘conventional’
should not be pushed to include decidedly unconventional new proposals
such as space weapons, low-impact nuclear weapons (e.g. gamma ray
bomb) or ‘swarm intelligence’. (See SMALL ARMS, EXPLOSIVES,
MISSILES, LAND MINES, NON LETHAL WEAPONS, DISARMAMENT) (MP)
CONVULSIVE THERAPY:
See ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY.
COOPERATION:
a mutually helpful interaction essential in all living communities
which when not embraced in human communities typically results in
conflict and destructive competition for resources.
(See TEAMWORK, CONSENSUS, COMPROMISE, BRAINSTORMING)
(IP)
COPYRIGHT:
Copyright protection applies to eight categories of works: literary;
musical; dramatic; pantomime and choreographic; pictorial, graphic
and sculptural; motion pictures and audio-visual work; sound recording;
and computer programs. Copyright protects the expression of an idea,
not the idea itself. (DM)
CORAL:
Coral is a colonial animal which is formed from the symbiotic relationship
of single-celled dinoflagellate algae (zooxanthellae) with coral
polyps (class Anthozoa, phylum Cnidaria). The polyps exchange phosphates
and nitrates for carbohydrates in the process of skeleton building.
(See CNIDARIA, CORAL REEF, CORAL BLEACHING) (MP)
CORAL BLEACHING:
A devastating condition which has spread alarmingly in recent years
and now affects large regions of Earth’s coral reef systems,
coral bleaching occurs when the zooxanthellae evacuate the coral
skeleton, leaving thting global warming as a possible cause. Coral
bleaching is a process which destroys the very habitat upon which
whole ecologies depend. (See CORAL) (MP)
CORAL REEF:
A habitat which provides for one of the largest biodiversities of
any other, coral reefs are perhaps the underwater equivalent of
tropical rainforests. Also found mostly in tropical and subtropical
zones, coral reefs tend to form in less than 100m depth and greater
than 18
o
C temperature. An atoll is a coral island, often a ring of reef
with a lagoon. Coral reefs are dynamic systems with high biodiversity,
productivity and complexity, even in a nutrient-poor environment.
They are giant living platforms of interlaced corals and the complex
ecological community that comes along with them. Coral reefs are
fragile, and currently threatened by coral bleaching, sediment/fertilizer
runoff, commercial fishing trawlers, over-fishing, oil exploration,
pest species like the crown-of-thorns starfish, anchor damage, development
and mass tourism. (See CORAL, CORAL BLEACHING, GREAT BARRIER REEF,
SUPER-ORGANISM) (MP)
CORNUCOPIANS:
individuals who believe human population control is not needed.
Originated from
cornu copiae
or horn of plenty (after the goat Amalthea by which Zeus was suckled).
(IP)
CORONAS:
meaning "crown," are colored rings which appear around
the moon or sun when seen through thin clouds consisting of water
droplets. They are produced by diffraction and are more common with
the moon because the sun’s brightness may make it difficult
to see the effect. (see RAINBOWS, HALOES, MIRAGES & GREEN FLASH)
(IP)
CORRELATION:
Relationship between two variables. A correlation coefficient shows
how closely two sets of data are related. If the relationship between
the two sets of data is perfect and positive, then the correlation
coefficient is 1.0. If, for example, an extra 1 cm of height always
meant that a person was 600 g heavier, then the correlation coefficient
between heights and masses among people would be 1.0. If the relationship
between two sets of data is inverse, then the correlation coefficient
is negative. A perfect, inverse relationship has a correlation coefficient
of -1.0. When there is no relationship between two sets of data
the correlation coefficient is close to 0 and does not differ significantly
from it. Correlation does not imply CAUSATION (q.v.).
(See CAUSATION) (MR)
CORROBORATE:
A hypothesis is corroborated if it is subjected to an experimental
test which cannot manage to falsify it. (See FALSIFICATION) (MP)
CORROBOREE:
It is said that the word is the English version of the Australian
Aboriginal term
"carib-berie" or ceremony ritualized in song and dance.
Traditionally, corroborrees re-enacted the Dreamtime or Creation
stories and were also activated for sacred, law education or war-like
purposes. Aboriginal cultures have an oral tradition where stories
(often past from one generation to the next for thousands of years)
are used to educate about traditional law, folk lore, spirituality
and gender-specific matters (see Mens’s Business & Women’s
Business). Nowadtheir perspective (see AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL). 2.
In general usage for any large and noisy Australian celebration.
(IP)
CORTISOL:
A glucocorticoid steroid hormone produced naturally by the cortex
of the adrenal gland and also synthesized for pharmacological use.
Cortisol and its synthetic derivatives; such as cortisone (also
called prednilosone), are most potent anti-inflammatory agents that
can effectively treat asthma attacks and reduce joint inflammation.
