UNESCO/IUBS/EUBIOS BIOETHICS DICTIONARY - "R"s

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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RABIES: A bullet-shaped, single-stranded RNA virus of the order Mononegavirales , family Rhabdoviridae , genus Lyssavirus , that causes an acute, fatal brain disease in mammals. Transmission by bite. The natural reservoir of rabies infection is in wild mammals, but it can infect domestic animals and, incidentally, humans. (RW)

RAC: Recombinant DNA advisory Committee of US NIH.

RACE: Level in the classification of organisms. A species is divided into two or more races if there are consistent observed differences between the races. So, for example, the herring gull (a bird) is divided into several races. The Western European race has a pale silver grey back and pink legs, while the Eastern Scandinavian race has a dark slate grey back and yellow legs. Both races belong to the same species and produce viable offspring when interbred.

Until the 1960s most biologists were happy to classify humans into a number of distinct races. Since then, though, the term has increasingly fallen into disfavour. This is partly because of the realisation that the genetic diversity within each so-called human race is considerably greater than the genetic distance between them, and partly because of the abuse of the term for political ends, as, for example, in apartheid. (MR)

RACISM: the anti-social and erroneous belief that discriminatory treatment of a particular group of human beings is (a) acceptable and (b) that such discrimination can be justified on biological grounds. Modern DNA sequencing data has established that within the human gene pool there can be more variability within one population than between different populations or "races", demonstrating significantly that the human species belongs to one biological race divided into many adaptively evolved local forms or varieties. (see MISOXENIA; CHRONOCENTRISM) (IP+AG)

RADIATION: (Latin: radiare "emit rays") 1. Physics: Particles such as alpha, beta or gamma rays emitted from radioactive nuclear decay, or any transmission of radiant energy such as solar power or electromagnetic waves. (See RADIATION SICKNESS)
2. Biology: The divergence of an evolutionary lineage of organisms into different niches by ecological radiation, or into different phenotypes by adaptive radiation. (See ADAPTATION, NATURAL SELECTION) (MP)

RADIATION SICKNESS: (See RADIATION, RADIOACTIVITY)

RADIOLOGY: The branch of medicine concerned with the use of x-rays, radioactive substances, and other types of ionizing radiation in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. (DM)

RADAR: (Abbreviation for ‘RAdio Detection And Ranging’) Radar is the utilization of echo-location using atmospheric radio waves, such as airplane detection and car speed radars. (See SONAR) (MP)
  
RADIOACTIVITY: The chemical property of emission of radiation, and its measurement. Radiation such as alpha rays (helium nucleus), beta rays (electrons) and gamma rays (a form of electromagnetic radiation) are emitted by unstable radioactive isotopes (radioisotopes) of uranium, thorium, radium and most of the higher elements of the periodic table such as the actinides. Radioactivity was discovered and developed by scientists such as Roentgen, Rutherford, Becquerel and the Curies, and is measured by a Geiger counter. (See RADIATION, ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION, CURIE) (MP)

RADIOCARBON DATING: the determination of the age of carbon samples embedded in objects of plant or animal origin by means of their content of radioactive C¹⁴ carbon (see optical and thermoluminescence dating). (IP)

RAINBOW SERPENT: the giant snake is one of the more common forms utilized by the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime Spirit Ancestors (see Dreamtime and Dreaming). In the North and Center of Australia, it was at the time of creation that the serpent began to move through the landscape marking its unique features; for example, the black rock snake called Kurrichalpongo from the Roper River country in the Northern Territory first carved out the rivers, rock formations, mountains and bush, then ascended into the sky turning into the rainbow serpent to guide down thunder and lightning to flood the land. The Rainbow Serpent’s  jo creator called "Biamee." (see SACRED SITES) (IP)

RAINBOWS: are produced by refraction and reflection of the sun’s  rays by millions of falling raindrops. Rainbows arRONAS AND GREEN FLASH). (IP) There is an international group called the Rainbows, who believe in peace, equality, nudism (q.v) and free love.  They hold gatherings regularly in different countries, perhaps as often as once a month.(FL)

RAINFORESTS: See RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION, TROPICAL RAINFOREST AND TEMPERATE RAINFOREST.

RAINFOREST DESTRUCTION: See TROPICAL RAINFOREST.

RANDOM: Random means an uncertain or equally probable choice or outcome, without pattern and dictated by chaos or chance. Randomization is experimental selection or sampling using chance. Random factor implies an independent variable with random treatment level. Random error is noise. (See RANDOM SAMPLING) (MP)

RANDOM SAMPLING: The use of samples with equal probability of selection from the statistical population. This is the most common method for approximating a representative sample to allow accurate inferences. (See REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE, STATISTIC) (MP)

RANDOM SELECTION: The use of chance in allocating research subjects to treatment groups. (DM)

RANDOMNESS: See CHAOS THEORY, RANDOM SAMPLING.

RANGE: 1. Ecology: Species distribution, often excluding vagrant individuals and some proportion of territory within the outer range. 2. Statistics: The range of a data set is the difference between the highest and the lowest values in the set. It depends on the extremity of the end values. The interquartile range is anther measure of dispersion; the difference between the third and first quartiles. (See POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, OUTLIER, PERCENTILE, MEASURES OF DISPERSION) (JA & MP)

RAPE: Forcing another person to have sex. While legal and other methods should be used to protect women from rap e, it is worth trying to see whether the incidence of rape can be reduced if more women were to learn martial arts on a serious level. (FL)

RATE-LIMITING FACTOR: See LIMITING FACTOR.

