UNESCO

Hey everyone,

Well, I promised a curve for the research papers that were eligible for research awards by tonight, and, go figure, I haven’t been able to have that for you guys. I will definitely have a curve for all the papers by tomorrow night, when we pass out the papers to you guys. I will also have a bit of something to say to you guys to help you move forward from your initial deliberations, and into what I hope will be the most productive MUN session of the conference.

Which leads me to… the first day of the conference!

If you guys have access to a University of California (at Berkeley) campus map, our room will be at LeConte Hall, which is far from most hotels. So there are two things to remember…

1) Bring shoes that aren’t too uncomfortable. For guys, I don’t think this is too much of a problem. For girls, feel free to bring flip-flops or comfortable sandals for the walk up or down. Just make sure to be professional in terms of foot attire during committee session.

2) Bring an umbrella.

Berkeley weather is notoriously unpredictable. It was supposed to rain today, so I brought my umbrella out with me, only to be hit with blinding sunlight. So my advice to all of you is this: Don’t trust the weather reports. Bring a warm jacket or sweater, and be prepared to take it off in case of sun. Bring an umbrella, and be ready to stash it in your bag.

Also another public service reminder: Berkeley is protest central. We have three major protests going on right now, and it won’t be hard for you to notice them when you walk past them. All I have to say about that is this: just ignore them. All Berkeley protestors are begging for attention. Their causes are nonsensical, their viewpoints are too radical for logical human beings, and anyone dragged into their antics are simply wasting their time.

So when a bad-smelling, creaky-sounding, raisin-looking crazy approaches you to join them in a spiritual communion in the trees, just look the other way and walk past them. Its really the only way to be able to go home and avoid telling your parents that you’ve decided to eschew college for the school of hard knocks.

Alright, see all of you tomorrow!

- Bryan

Article link.By MALCOLM RITTER
AP Science Writer
 
NEW YORK (AP) — Nearly all of today’s Native Americans in North, Central and South America can trace part of their ancestry to six women whose descendants immigrated around 20,000 years ago, a DNA study suggests.

Those women left a particular DNA legacy that persists to today in about about 95 percent of Native Americans, researchers said…

Just one more day guys! Stay tuned for blog updates tonight.

- Bryan

Hey guys, hopefully this goes up sometime during the chat…

First off, an article from a delegate!

 Article link.

Colombia believes that this article clearly exemplifies the pros and cons of research and especially gene patents. Though it can prove an effective method for encouraging alternative methods and in turn, could produce revolutionary advances in the field of biomedical research, this can be greatly outweighed by the fact that many organizations simply apply for these patents in order to obtain profits and gain an advantage over other companies. Colombia believes that the laws surrounding research patents, and gene patents in particular should be modified to allow more flexibility while still respecting the intellectual property rights of the original developer to encourage cooperation between researchers internationally.

CASE STUDIES

Rosy Periwinkle

The Catharanthus roseus, or the Rosy Periwinkle, has been used for hundreds of years by Madagascans to treat diabeties. This property obviously attracted the attention of Western scientists, who were able to extract two compounds (vinblastine and vincristine) that have cancer treating properties. The profits were obviously high, and the companies that the scientists worked for got very rich for these life-saving drugs.

Only one problem. The Madagascans didn’t receive a cent for their indigenous knowledge that played a vital role in the development of the drugs. Had they not had this knowledge, for instance, no one would have given the Rosy Periwinkle a second thought.

So extend this case to our first topic, where instead of the Rosy Periwinkle, its the genome of the Madagascans that is being used to develop drugs, and the profits derived from the patents and the sale of that drug aren’t coming back to them. Is this a problem that should be solved, and if so, how?

Unapproved drug trials in Peru

Alright, I’m lazy. I’ll post their synopsis of the issue, which is so much better-written than I could ever hope to do.

Two children suffered serious allergic reactions after being used as guinea pigs by the California-based company Ventria Bioscience in Lima, Peru [1]. The children were part of a clinical trial of a genetically modified (GM) rice serum containing two synthetic human proteins lactoferrin and lysozyme (normally found in human milk and other bodily fluids), not yet approved for testing in the US or anywhere else in the world.

Ventria had experienced stiff opposition for growing the GM rice in its home country. It was driven out of California and southeast Missouri in 2005, but managed to grow the GM rice in North Carolina [2] (Molecular Pharming - the New Battlefront over GM Crops , SiS27).

The company was hoping to sell the GM rice as a “nutraceutical” presumably on grounds that it provided extra nutrition. Nevertheless, it was unlikely to gain approval for a clinical trial in the US; so, like other companies, it decided to target Third World countries where regulations are lax…

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

There are only three days left before the conference officially starts, but based on what I’ve seen in chat rooms and in emails and blog comments, many of you guys have already gotten into the mood. I’m excited to see what the committee itself is like if that is the case.