When injected directly into joints, bursae or tendon sheaths the
drug, since it does not enter the general circulation, is less likely
to cause multiple toxic effects compared to oral administration.
Treatments for asthma, which are typically delivered in aerosols
(puffers or inhalers) containing corticosteroids such as cortisone,
are drugs that relax (bronchodilate) airways. Asthma is more common
in Australia and New Zealand than anywhere else in the world. It
is thought to be provoked by external allergens such as pollen,
dust, certain foods, emotional crises and excessive cold or exercise.
(See ADRENAL GLANDS; ASPIRIN) (IP)
COSMETIC SURGERY:
(Greek
kosmesis
'adornment') The improvement of the outward appearance
of parts of the body. A distinction can be made between cosmetic
surgery and plastic surgery where the former, typically, refers
to minor reconstruction of cutaneous or underlying tissues performed
to improve or correct a structural defect. This is usually done
under local anesthetic. Plastic (from the Greek
plassein
'to mold') surgery, on the other hand, applies to the
alteration, replacement or restoration of visible parts of the body
in order to correct a major structural or cosmetic defect. In these
operations the surgeon may, typically, resort to tissue grafting
(most commonly skin grafts) or employ inert material that can be
molded into the required shape (mammoplasty or breast implants,
for example). Reconstructive plastic surgery is routinely performed
to correct birth defects (cleft lip and palate, for example) and
to repair structures destroyed by trauma. (See COSMETICS) (DM, IP)
COSMETICS:
(Greek
kosmein
'to adorn'). The preparations used to enhance the appearance
of skin or for emphasizing the features of the face or the shape
of the finger-tips and so on. Face powder made of powdered rice
or semolina, or of chemical compounds has been widely used for giving
the face a smooth, mat surface. Kohl is used for shading the eyelids
in order to make the eyes appear bigger, henna for staining hair,
fingers and toes. Rouge for coloring cheeks and rouge paste (lipstick)
for reddening the lips and varnish for finger and toenails. Since
antiquity, the human animal has re-designed the body to enhance
beauty for aesthetic augmentation and for heightened sexual excitement.
(See COSMETIC SURGERY) (IP)
COSMIC RADIATION:
High-energy particles with extreme penetration power capable of
passing through many meters of lead. Cosmic rays originate in outer
space and are distinguished as primary which impinge on the Earth's
atmosphere and secondary which are produced within the atmosphere,
or the Earth itself, from collisions between the primary radiation
and atmospheric atoms. (See RADIOACTIVITY, RADIATION) (IP)
COSMOGONY:
Pre-scientific, mythological, folkloric and religious explanations
of the nature and genesis of the universe. (See COSMOLOGY) (MP)
COSMOLOGY:
The scientific and philosophical study of the cosmos; the observable
universe and the universe as a whole. (See ASTRONOMY, ASTROPHYSICS,
COSMOGONY) (MP)
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS:
See DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS.
COUNSELLING:
Provision of help, support of every kind (e.g. Moral, mental, spiritual)
to a person in need e.g. Disease stricken. (See also GENETIC COUNSELING)
(JA)
COURTESAN:
1. (Italian:
cortigiana
'woman of the court') a court mistress or woman who provided
companionship and/or sexual services for a member of the wealthy
aristocracy, usually on a long-term basis, in return for financial
support and a place to live 2. generally a 'high-class'
prostitute (see MISTRESS) (IP)
COVENANT:
A solemn agreement between two or more parties. A binding, enduring
relationship characterized by mutual fidelity and trust. (DM)
CPR:
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation.
CPU:
See CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT.
CRACK OR CRACK COCAINE:
The street names of a highly addictive form of cocaine which is
smoked. It’s made by baking a mixture of crystalline cocaine
with baking powder and wafrom the distinctive 'cracking"
sound the hard substance makes when broken crack pipe (the home-made
device in which crack is smoked) and crack wars (ack babies) commonly
with brain damage and other developmental disorders. (see COCAINE
HYDROCHLORIDE; COCAINE BABIES; ADDICTION) (IP)
CREATION:
see CREATIONISM; ORIGIN OF LIFE.
CREATIONISM:
The idea that God created the world, sometimes also identified with
the idea that God created each species separately. Some people think
that creationism conflicts with the idea that the world has always
existed, but there is no contradiction in the idea that a God who
has always existed has always been creating the world. Some people
think that Darwinist evolutionary theory conflicts with creationism,
but there is no contradiction in the idea that God created the world
with laws of the sort described in Darwinist evolutionary theory.
(See ORIGIN OF LIFE).
Fundamental Christian creationists have often
objected to Darwin, just as the Catholic Church condemned Galileo
for his acceptance of the Copernican heliocentric theory in astronomy.