RATING SCALE: See LIKERT SCALE.

RAW DATA: Measurement values taken directly from the measuring instrument. (See DATA, MEASUREMENT) (MP)

REAFFORESTATION: Establishment of forest on deforested land. Chiefly British and Australian word; the American form is Reforestation. (See TREE PLANTING, RESTORATION ECOLOGY). (RW)

READING: There is more to reading than meets the eye, just as there is more information than can absorbed in one lifetime. The essential concept in ‘speed reading’ is not to ‘read aloud’ words in your mind, a natural limit to your reading rate. Instead take in chunks of text at once – a concept at a time – absorbing the information without ‘hearing’ it in words. Useful related attributes are ‘scanning’ (reading ‘past’ the text to identify certain keywords), ‘skimming’ (quickly reading headlines and first paragraphs to ‘get the gist’), and ‘referencing’ (using thehe imagination, allowing pause for reflection, developing thought and emotion, and of course providing pleasure. (See TELEVISION, INTERNET) (MP)

REC: Research Ethics Committee, United Kingdom, which includes both the Local and Multi-centre Research Ethics Committees. (JA)

RECALL: Remembrance by a patient or research subject of information given orally or in writing. (DM)

RECESSIVE: A trait or condition which is only expressed in individuals who have two identical versions of a particular gene, one inherited from their mother, and one from their father. (Contrast to DOMINANT) (DM)

RECIPROCITY: A reciprocal, or mutually beneficial two-way relationship between individuals or nations. Reciprocity is close to a universal ethical principle, with versions of the ‘Golden Rule’ common to most religions. The golden rule takes reciprocity a step further, treating others well irrespective of any past relationship. (See GOLDEN RULE) (MP)

RECLAIM THE STREETS: A large self-organizing community campaign which promotes road access for pedestrians, night-time safety and reduced automobile dependence. ‘Reclaim the Streets’ is a large rally and social gathering in which pedestrians simply block off roads at their allocated time and take over the streets of a certain area. (See CRITICAL MASS, CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, ACTIVISM) (MP)

RECOMBINANT DNA: Hybrid DNA sequences assembled in vitro from different sources; or hybrid DNA sequences from the same source assembled in vitro in a novel configuration. Research using biologically active DNA which has been formed in the laboratory by the joining of segments of DNA from different sources. (DM)

RECOMBINANT DNA ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RDAC): A Competent authority/committee of the Department of Biotechnology to review developments in biotechnology at national and international levels and to recommend suitable and appropriate safety regulations for a country (India) in recombinant research, use and applications from time to time. (JA)

RECOMBINANT DNA TECHNOLOGIES: Procedures used to join together DNA segments in a cell-free system (an environment outside of a cell or organism). A recombinant DNA molecule can enter a cell and replicate there, either autonomously or after it has become integrated into a cellular chromosome. (See DNA HYBRIDIZATION TECHNOLOGY) (DM)

RECOMBINANT ORGANISM: See GMOs.

RECOMBINATION: The formation of a new association of genetic material. It is usually applied to the process of meiosis, during a stage of which the genetic material packaged into gametes is mixed and reconstituted in any of an enormous number of possible combinations. It is also applied to genetic engineering. (DM)

RECONCILIATION: To re-establish friendship between differing parties; to resolve, settle or bring to agreement 2. in Australia a community response stemming from past practices of segregating and marginalizing its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities by systematically dispossessing them of their land, separating them from their children and disconnecting them from their culture and language. In this instance, reconciliation requires a sense of history with the most common theme being for white Australia to learn and understand the truth, and to apologize for the shameful legacy of Australia's history prior to the abolition of Terra Nullius. (IP)

RECREATION OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM (ROS): A regional classification tool which compares recreational opportunity at different sites according to environmental modification, human induced controls, human usage and motorization. The objectives of the ROS are to associate activity preferences and user profiles to appropriate recreational settings. Classes used range from primitive/remote, semi-primitive, roaded-natural, rural, through to urban/developed. (See TOURISM, SUSTAINABLE TOURISM) (MP)

RECREATIONAL DRUGS: See DRUG DEPENDENCY.

RECYCLING: Remanufacturing of waste by-products to once again produce useful materials. It is now possible for industry to close the loop of waste by recycling resources numerous times. Efficient recycling practices minimise the destructive removal of new raw materials from the environment and reduce the need to dispose of contaminated wastes. (See REDUCE, RE-USE) (MP)

REDEMPTIVE INTERVENTION: reverses an immediate consequence of unwise human action.

REDUCE: The first and perhaps most important term in the mantra "Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle", referring to the necessity of lowering the levels and rates of human consumption. Valuable resources are wasted by unnecessary products and packaging, conspicuous consumption, and desires artificially induced by advertising. Such things must be reduced at both the personal and production levels. (See RE-USE, RECYCLING, CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION, DEMATERIALIZATION)(MP)

REDUCTIO AD ABSURDUM: Latin for “reduction to absurdity”, reductio ad absurdum, related to quasi-reductio, refers to refutation of an argument by reducing it to simpler elements thus exposing hidden absurdity. (See FALLACIES, PROOF) (MP)

REDUCTIONIST: based on the assumption that the whole can be explained in terms of its parts; for example, science is reductionist.

REFERENDUM: A people’s vote which determines an issue of policy directly, as distinct from an election of political representatives to make the decision. The ‘Citizen’s Initiated Referendum’ is a form of direct doliticians almost entirely. (See DIRECT DEMOCRACY) (MP)

REFORESTATION: See REAFFORESTATION.