One note about my committees. I’m sure many of you are frustrated with the superficiality of many MUN topics in previous committees (overpopulation, globalization, landmines, etc…). And frankly, BMUN is not innocent in picking engaging topics all the time. That is why I picked these difficult topics, but also why I’ve tried to give you guys as many case studies as possible. I truly believe that the most rewarding committees are the ones where you walk out knowing more than when you walked in. I hope so for that is the case with UNESCO.

That is why I also want you guys to change the typical MUN focus that many other conferences have. I don’t want you do focus simply on the “what” questions. Everyone knows that the greenhouse effect or exploitation of labor is bad. I want you to quickly move from the “what” questions and refocus on the “how”. How do we fix these issues? Enforcement and implementation, those are going to be your buzz words for this weekend. Where does funding come from? How do we make sure nonconformers with your policies are set straight? Only when you answer the “how” questions do you really come out with a true understanding of the issues at hand.

Alright, time to post, so I will see you guys tomorrow with another post. Hopefully the curve of the research papers eligible for research awards is out by then.

- Bryan

Article link.

By David Willey
BBC News, Rome

The Vatican has brought up to date the traditional seven deadly sins by adding seven modern mortal sins it claims are becoming prevalent in what it calls an era of “unstoppable globalisation”.

Those newly risking eternal punishment include drug pushers, the obscenely wealthy, and scientists who manipulate human genes. So “thou shalt not carry out morally dubious scientific experiments” or “thou shalt not pollute the earth” might one day be added to the Ten Commandments…

Even though our topics don’t directly involve genetic manipulation, this should serve to remind those representing nations closely aligned with the Catholic Church (or similarly orthodox religious organizations) the position some (but not all) religious groups have towards anything involved with genetics.

More posts to come today, so keep updated!

- Bryan

Hey everyone, I’m starting to feel well enough to resume posting, so here goes.

 OFFICE HOURS

I will be having one LAST session (I know, three isn’t hardly enough) on AIM tomorrow evening from 8 to 9 pm. My sn will be BMUNunesco56, once again. Apologies to all those who were looking for me since the last session, but I can only log into a MUN-related sn so many times.

BIOETHICS CASE STUDIES

This will be the first of two posts regarding case studies to get your brains frying in terms of the issues we will be facing. These are case studies and are by NO means unique to the country talked about in the study. For example, the Chinese case study features laws that are also present in the United States, Canada, Japan, and in most of Europe.

Chinese Screening for Disease in Couples

The Maternal and Infant Health Care Law in China is a major legislative action that ”provides services” for all couples seeking marriage and children regarding screening for potential inheritable diseases and genetic and mental conditions. The law isn’t clear in terms of how mandatory these “services” are, but if a physician determines that a couple has unacceptable risk of passing on disease, he can issue a report banning the couple from marrying until that couple undergoes necessary contraception.

This law is a recurrence of negative eugenics, where a government prevents couples with health risks (mental state, genetic conditions, etc.) from having children. It occured to a great extent in America and Western Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and many of the laws of that period are still in place today.

Naturally, Americans are repulsed by such practices that are now legal in China (note the diction of my language, even. I tried to make it neutral, but its not). But how do the Chinese think? For the most part, they are in support of this law. Their culture is simply more accepting of practices that conform the individual to the group. Keep this in mind when you try to create some sort of universal and international standard.

Icelandic Genomic Testing

Iceland was the first nation to fully map the genomes and the genetic data of every single one of its citizens. The project began as a database covering just personal and other non-scientific data, but impetus from several communities convinced lawmakers to include genetic data as well.

The ease of doing so helped. Iceland has a small population, most of which has interbred for the majority of its history, resulting in very little genetic diversity.  Detailed health records have also been taken, so the value of a genetic database seemed very helpful in improving health care in Iceland.

However, there was much protest from groups all around Iceland. This protest centered around issues of abuse of that genetic data, such as genetic discrimination in health care, insurance, and job interviews, violation of privacy, and many others. As of now, the genetic database is complete, and the issue has subsided, for now…

This case is wildly different than what we will be facing, since Iceland is much less diverse than, well, the entire world put together. So if there is protest among people’s that are nearly genetically alike, just imagine the turmoil this testing will have among people who are much more genetically diverse.

Alright, more to come tomorrow!

- Bryan

I’ve noticed that a lot of you have been posting, and even more of you guys have been asking me for the next posts.

As much as I love your anticipation and excitement, I’ve been stuck in bed with a very nasty strain of flu/cough/nasty thing, and the most I can do is promise that I will put up everything the moment I get better.

Ok, the computer glare is starting to give me a very nasty headache, so I’ll end by saying that if you stick with me through the lack of posts, I will promise to give you by far the best conference experience you will have ever had.

- Bryan