This was because Christians often insisted on a literal interpretation
Of the Bible. But Jews, who since Talmudic times have been accustomed
to metaphorical interpretations of Biblical texts, had no theological
problems either with Galileo or Darwin. Darwin reported that an
article in Hebrew claimed that the doctrine of The Origin of Species
matches the Biblical account of creation. Rabbi Avraham Itzhak Kook,
the great rabbi and philosopher of modern Israel, had a philosophy
very congenial to Darwinism. (See ORIGIN OF LIFE) (FL)
CREATIVITY:
Valid originality.
(MR)
CREEL SURVEY:
A creel is a basket or trap for holding fish, so a creel survey
is a technique for estimating fishing effort by interviewing fishers
and surveying their catch. (See SUSTAINABLE FISHING) (MP)
CREMATION:
Burning of the human body and reducing it to ashes. This practice
was in effect in Europe already in the Stone Age. In Mycenean Greece
(10 century bce), it was an important part of Greek funeral ceremonies.
Cremation was widely practiced in the Roman Empire, but was avoided
by the Jewish and Christian communities, because the practice was
seen as pagan. It was also avoided by Zoroastrians because it was
seen as polluting the fire. (see Tower of Silence) In Asia, cremation
is an important part of Hindu and Buddhist funerals, and has been
practiced since ancient times. (AG)
CREUTZFELDT-JAKOB DISEASE (CJD):
a fatal encephalopathy caused by a prion first documented by German
neurologists Hans Creutzfeldt (1885-1964) and Alfons Jakob (1884-1931).
The formation of dementia-inducing plaques in the brain of infected
individuals causes a progressive decline in cognition and motor
function and, ultimately, death within a year of commencement of
symptoms. The prion is thought to be a human variant of mad cow
disease. There are well documented cases of cross-infection in patients
who have developed the disease iatrogenically following corneal
transplantation or hormonal treatments, such as fertility drugs
or growth hormone, processed from infected human pituitary-derived
preparations. The true extent of spread in the human population
is unknown because of the disease’s extended 15-40 year incubation
period. (see PRIONS & BOVINE SPONGIFORM ENCEPHALOPATHY) (IP)
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY:
A term used since the Nuremberg Trials, international war crimes
recognized as 'Crimes Against Humanity' (Rome Statute
of the International Criminal Court, 1998) are known acts as part
of widespread or systematic aggression towards any civilian population
which include: a) murder, b) extermination, c) enslavement, d) deportation
or forcible transfer, e) imprisonment, f) torture, g) rape or enforced
prostitution, pregnancy or sterilization, h) group persecution on
grounds of politics, race, nationality, ethnicity, culture, religion
or gender, i) enforced disappearance, j) the crime of apartheid,
and k) other similarly inhumane acts causing great suffering or
serious mental or physical injury. (See WAR CRIMES, GENOCIDE, JUST
WAR THEORY, NUREMBERG TRIALS, INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT) (MP)
CRIMINAL JUSTICE:
Leads to the wider issue of social justice - the idea of equality
at the starting line like equality of opportunity which has always
been built into certain progressive, liberal views of the world
that wishes to believe in the overwhelming importance of the environment
in determinism. (IP)
CRITICAL MASS:
1. The minimum quantity of fissile material required for a nuclear
chain reaction. (See CHAIN REACTION, NUCLEAR WEAPONS) 2. The minimum
amount of people with shared understanding or needs to tip the balance
and instigate change. (See THRESHOLD, FEEDBACK) 3. A large cyclist
gathering and rally promoting bicycle safety, road access for bikes
and pollution-free transport, the monthly ‘Critical Mass’
is a self-organizing community campaign, a bit like ‘Reclaim
the Streets’ for pedestrians. (MP)
CRITICAL NATURAL CAPITAL:
Natural capital and environmental assets essential to the functioning
of the life support services supplied by ecosystems. These non-substitutable
components of the global environment must be conserved for human
survival and wellbeing. Human uses and values are ultimately dependent
upon the primary values of ecological systems. Biogeochemical cycles,
keystone species and the ozone layer are examples of critical natural
capital. (See NATURAL CAPITAL) (MP)
CRITICALLY ENDANGERED:
A species or other taxon which is at extreme risk of becoming extinct
in the wild in the immediate future. This may be indicated by any
of the following measures: a) a previous or projected population
reduction of at least 80% over whichever is longer of a period of
10 years or three generations, b) extent of occurrence less than
100 km
2
or area of occupancy less than 10 km
2
, along with population decline, fragmentation or extreme fluctuations,
c) population less than 250 mature individuals with continuing decline,
d) population less than 50 mature individuals, or e) probability
of extinction in the wild estimated at 50% over the longer of 10
years or three generations. (See ENDANGERED SPECIES, VULNERABLE
SPECIES, GHOST SPECIES, EXTINCTION) (MP)
CRITICALLY ILL:
See CHRONICALLY ILL, EMERGENCY CARE, INTENSIVE CARE UNITS, TERMINALLY
ILL.
CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY:
A cross-sectional study or survey examines the range across a broad
subject at a certain time, compared to a longitudinal study which
is across several time intervals. (See LONGITUDINAL STUDY) (MP)
CROSSING OVER:
The breaking during meiosis of one maternal and one paternal chromosome,
the exchanging of corresponding sections of DNA, and the rejoining
of the chromosomes. (DM+GK)
CRYOBIOLOGY:
(Greek:
kryos
'cold')
Refers to the technology
of freezing and thawing of biological tissues, particularly of gametes
(sperm and oocytes) and embryos. Although the deep freezing of sperm
was developed early in the 1900s, the successful freezing and thawing
of oocytes and embryos is a relatively new technology. The first
successful freezing and thawing of mouse embryos was reported independently
in 1972 by David Whittingham and Ian Wilmut and paved the way for
the first human frozen embryo born in 1983 in The Netherlands, and
the second in Australia in 1984. (see
CRYOPRESERVATION) (IP)
CRYOGEN:
(Greek:
kryos
'cold' +
genein
'to produce')
A chemical such as dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) that induces freezing
which is commonly used to destroy diseased tissue without injuring
the adjacent structures as used in cryosurgery. (see
CRYOBIOLOGY AND CRYOPRESERVATION) (IP)
CRYOGENICS:
The science of producing very low temperatures, as well as the applications,
phenomena and technology pertaining to those temperatures. Applications
include cryobiology, cryosurgery and the cryopreservation of biological
samples. Some hopeful terminal patients have also been placed in
cryonic suspension, involving deep freezing of their bodies or brains
for future resuscitation in an era of more advanced medicine. (See
CRYOBIOLOGY, CRYOPRESERVATION, CRYOGEN) (MP)
CRYOGENIC ENGINEERING:
A section of engineering to study operations of engineering devices
at a very low temperatures- cryogenic engines in space flights.
(JA)
CRYONICS:
See CRYOGENICS.
CRYOPRESERVATION:
A hi-tech methodology involving the use of liquid nitrogen to preserve
living organisms/parts (sperms/eggs/embryo) with a possibility of
revival to life at a later date. A method of preserving cells, tissues
and organs in a viable state by freezing. The basis of the technique
is to allow cooling to take place at a carefully controlled rate
in the presence of cryoprotective agents; that is, antifreezes such
as dimethylsulphoxide with the aim to subject, an embryo for example,
to controlled desiccation thus preventing fatal damage by the formation
of ice crystals. Once deep-frozen the gametes/embryos may be stored
indefinitely in liquid nitrogen
at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius
. Cryopreservation is particularly important in the context of the
preservation of endangered species. (see CRYOBIOLOGY) (IP+JA)
CRYOSPHERE:
The Earth’s snow and ice masses. (see BIOSPHERE, HYDROSPHERE
& EXOSPHERE) (IP)
CRYOTHERAPY:
A condition of hypothermia created during major surgical operations
so as to decrease the oxygen requirement of a patient. (JA)
CRYPTIC:
(Greek:
kryptos
'hidden')
1.
something secret or concealed 2. in the medical sense pertaining
to a disease of unknown cause such as in cryptogenic infection -
caused by pathogenic microorganisms of unknown origin 3. in the
biological sense the cryptic appearance of an animal, the chameleon
for example, refers to the resemblance of it to some part of the
environment which helps it to escape detection by predators.
(IP)
CRYPTOGRAPHY:
Crypto = hidden, graphy = writings. With the use of coded language,
secret messages can be sent and the codes are deciphered to read
the actual message. (JA)
CRYSTAL METH:
See Amphetamines.
CSIRO:
Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (Australia).
CUCKOLD:
Derogatory term for a man whose wife or partner has committed adultery;
an allusion to the surreptitious parasitic nature of the cuckoo,
whose eggs are raised in the nest of another bird. (See ADULTERY,
OPEN MARRIAGE) (MP)
CULTIVAR:
An international term denoting certain cultivated plants that are
clearly distinguishable from others by one or more characteristics
and which when reproduced retain those characteristics. A cultured
variety of plant. In the USA "variety" is considered to
be synonymous with cultivar (derived from cultivated variety).
Cultivars are also called ^straqin^. In closely related species
although a few genetically disctiinct features can be recognized,
the differences are not strong enough to consider them as two different
species. This word is commonly used in plant breeding and in the
culture of microorganisms. (DM, JA)
CULTURAL EVOLUTION:
Culture evolves and technology progresses, with cultural evolutionary
mechanisms analogous but different to those of biological evolution.