REFUGEES: See POLITICAL REFUGEES.

REFUSAL TO TREAT: Refusal by a health professional or a health facility to treat a patient because of bias or fear of infection (differentiate from SELECTION FOR TREATMENT, in which questions of resource allocation or of the efficacy of treatment are involved, and from TREATMENT REFUSAL, which originates with the patient rather than with the health professional). (DM)

REGIONAL ETHICS COMMITTEES: Committees established to protect the welfare of patients or research subjects at two or more facilities in the same geographic area. (DM)

REGIONAL MANAGEMENT: Policy direction, integrated management and monitoring of indicators at the appropriate macro-scales of bioregions (bioregionalism), habitats (conservation), ecosystems (ecology) or catchments (total catchment management), across terrestrial and marine environments (coastal zone management), and across large political boundaries (regional security). (See BIOREGION, BIOREGIONALISM, INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT, TOTAL CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT, MACRO-) (MP)

REGRESSION ANALYSIS: Regression analysis determines the relationship between two variables (the regression equation), and uses the least-squares method to find the line of best fit. Linear regression determines the straight line of best fit, and curvilinear regression determines the curve of best fit. Analysis of covariance combines analysis of variance with regression analysis. (See STATISTICS, CORRELATION, FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION, CHI-SQUARE TEST, ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE) (MP)

REHABILITATION: Restoration of function, to the maximum degree possible, of persons suffering from disease or injury. (DM)

REINCARNATION: According to the Doctrine of Reincarnation, or Transmigration of Souls, the soul lived in another body before birth, and will be reborn in yet another one after death. According to surprisingly similar theories in Israeli Kabala (Jewish Mysticism) and in Hinduism, souls are reborn any number of times in order to learn lessons or to undergo repair ( tikkun , in Hebrew). This process will continue until the soul reaches perfection. One might be reborn as another human being, or as an animal, plant, rock or whatever. According to some versions, the people with whom one is in contact today are people with whom we were in contact in previous lives and places. We have met again in order to work out various tasks, lessons or repairs. Believers in reincarnation sometimes say that when we meet a stranger, and immediately find ourselves understanding one another and discussing deeply, we are not starting a new conversation but continuing one from a previous life.

In clinical ethics, a believer in reincarnation might hesitate to stop life saving treatment of, for example, a neonate with extremely severe anomalies: for perhaps living in such a way for even a short period of time will provide exactly the lesson which that soul needs. And if it doesn't do it in this lifetime, it will have to do so in another. So nothing will have been gained by stopping treatment.

Reincarnation is a doctrine, which can neither be proved nor disproved. We must wait to see what happens after death. And perhaps we won't see anything at all. Or perhaps we shall be surprised in amazing way. About that which we cannot know, a scientific attitude demands that we admit our ignorance, and approach life's decisions with the humble awareness that possibilities of which we can know nothing might be true.
Although belief in reincarnation is widespread among religious Jews, not all accept it. One distinguished opponent was Rabbi Saadia Gaon. (FL)

REINFORCING FEEDBACK: See FEEDBACK.

RELATIVITY THEORY: See EINSTEIN, ALBERT.

RELIGION: Religion is about human meaning - an attempt to explain the peculiarity of our existence on this intermediate plane between gods and animals, between the infinite and oblivion. Religion is based on belief not scientific fact. (See RELIGIONS, LIVING RELIGION, RELIGIOUS EDUCATIONS, SCIENCE AND RELIGION) (IP)

RELIGIONS: The world contains a diversity of religions and belief systems which can be classified in a number of ways. Early religious belief systems included various forms of shamanism, animism, Gnosticism, paganism and polytheism. Of the major monotheistic religions, Judaism gave rise to Christianity based on the teachings of Jesus Christ, and Islam based on those of Muhammad. Muslims may be Sunni or Shiah (Shiite), Christians may be Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox. Asian religions include Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism and Shinto. Followers of the philosophy of Buddha may be Mahayana, Hinayana (Therevada) or Zen Buddhists. More recently there has been a resurgence of monism ("all is one" philosophy), pantheism (the universe is a manifestation of God), indigenous beliefs (respect for the Earth) and New Age spirituality (self-styled belief systems). Other religions include Zoroastrianism, Kabbala (mystical Judaism), Sufism (mystical Islam), Brahmanism, Jains, Sikhs, Hare Krishna, Baha'i, Mormon, Anglican, Jehova's Witness, Rastafarians, Scientology, Falun Gong and various 'cult' followings. Also, atheism is non-belief in God, and agnosticism is an open mind in recognition that such things are beyond one's capacity to know. The religions of the world are a diversity of philosophies with a common theme, and should not be used as an excuse for prejudice or conflict. Movements such as theology, comparative religion and international religious forums, institutions and Unions of Churches are progressing global culture towards a time of religious tolerance and respect where philosophical ideas are shared rather than enforced or used to promote division. (MP)

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION: In many parts of the world the topic of religious education remains a most controversial issue. Historically the early education of children was provided in India by the Brahmins (Hindu religious leaders), in Buddhist countries by the monks, in Islamic countries by the Mullahs and in Christian countries by the priests. However, the rise of secularism has created controversy as to the control of education. In countries such as the Netherlands and Australia groups of parents wishing to set up denominational schools receive by the government tax-funded running costs. Typically, as in the UK and Australia, the only prescribed subject in the curriculum of public (local education authority) schools is a general religious instruction where an agreed syllabus is worked out in consultation with various denominations. Parents, if they want, have the right to withdraw their children from this religious education. In the USA interpretations of the constitution have separated Church and State and parochial schools receive no public funding. (See EDUCATION, MEDICAL EDUCATION, QURAN, BIBLE) (IP)

REMOTE SENSING: The collection of information about the Earth surface from a distance, for example with aeroplane photos or satellite data. Spatially referenced data is displayed and analysed by image processing software, interactive mapping systems and Geographic Information Systems. Remote sensing allows monitoring of military activities, land uses, vegetation types, geology, habitat integrity, ecological impacts and other changes related to environment and development. (See GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS) (MP)

REMUNERATION: Payment for a service or for a commodity such as a body part. (DM)

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Energy supplies derived from natural sources able to regenerate themselves, thereby enabling sustainable long-term consumption of energy by humans. (See SOLAR, WIND, GEOTHERMAL & BIOMASS ENERGY, HYDROELECTRIC POWER, RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES) (MP)

RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES: New technologies which generate power from sustainably managed renewable sources. The development of renewable energy technologies should be encouraged and subsidised. Long-term supply of private and industrial energy will require the replacement of old, polluting technologies such as coal-fired power stations, with new renewable energy technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines, alternatively-powered vehicles and energy generated from the sea. (See RENEWABLE ENERGY) (MP)

RENEWABLE RESOURCES: Natural resources which are able to replenish or regenerate themselves within a similar time frame to their utilization by humans, thereby enabling sustainable long-term consumption. Examples include sustainably managed fisheries and the cultivation of plantation timbers. (See RESOURCE, RENEWABLE ENERGY, NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES) (MP)

REPETITIVE STRAIN INJURY: RSI is long-lasting injury to the muscles, joints, tendons or bone structure caused by extended or excessive repeated motions, for example in those who operate machines or computer keyboards. Ergonomic furniture, stretching, task rotation and frequent breaks help prevent RSI. The responsible worker and ethical workplace will ensure that working environment and schedules will not cause RSI in subsequent life. (See ERGONOMICS) (MP)

REPLICATING ASSEMBLER: See ASSEMBLER.

REPLICATION: 1. In statistics and experimental design, replication is the use of a significantly large number of experimental subjects, repeats of the treatments or observations, and duplication of the research methods. (See REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE, EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS, CONTROL GROUPS) 2. One of the defining qualities of life, replication is the ability to make copies of oneself. (See REPLICATOR, LIFE) 3. The synthesis of new DNA strands from existing DNA. In human beings and other eucaryotes, replication occurs in the nucleus of a cell. (See DNA) (DM & MP)

REPLICATOR: A complex structure able to copy and reproduce itself using materials from its surrounding environment. This often implies identical replication, although many replicators copy with variation. Examples of replicators include some chemicals (e.g. crystal structures), genetic code (e.g. RNA, DNA), organisms (e.g. plants, humans), information (e.g. memes, ideas) and software programming (e.g. computer viruses, artificial life). Replication is one of the essential definitional components of life. (See REPLICATION, ORIGIN OF LIFE) (MP)

REPRESENTATIVE SAMPLE: A sample from a statistical population must be characteristic of that population for accurate inferences to be made. For the sample to be representative it must include sufficient instances of all the different categories or classes typical of the population as a whole. This is usually achieved through random sampling, and may either be improved or biased by stratifying the random sampling across specified groups, areas or times which have been deemed representative. (See SAMPLE, STATISTIC) (MP)

REPRODUCTION: See PROCREATION.

REPRODUCTIVE CLONING: Use of CLONING (q.v.) technology to produce one or more individuals genetically identical (apart from the genes in MITOCHONDRIA (q.v.) and CHLOROPLASTS (q.v.)) to another individual. In the late 1990s reproductive cloning was used to produce clones of the adults of a number of mammalian species, including sheep, mice and pigs. The most famous of these was DOLLY (q.v.). Many countries rushed to outlaw the possibility of reproductive cloning in humans. Most bioethicists supported such bans though a minority were more ambivalent. (MR)

REPRODUCTIVE FREEDOM: All couples and individuals have the basic right to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children and to have the information, education, and means to do so. As stated in the 1984 UN recommendation on basic human rights. (DM)

REPTILIA: The class of vertebrates breathing air with lungs, and having external scales or horny plates. Extant taxa include the turtles, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes, though reptilian phylogeny is a matter of some controversy. (RW)

REQUIRED REQUEST: An organ procurement policy based on the requirement that health personnel routinely make inquiry of family members about the possibility of removing organs from a patient who has been declared legally dead. (DM)

RES NULLIUS: in Latin "belonging to no one" (see AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL & NATIVE TITLE LEGISLATION - AUSTRALIA). (IP)

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT: Research and Development (often abbreviated to R&D) is the exploratory process of research and scientific discovery. Allocations of research funding (or more correctly, the lack thereof) are one of the most popular subjects for jokes and complaints in the scientific and academic communities. The ‘Frascati Manuals’ are periodic OEethical consider PRINCIPLE, TECHNOLOGY) (MP)   

RESEARCH ETHICS COMMITTEES: Institutional committees established to protect the welfare of research subjects. (See ETHICS COMMITTEE) (DM)

RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES: Facilities that provide supervision and assistance in activities of daily living. (DM)

RESILIENCE: ecology - The tendency of an ecosystem to maintain a stable state despite disturbance. (RW)

RESISTANCE TO CHANGE: See TECHNOLOGY.