Investigators of evolutionary aspects of culture have included philosophers
(e.g. Lewis Morgan, Arnold Toynbee, James Baldwin, Thomas Kuhn,
Daniel Dennett, Jared Diamond), social Darwinists (Herbert Spencer),
linguists (Noam Chomsky, Steven Pinker), environmentalists (E.F.
Schumacher), biologists (Richard Dawkins), sociobiologists (F.T.
Cloak, E.O. Wilson) and technologists (Eric Drexler, Marvin Minsky).
Cultural evolution differs from biological evolution in its fast
rate, directedness, and Lamarckian ‘copy the product’ inheritance
amoete for survivalion, globalization, westernization and urbanization.
More ‘modern’ may not equate with ‘better’, as im
and IGM, SEMIOTICS, ETYMOLOGY, MULTIMODAL COMMUNICATION, MODERNIZATION,
GLOBALIZATION, WESTERNIZATION, INDIGENIZATION, TECHNOLOGY, MIDDLE
WAY) (MP)
CULTURAL HERITAGE:
Cultural heritage sites include the significant monuments, architecture,
artistry, archaeology, artifacts and other human works of outstanding
universal value from the point of view of history, art or science.
The conservation of cultural heritage is achieved at a local level
with organizations such as the National Trust of Australia, and
internationally as outlined in the 1972 UNESCO Convention concerning
the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The less
tangible forms of cultural heritage - beliefs and practices handed
down by generational transmission, must be conserved by recording
indigenous knowledge into permanent written form, and by maintaining
cultural diversity itself. (See HERITAGE, NATURAL HERITAGE, WORLD
HERITAGE) (MP)
CULTURAL IDENTITY: 1.
The cultural background and behavioral distinctiveness an individual
tends to be associated and identify with. Cultural identity is a
mixture of history, social mores, cultural values and spiritual
belief. Using the Australian example, Aboriginal culture may identify
with life on the land, local community, respect for elders, and
the ancestral Dreamtime. Members of the ‘stolen generation’
adopted into white families have had their cultural identity lost
or fragmented between two worlds (cultural identity-crisis). Another
Aussie identity is strongly influenced by a culture of mateship,
egalitarianism, the outdoors, and an easy-going, no-bullshit attitude,
stemming from a history of convict settlement, bushrangers, outback
exploration, the ANZAC legend and multiculturalism. (See CULTURE,
MULTICULTURALISM, MINORITY GROUP, BOAT PEOPLE, STOLEN GENERATION)
(MP)
2. Cultural identity is a form of collective identity which is focusing
on culture. Whereas in a nation state, most of the citizens are
having a sense of belonging (collective identity) resulting from
a shared faith as a people, a common central government, constitutioal
rights and some basic societal values, they can have various cultural
identities (for instance, as Native Americans, African Americans,
Irish Americans, and so on). (BP)
CULTURAL PLURALISM:
The presence of multiple value systems within or among societies.(DM)
CULTURAL RELATIVISM: The
idea that there are no absolute rights or wrongs, but what is right
and wrong depends upon what is accepted in one's culture. It
would follow from this doctrine that female infanticide is perfectly
alright, just so long as one's culture accepts it. (FL)
CULTURE – [Social meaning]:
The way people live in identified areas, times and settings (HT.
Odum)* sum total of cumulative processes and products of societal
achievement. Includes: Folk - Customary attitudes and social norms
and customs believed and practiced traditionally, e.g. Eastern practice
of eating with hands; Technological - changes in customary attitudes
and social customs due to advances in science and technology, e.g.
Eastern practice of eating with fork and spoon.
Cultural lag: both folk and technological
cultures do not keep pace with each other, a term proposed by F.
Ogburn in 1922 to indicate the difference between the two. Education
and regulatory norms/practices are necessary to bridge the gap.
(JA)
CULTURE – [Scientific meaning]:
technique of growing cells/tissues/plants/microorganisms in sterilized
liquid/agar gel media containing nutrients.
Tissue culture
- growth of plant/animal tissue in liquid medium, first practiced
by the German botanist Gottleib Haberlandt during 1902.
Meristem
: Extension of plant tissue culture, in liquid culture medium containing
auxin and cytokinin, produces many new shoots from a single plant
shoot apex.