RESOLUTION: Degree of molecular detail on a physical map of DNA, ranking from low to high. (DM)

RESOURCE: A source of supply for some human necessity, deficiency or desire. Resources may be stocks or reserves, information, aid or support, material, energy or features of the natural environment. Excessive demands on natural resources are currently placing global ecosystems under threat, particularly as a result of habitat destruction and degradation with its associated loss of biodiversity. Resource consumption can only endure over the long term if current non-renewable resources are able to be replaced with the sustainable management of alternative renewable resources. (See NATURAL CAPITAL, RENEWABLE RESOURCES.) (MP)

RESOURCE ALLOCATION: Societal or institutional decisions about the distribution of available resources, for example water allocation between the needs of irrigation farmers and riverine ecosystems, or resource allocation to and within government policies, research programs, education institutions, health care and medical resources. (See RESOURCE) (DM & MP)

RESOURCE-BASED PRICING: Pricing of goods and services which reflects the environmental and social costs of the associated extraction of natural resources and production of the product. This provides a monetary disincentive to production processes which are environmentally damaging. (See RESOURCE) (MP)

RESOURCE PARTITIONING: See HABITAT PARTITIONING.

RESPECT: Show regard, consideration or esteem for; that is, refrain from interfering with. (see RESPECT FOR LIFE) (IP)

RESPIRATION: (Latin respirare 'to breathe'). The term can be applied to the events which occur at the level of the whole organism (i) or its constituent cells (ii). (i) The breathing pattern or rhythmic inflation and deflation of the lungs which maintains a steady concentration of oxygen and carbon dioxide for cellular metabolism. The control of respiration is partly chemical and partly nervous. (ii) Cellular respiration - the oxidation of the end products of glycolysis (the enzymic breakdown of glucose to pyruvic acid) to carbon dioxide and water (the tricarboxylic acid cycle) with the generation of 36 molecules of ATP per glucose molecule. Aerobic respiration involves the molecular exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide within the body's tissues. (See PHOTOSYNTHESIS) (IP)

RESPONSIBLE: 1. legally or ethically accountable for the care or welfare of another 2. involving personal accountability or ability to act without guidance or superior authority; that is, answerable for one’s  own behavior by being capable of making rational or ethical decisions 3. being the source or cause of something 4. able to be trusted or depended upon, being reliable 5. based upon good judg sound thinking. (IP)

RESPONSIBILITY: The act of being responsible (e.g. reliable); accountability (e.g. in law); ownership of the success or otherwise of an undertaking (e.g. business practices); responsibilities are the equal partner of rights - those with human rights are the ones who have the power and therefore the responsibility for those without rights. (See RESPONSIBLE) (MP)

RESTORATION ECOLOGY: Rehabilitation of ecological components of land previously degraded by humans. Reconstruction of a damaged site involves environmental reclamation including the removal of infrastructure, clearing of potential pollutants, and contouring of the land surface and topsoil. Ecological rehabilitation then includes local ecosystem research, bioremediation, nursery, planting and maintenance of appropriate trees, reforestation, habitat restoration, fauna management and ecosystem monitoring. Restoration ecology is an important final component of any extractive development process such as mining or forestry. Restored ecological systems are usually less natural and diverse than originals, and should be considered an adjunct to habitat preservation. Many ecologists are philosophically predisposed to conservation rather than restoration. (See BIOREMEDIATION, TREE-PLANTING) (MP)

RESTRICTION ENZYME, ENDONUCLEASE: A protein that recognizes specific, short nucleotide sequences and cuts DNA at those sites. There are over 400 such enzymes in bacteria that recognize over 100 different DNA sequences. See restriction enzyme cutting site. (DM)

RESTRICTION ENZYME CUTTING SITE: A specific nucleotide sequence of DNA at which a restriction enzyme cuts the DNA. Some sites occur frequently in DNA, every several hundred base pairs, but others occur much less frequently, may be every 10,000 base pairs. (DM)

RESUSCITATION: The reviving of patients from unconsciousness or apparent death, e.g., by restoration of breathing after respiratory arrest or of heartbeat after cardiac arrest. (See DNR, EMERGENCY CARE, RESUSCITATION ORDERS) (DM)

RESUSCITATION ORDERS: Instructions, policies, and decision making regarding the reviving of patients whose respiration and/or heartbeat have stopped. (See DNR ORDERS) (DM)

RETROVIRUS: A family of Viruses whose genetic material is RNA and is further characterized by the presence of reverse transcriptase in the virion. They can convert RNA to DNA and back to RNA. HIV is a retrovirus. (DM)

RE-USE: This term in the phrase "Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle" refers to using goods and materials again rather than discarding or replacing them. Appreciate items for their usefulness and function rather than their newness and fashion. This form of direct recycling requires no expenditure of energy in the processes of remanufacture. (See REDUCE, RECYCLING) (MP)

REVIEW COMMITTEES: See ETHICS COMMITTEES.