Anther
: a recent technique, mature anthers are grown in tissue culture
medium with vitamins and plant growth regulators, in dividing haploid
pollen tube cells yields proembryos, with the rupture of pollen
grain about 40 haploid embryos are released. (JA)
CULTURE:
Everyone has a culture because culture is about people, how they
live and interact with one another. There is also no indigenous
culture without its spiritual traditions, social practices, beliefs
and laws of behavior - whether it be the rite of passage into adulthood
involving greater responsibility, or initiation rituals conferring
the status of "wise elder" commanding a deeper service
to the community. For our hunter-gatherer ancestors, the only means
of passing on knowledge was by example, demonstration or word of
mouth, and elders of a tribe were given special status as an acknowledgment
of knowledge and experience. The Australian Aboriginal culture,
for example, is contained within the Dreaming stories. (see DREAMTIME
and DREAMING) (IP)
CULTURE JAMMING:
Strategic media manipulation and the re-application of advertising
techniques and mass-media channels for activist, subversive or culturally
reflective purposes. Culture jamming is social activism in the information
age. Culture-jammers see themselves as communication strategists
supplying sensitive information suppressed by mainstream media,
spreading memes or media viruses towards the emergence of an alternative
paradigm. Early examples might include Australia’s
BUGA-UP
graffiti network, America’s Hip-Hop culture, communi media channels
with alterom mild political satire t Culture jammers are true mature
strategy, direct criticism, defamation or any obvious confrontation
which may provide impetus to counter-actions. (See MEDIA VIRUS,
PROPAGANDA, HACKTIVISM) (MP)
CULTURAL POLLUTION:
See WESTERNIZATION, PROPAGANDA, POSTMODERNISM.
CUMULATIVE EFFECTS:
See SYNERGISM.
CURE:
See PREVENTION.
CURIE:
Unit of radioactivity defined as the quantity of any radioactive
nuclide which undergoes 3.7x1010
disintegrations per second. (See RADIOACTIVITY; RADIATION; CURIE,
MARIE; CURIE, PIERRE) (IP)
CURIE, MARIE:
(1867-1934) Polish-French physicist, chemist. Co-discoverer with
Pierre Curie of radium and polonium. Mari Curie was the first woman
to win a Nobel Prize in 1903 for physics jointly with her husband
Pierre and Antoine Becquerel (discoverer of radioactivity in uranium)
for their work on radioactivity; and the first person to win a second
Nobel Prize in 1911 in chemistry for her discovery of radium and
polonium. In her pursuit to demonstrate that two uranium minerals
- pitchblende and chalcolite - were more radioactive than uranium,
she discovered the existence of two new highly radioactive elements,
radium and polonium. At the time the harmful effects of radiation
were not recognized, thus, no precautions were taken and it has
been said that Marie's notebooks of this period are still too
dangerous to handle. However, a quote from the preface of Pierre
Curie's
'Collected Works'
may give the reader a flavor of the excitement that cutting-edge
research may bestow
'I remember the delight we experienced when we happened to
enter our domain at night and saw on all sides the palely luminescent
silhouette of the products of our work.
' Marie Curie's major published work was the two-volume
'Treatise on Radioactivity'
(1910). Marie Curie died of leukemia. (See RADIOACTIVITY, RADIATION,
CURIE; CURIE, PIERRE) (IP)
CURIE, PIERRE:
(1859-1906). French physicist. With Marie Curie he subjected pitchblende
(a uranium ore) to fractionation hoping to reveal a substance more
radioactive than uranium. This research resulted in the discovery
of radium and one of its transformations products polonium. In 1903
the Curies received the Nobel Prize for physics, it being shared
with Antoine Becquerel who, in 1896, discovered radioactivity in
uranium (Becquerel rays). Pierre Curie tragically died in a street
accident. (See RADIOACTIVITY, RADIATION, CURIE; CURIE, MARIE) (IP)
CURRENT BEST PRACTICE:
See BEST CURRENT PRACTICE.
C-VALUE PARADOX:
The lack of correlation between the amount of DNA in a haploid genome
and the biological complexity of the organism. (C-value refers to
haploid genome size) (DM)
CYANOBACTERIA:
Photosynthetic bacteria formerly referred to as blue-green algae
(Greek:
kuanos
blue), belonging to the kingdom Eubacteria and potentially the symbiotic
progenitor to the chloroplasts of plants. (See ALGAE, BACTERIA,
CHLOROPLAST, LICHENS) (MP)
CYBER CRIME:
Crimes committed primarily through Internet contact include: credit
card fraud, identity theft, child pornography, indecent chat-room
behavior, software and media piracy, web-site vandalism, release
of viruses and worms, spam marketing, invasion of privacy, cyber-spying
and most forms of hacking and cyber warfare. The cyberian legal
system has a hard job keeping up along the technology trail of software
designers and hackers. (See HACKER, INTERNET PRIVACY, MEDIA PIRACY,
CYBER WARFARE) (MP)
CYBERIA:
The civilization developing in the online world of cyberspace. To
some extent cyberia parallels and interacts with outside social
reality, containing structures for business, education and entertainment.
Its limitations are however not the physical environment and political
authority, but the rather the capacities of technology and human
imagination itself. The future nature of cyberia will be engineered
by cyberians themselves. Increased computer power and improvements
in virtual reality technology will make it a much grander and easier
empire for many to spend larger amounts of time. Cyberian social
organization has both democratic and anarchic elements. Its unruly
networks include temporary autonomous zones and encrypted communities
able to act as independent informational and political structures,
whether they be cultural expressions, terrorist networks or sanctioned
military science. (See CYBERSPACE, CYBERCULTURE, VIRTUAL REALITY)
(MP)
CYBERCULTURE:
The culture developing around computer technologies and within the
cyberspace environment. Cyberculture is often characterized as a
reflection of a fractured technocentric existence; individualistic,
egalitarian, anti-authority, technologically enabled, chemically
enhanced, postmodern, multimodal and multidimensional. The inhabitants
of cyberia tend to be young and/or professional, sometimes internet
addicts, activist hackers, pioneering cybernauts and nerd geniuses
whose life revolves around access to information and technology.
(See CYBERIA, CYBERPUNK, CYBERSEX, INTERNET ADDICTION, HACKER) (MP)
CYBERNETICS:
(Greek:
kubernetes
"steersman" or "self-regulation") The branch
of science concerned with communication and control systems in organisms
and machines, and the common ground between biology and computation.
Cybernetics incorporates the concepts of feedback, homeostasis and
neural networks. A cybernetic system involves a series of operations
in which information gained at one stage can be fed back to modify
later stages of the process. Such feedback allows control systems
to check and adjust behavior as required. For example, the body’s
response to stress functions as a biological cybernetic system in
which biofeedback from its subsystems act as a master-control to
balance the energy needs of the whole organism. The term "cybernetics"
was coined and developed by US mathematician Norbert Wiener (1894-1964),
in his 1948 book of the same name. Another US mathematician John
von Neumann (1903-1957) later applied the concept to cellular automata
and artificial intelligence. (As an aside, these two geniuses -
Wiener achieved his PhD by age 18 - are good examples that intelligence
need not indicate bioethical reservation. Wiener used feedback mechanisms
to develop automatic anti-aircraft radar weapons and von Neumann
worked on the development of the atomic bomb.) The cybernetic systems
of the human brain/nervous system have provided great insight into
the development of artificial intelligence, with neural networks
the basis of the "bottom-up" approach to the field. Cybernetics
is tending towards the combination and synthesis of biological cells
with digital electronics and computer networks bionic and cyborg
technology. For example, Tokyo University research created involuntary
propulsion in a cockroach using cybernetic attachments to motor
neurons, and recently others have been investigating whether living
rat neurons can teach or control a robot arm. (See FEEDBACK, HOMEOSTASIS,
CYBORG, MICROCHIP IMPLANTS, ROBOTICS, BIONICS, BIOINFORMATICS, ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE, PSYCHOKINESIS, TELEPATHY, GAIA HYPOTHESIS) (MP &
IP)
CYBERPUNK:
The genre of science fiction dealing with cyberspace environments
and social organization within the virtual worlds of integrated
computer networks. Cyberpunk is characterized by dystopian visions
of a bleak technocentric future and anarchic cyberian societies,
the darker electronic by-ways of which are frequented by techno-enhanced
freaks and rebellious hackers. The genre reflects the visions and
fears of the young, and addresses bioethical issues of control and
autonomy in a future of irreversible integration of technology into
human bodies and minds. (See CYBERIA, SCIENCE FICTION, DYSTOPIA)
(MP)
CYBERSEX:
The most significant proportion of web traffic consists of pornography
and other sex-related content. Anonymity and interactivity has made
cyberspace a haven for those interested in sex, whether it be finding
a partner through chat rooms, cyber sexual harassment, or explicit
pornographic material. If the internet is any guide, the development
of virtual reality technology may also be driven by the sex industry.
Teledildonics is a term used in virtual reality discourse which
describes simulated sexual intercourse in cyberspace. This online
sex may be with a designed artificial partner, or sex at a distance
with a real person, making use of tactile clothing, sensory equipment
and real-time interactive telepresence. (See VIRTUAL REALITY) (MP)
CYBERSPACE:
A term apparently first defined in William Gibson’s
Neuromancer
as "consensual hallucination", cyberspace is the hyperdimensional
environment of the internet, virtual reality and the online experience.