REVIEW COMMITTTE ON GENETIC MANIPULATION (RCGM): A Competent authority/committee of the Department of Biotechnology to monitor the safety related aspects in respect or on-going research projects and activities involving genetically engineered organism/hazardous microorganism. It is members may be drawn from other Government departments such as Indian Council of Medical Research. The function of review committee may include prescribing the procedures, restricting or prohibiting production, sale importation and use of such genetically engineered organisms and their cellular components. (JA)

REVERSE GENETICS: Process that involves production of DNA from RNA in the reverse direction to the central dogma of molecular biology. Applied to consider the genetic technology of producing living organisms from dead (frozen /preserved in alcohol) organism's DNA materials, e.g. Frozen mammoth. (DM, JA)

REVERSE TRANSCRIPTASE: An enzyme capable of directing the production of a single-strand DNA copy form an RNA template. (DM)

REVOLUTIONARY: An adjective describing revolution, or a noun describing an individual involved in ideological activism and revolution. From the authoritarian communalistic perspective, the revolutionary is a violent or reactionary menace. For the individualist however, the word often puts a positive connotation on the act of civil disobedience or resistance against oppression. (See FREEDOM FIGHTER, ACTIVISM, TERRORISM) (MP)

RFLP, RESTRICTION FRAGMENT LENGTH POLYMORPHISM: Variation in DNA fragment sizes cut by restriction enzymes; polymorphic sequences that are responsible for RFLPs are used as markers on genetic linkage maps. (DM)

RHYTHM METHOD OF CONTRACEPTION: The avoidance of sexual intercourse near the middle of a 28-day cycle when an egg is most likely to be present in the oviduct but this method is not safe and is best combined with some other method of contraception. (See NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING METHODS) (IP)

RIBONUCLEIC ACID: See RNA.

RIBOSOMAL RNA, rRNA: A class of RNA found in the ribosomes of cells, and is a ribasomes primary constituent. Ribosomes are the protein-manufacturing organelles of cells. They exist in the cytoplasm and are attached to the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum. rRNA is transcribed from DNA, like all RNA, and it is processed in the nucleolus before being transported through the nuclear membrane in eukaryotes. This type of RNA constitutes the vast majority of RNA found in a typical cell (upwards of 95%). While proteins are also present in ribosomes, 23s rRNA forms the active site for peptide bond formation, making that molecule a ribozyme. (RD)

RIBOSOME: The small cellular organelle where polypeptides are assembled from amino acids based on messenger RNA templates. (RW)

RICIN: A deadly toxin obtained from castor bean Ricinus communis that produces agglutination of red blood cells and hemorrhage of the respiratory and gastrointestinal mucosa. The toxin has been used as a biological weapon in the hands of terrorists. (see BIOLOGICAL WARFARE) (IP)

RIGHTS: A right might be defined as the freedom to do what one has a duty to do. This might be the freedom which one actually has, or the freedom, which one ethically ought to have. The former may be called positive rights , and the latter ethical rights . If one believes in the Bible, or a similar doctrine according to which God commanded things to exist, and commanded plants, animals and humans also to be fruitful and multiply, then everything -- including rocks, water and fire -- will have a right to exist, and plants, animals and humans will also have a right to be fruitful and multiply. Sometimes duties, and therefore also rights, come into conflict. I cannot exist unless I eat other creatures and deprive them of their duties and rights to exist. I have, however, no more rights than my duties require. So I have no right to eat more than what I must eat in order to be healthy and survive. Certainly if we have a right at all to kill animals for meat, we have no right to a milligram more meat than we need for health. If some people need less meat than others, they have less of a right to it.

If we do not believe in the Bible or any other metaphysical source of duties, it is much harder to prove the existence of ethical rights. Indeed the great theorists of natural and inalienable rights, like John Locke and the framers of the United States Declaration of Independence, believed in God. Without such belief, someone else may contradict anyone's claim to a right or a duty, with no clear method to decide the argument other than by a contest of power. In such a case, only positive rights will exist. And only those who manage to fight for rights and win will have them. (FL)

RIGHT TO DIE: A right claimed by patients or their representatives to make decisions with regard to the patient's dying, such as by refusing life-sustaining medical care or by requesting assistance in dying. (See ADVANCE DIRECTIVES). (DM)

RISK: The probability of adverse effects, their nature, and their severity over a range of exposures. For example, a function of the probability of an adverse health effect and the severity of that effect, consequential to a hazard(s) in food. A risk is an expected danger or a problem situation around the corner, due to the introduction of a new technological situation, e.g. introduction of GM crops/antibiotic resistance due to the proliferation of drugs, interspecies transfer of genes, creation of new bioweapons -pathogenic organisms, crop failure, reduction in biodiversity, privatization of natural resources and patenting. (DM, JA)

RISK ANALYSES: See RISK ASSESSMENT, RISK MANAGEMENT AND RISK COMMUNICATION.

RISK ASSESMENT: Science of understanding hazards - identification, possibility of their occurrence ad the consequence of such occurrence. i.e. characterizing the risk. (JA)

RISK COMMUNICATION: The interactive exchange of information and opinions concerning risk among risk assessors, risk managers, consumers and other interested parties. (JA)

RISK MANAGEMENT: If the assessed risk is dangerous then it includes weighing policy, selecting, implementing control options, regulatory measures. (JA)

RISK/BENEFIT: A decision-assisting process that attempts to identify, estimate and weigh all the risks and benefits associated with a particular action and to determine whether overall the benefit would be worth the associated risk. (DM)

RITALIN: See RITALIN HYDROCHLORIDE.