This digital turf is generated by integrated information networks
and computer technology, but has the feel of a real but radical
universe with its own laws, for example allowing dissociation from
the body and identity. Cyberspace enables interpersonal exchanges
without the limitations of time, place or race, through e-mail,
videophone links, virtual conferences, translation software, voice
recognition, multimedia, digital viruses, artificial environments,
and even interactive touch and smell with recent virtual reality
technology. It is a place characterized by freedom, vibrancy, individuality,
intrusiveness, incongruent conjunctions of people and ideas and
complex flows of information. Cyberspace is an artificial space
divorced from biology and the surrounding environment but unlimited
in its internal complexity. (See INTERNET, CYBERIA, CYBERCULTURE,
CYBERWARFARE, WORLD WIDE WEB) (MP)
CYBER SPYING:
See INTERNET PRIVACY.
CYBERWARFARE:
The use of communications and cyberspace environments to disrupt
enemy command and control systems, infiltrate sensitive intelligence
information, disseminate decoy intelligence, infect/disable software
networks, persuade troop surrenders, distribute propaganda and other
technological means, usually as an adjunct to more traditional means
of warfare. (See VIRTUAL WARFARE, SPACE WARFARE, HACKER, HACKTIVISM)
(MP)
CYBOFREE:
Cybofree is a term used to indicate the futility with which the
mind tries to acheive perfection by using the body as a facilitator
of pleasure.When a cyborg body iscreated solely for the purpose
of self-gratification (ie) using the body as a facilitator of pleasure,
the mind experiences a false sense of freedom called CYBOFREE.Iutility
with which the mind tries to acheive perfection by using the body
as a facilitator of pleasure. This term was coined by V.R.Manoj
and Dr.Jayapaul Azariah in tntasy, Reality, Ethics and Education
(FREE)" published in Eubios Journal of Asian and International
Bioethics, November 2001. (VRM & JA )
http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/EJ116/ej116b.htm
CYBORG:
An organism or entity created by merging electronics with biology;
for example a semi-robotic human. The term usually implies major
integration of computer technology into living tissue such that
biological limitations are transcended, rather than limited use
of simple bionic technologies for the restoration of normal function.
A recent example has been "remote controlled rats", directed
by computer with the use of controlled stimulation of the brain
centers which process the whiskers sense (to direct movement) and
pleasure response (to control motivation). These semi-robotic rats
may have uses for example in earthquake rescue, but could also be
considered subjects of animal rights abuse. Another recent step
has been a vision chip able to partially combat blindness by sending
digitally video-recorded images directly to cybernetic attachments
in the cortex of the human brain. Such technology not only has the
capability to restore normal vision, but is also a first step towards
infra-red, telescopic, microscopic or remote vision. Robotics experts
such as Marvin Minsky and Hans Moravec imagine that the cyborg is
the next phase of human evolution, endowing post-humans with incredible
mental capacities, physical strength and longevity. (See BIONICS,
CYBERNETICS, ROBOT, MICROCHIP IMPLANTS, TELEPATHY, PSYCHOKINESIS)
(MP)
CYCLOSPORINE:
An immuno-suppressive drug. This drug is of great importance to
organ transplantation, because by suppressing the immune system
of the organ recipient, it prevents rejection of the transplanted
organ. However, cyclosporine does have problematic side effects.
Much research is being done to discover a drug that can produce
the immuno-suppressive effect with less extreme side-effects. (AG)
CYSTIC FIBROSIS:
Disease which affects the sweat and mucus-secreting glands, resulting
in chronic lung disease, pancreatic insufficiency, abnormally salty
sweat, and in some cases, liver disease. (+DR) Its inheritance is
autosomal recessive, with several hundred mutations found so far
in the CFTR gene in the patients. The most frequent mutation, DF508,
is present almost in every patient group around the world with,
nevertheless, big differences in its frequency. In Caucasian population
from Europe and USA, the frequency of DF508 as a cause of cystic
fibrosis in patients varies from 45-88%, and in Latin America it
varies from 25-66%. (See MUCOVISCIDOSIS,
IN UTERO
GENE THERAPY and EPIGENETIC)
(GK+DM)
CYTOGENETICS:
Branch of biology uses cytological techniques as tool to study genetics.
(JA)
CYTOKININ:
A plant growth regulator. Hormone. Used in tissue culture, abundant
in coconut milk. (JA)
CYTOLOGY:
A branch of biology, study of cell system its structure and function.
(JA)
CYTOLYSIS:
Dissolution or disintegration of a cell (Lysis = to fractionate).
(JA)
CYTOPLASM(IC):
The substance within a cell external to the nuclear membrane; pertaining
to or contained in the cytoplasm. Cytoplasm is the portion of the
cell containing the nucleus and other cell organelles. (DM+JA)
CYTOPLASMIC TRANSFER
new assisted reproductive technology aimed at increasing the older
woman’s chances of bearing her own genetic child where the procedure
effectivelg cytoplasm into her own egg or the transfer of her egg’s
nucleus to the vacant cytoplasm of a donor egg. (IP)
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