RITALIN HYDROCHLORIDE: Trademark for methylphenidate hydrochloride, a central nervous system stimulant that has been used successfully in the treatment of children suffering from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The drug acts by stimulating the brain to increase the amount of dopamine available to it, however, there are side effects associated with this treatment including growth retardation, insomnia, decreased appetite and nervous tics. Therefore, medicating young people is controversial; especially in the absence of more severe mood disorders it should not be forgotten that high levels of activity, precociousness and curiosity are often simply normal childhood characteristics. (See ATTENTION-DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER). (IP)

RNA, RIBONUCLEIC ACID: A chemical found in the nucleus and cytoplasm of cells; it plays an important role in protein synthesis and other chemical activities of the cell. There are several classes of RNA molecules, including messenger RNA, transfer RNA, ribosomal RNA and other small RNAs, each serving a different purpose. Contains uracil as a base pair. Similar to DNA in structure and plays an intermediary role in converting information from DNA to ribosomes where proteins are made. (DM,JA)

RNAi: Double stranded interference RNA, can destroy messenger RNA sequence, can slice any gene. (JA)

ROBOT: (Czech: robota "work" or "servitude") An automated electromechanical device imitative of human anatomy or actions, often with programming to perform certain human-like functions such as perception and manipulation. The term was coined by Karel Capek, robots defined in his 1920 play Rossum’s  Universal Robots as mass-produced mechanical humanoids for cheap labor. Since then robots have become a staple of fiction, popular culture, science, technology and work. About half of the world’s  operational robots are in Japan, with the world robot population in 2000 roughly 1 million. Most of the robot workforce are non-complex "dumb" robots engaged in repetitive taerform humans in speed, strength, stamina and precision, and are used in the commercial production of cars, electronics and chemicals. An "intelligent" robot uses its sensory apspond and adapt as well as follow its programming. Robots can work in hazardous, extreme or remote environments such as the exploration of space (probes) and the deep sea (aquaby contributes to prosthetics and bionics (cyborgs), and the design of robots often imitates the human form (androids). Some parents have interactive robot dogs as pets, and the is eagerly anticipated by others. Modern snake-like robots used for earthquake rescue are comprised of numerous interchangeable segmented units acting as a network. Robot spy-pssiles are currently used in international conflict. In the future self-replicating robots constructed from atoms and molecules (nanobots) may swarm the battlefield or sweep theerol and other illnesses. (See ANDROID, AQUABOT, CYBORG, NANOBOT, ROBOT BUSH, ROBOT ETHICS, ROBOTICS) (MP)

ROBOT BUSH: A hypothetical thought experiment by Hans Moravec in Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intelligence, designed to illustrate the outermost extremes of potential advancement in robot technology. "A bush robot would be a marvel of surrealism to behold." It capitalizes on the manipulative utility of limbs and fingers, being comprised of numerous such extensions into smaller and thinner branches and then cilia. These dexterous self-constructing mechanical joints would be so numerous as to give the robot "organic" flexibility. The adaptable leaf fingers are antennae able to radio-communicate and sense forces, movement, electromagnetics and light among other things. With artificial intelligence and coordinated neural networking, they could divide into a swarm of smaller units which could burrow, swim, fly like insects and collect environmental data relevant to the parent robot’s  knowledge and survival. Taken further, the fingers could subdivide down to the realm of nanotechnology, in which case the abilities of such a robot would truly appear like magic. (See ROBOT, NANOTECHNOLOGY) (MP)

ROBOT ETHICS: The flipsides to ethics in relation to robots and artificial intelligence are: 1. How should we treat them, and 2. How will they treat us? Robots and androids like ‘ R2D2 ’ and ‘Atom’ (Astroboy) are already considered ‘part of the family’ by younger media viewers in places like Japan and America. But where do we draw the line with our machines and start treating them humanely - when they can ask us not to turn them off? Will they consider ethics in their own attempts at survival? Isaac Asimov proposed his Three Laws of Robotics in 1942: “1) A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm; 2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where in conflict with the first law; 3) A robot must protect its own existence except where in conflict with the first or second law.” The fear is that learning machines may not be that easily ‘programmed’ (e.g. Terminator or ‘Hal’ in 2001 ). The combination of human and machine (bionics, microchip implants, creation of cyborgs) provides another dimension relevant to medical bioethics. (See ROBOT, ROBOTICS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, BIONICS, CYBORG, MICROCHIP IMPLANT) (MP)

ROBOTICS: The science and technology of robot design, engineering and operation, combining artificial intelligence with mechanical engineering. Each requirement of a robot has technology to match, for example seeing (video), hearing (audio), perception (radio-waves), understanding (face/speech recognition), walking (locomotion), manipulation (cybernetic networks), problem-solving (heuristics, expert systems), thinking (artificial intelligence), action (robot body), interaction (learning procedures) and self-evolution (artificial life). Robotics has the job of integrating such functions, including both design/engineering and programming for dealing with the environment. Experimental robotics is conducted for example at NASA and MIT and by Japanese technology companies, surveyed by the International Federation of Robotics. The field of robotics is applied to business (e.g. consumer robots), policy (e.g. expert systems), medicine (e.g. bionics, cyborgs), engineering (e.g. cybernetics), industry (e.g. assembly-line), hazardous work (e.g. radioactive materials, bomb disposal), military (e.g. autonomous vehicles, missiles) and exploration (spacecraft, submersibles). Robotics may provide economical exploration of the solar system with larger numbers of smaller robotic space probes. Robotics presents its greatest risk to humans when applied to artificial intelligence (AI), providing computers with thinking and learning ability, senses and a ‘body’ witf armed robotic vehicles or nanobots possible in future combat. (See ROBOT, ARTIFICIAL LIFE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, CYBERNETICS, BIONICS, NANOTECHNOLOGY) (MP)

ROBOTIC WARFARE: See VIRTUAL WARFARE.

ROBUST: Able to withstand utilization; for example robust machinery is tough and long-lasting, and a robust model is able to stand up to model testing such as sensitivity analysis. (See SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS) (MP)

ROLE PLAYING: Is a method to discover the best approach for a problem and is the most often used in business, industry and education. In general it is not aimed at discovering the deeper feelings involved in a person's behavior. (See ROLE REVERSAL; PSYCHODRAMA; AXIODRAMA). (IP) 2. An activity during which a person attempts to think, speak, and act/react as another, quite different person might. Often thought of as acting without lines. Seen in a lot of pen and paper games, where a person is given (or creates) a character to play (known as a Player-Character or PC), who has a set of motivations, skills, abilities and considerations that may be markedly different from their own, and the person “playing” the character attempts to be as that character would be. This may involve just describing what the character would do in any given situation, or it may involve putting on an accent, or dressing in a similar way to the character being portrayed. These sorts of games, called Role Playing Games, require a Game Master or Storyteller; someone who takes on the role of “the world” as it were, telling the player what is happening in the world, and how the others in the world (called Non-Player Characters – NPCs) react, according to a set of “game rules” that are often commercially produced, and can be quite complex. Together they participate in a form of group story telling, each filling in a role like a freeform play. Like most pastimes that involve “escapism,” some players become addicted to their game, and a very small minority may even lose track of what is fantasy and what is reality. Most, however, just enjoy the game for what it is. (RD)

ROLE REVERSAL: Is where the major participants in an interaction change roles aimed at transcending the habitual limitations of egocentricity and reach a space where empathy for the other person's viewpoint or feeling can be accurately assessed. (See ROLE PLAYING; PSYCHODRAMA; AXIODRAMA) (IP)

ROMA: Known by many names, the Roma are commonly known in English as Gypsies. Various Roma populations may be found in Europe, the Middle East, and North America. The Roma were traditionally travellers, and have suffered much discrimination, especially in Europe. They were targeted, along with the Jews, as primary victims in the Holocaust. The origin of the Roma is not totally clear, although their language appears to be of northern Indian origin. Their language was traditionally unwritten, and not standardized and this accelerated the development of local dialects into quite distinct forms. The result is that many forms of the language of the Roma, known as Romany, are not mutually intelligible. (AG)

ROS: See RECREATION OPPORTUNITY SPECTRUM.

ROUNDUP: Glyphosphate, a very widely used, systemic, non-selective herbicide. Monsanto has genetically engineered some crops, notably soybeans, with glyphosphate tolerance to facilitate weeding of fields. (RW)

RSI: See REPETITIVE STRAIN INJURY.

RU-486: The steriodal antiprogestin milepristone produced by Roussel Uclaf as its trade name (now made by Danco Laboratories under the tradename Mifeprex), which is capable of inducing early abortion by inhibiting the secretion of progesterone. (DM+RD)

RUSSELL, BERTRAND: (1872-1970) An English mathematician, philosopher and peace activist, Lord Russell was one of the most prolific and influential philosophers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Principia Mathematica, which he co-authored with Alfred North Whitehead, was an attempt to translate mathematics into the language of formal logic, and to formulate axioms from which all mathematics could be deduced. This enterprise was frustrated by Kurt Godel's 1931 proof that all such systems must be incomplete. But the book nonetheless laid the foundations for the logical analysis of mathematics, language and science. Even though this book was co-authored, it was essentially a development and formal working-out of the ideas of an earlier work, Principles of Mathematics , which Russell wrote himself.

Russell's contributions to almost every branch of philosophy were immense. In an early paper, "On the notion of cause" he worked out in detail Hume's substitution of the idea of regularity, for that of necessary causal connexion . The outcome is that cause itself becomes an outmoded concept, with is replaced by that of laws describing regularities of correlation between one kind of event and another. This is the philosophical background behind accepted thinking in medicine and epidemiology today, in which it is rarely said that a certain kind of event causes certain clinical symptoms. It is said instead that these events are correlated or associated with those symptoms.

Russell's A History of Western Philosophy (1945), has always been unpopular among academic philosophers because of its readable and somewhat flippant style, and a few inaccuracies. But it remains a valuable reference book until this day. It has been consulted frequently for the dates of most of the philosophers referred to in this Dictionary.

Russell's ethics was not only philosophical. He was willing to make personal sacrifices for his principles. As an outspoken pacifist, active in the No-Conscription Fellowship during World War I, he was jailed for his activities. He wrote his Introduction to Mathematical Philosophy while serving his jail term.

Russell's intellectual courage is a model for philosophers and bioethicists. Some people hang on to their ideas, and hesitate to learn new things for fear that their long-held opinions might be challenged. Russell was the opposite. He began every enquiry with an open mind, ready to discover new truths. If what he discovered happened to contradict what he had written before, he did not resist, but accepted this as a further step towards truth. Although Russell was a pacifist during World War I, he later recognised Nazism as a threat to humanity, and supported the Allied war effort in World War II. (FL)

RYLE.G: (1900-1976) Gilbert Ryle was one of the most influential in the Oxford School of Ordinary Language Philosophy. These philosophers taught that the purpose of philosophy is to analyse our concepts. This is done by observing and recording how we use words in ordinary language. In his book The Concept of Mind , he argued that we do not learn about the mind through neurobiology, but rather by analysing how we use words, like thought, pain , and pleasure , which refer to our mental lives. (FL)

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