The book contains 19 national reports and a comparative legal analysis of the legal regulations on the procedure of genome editing on the human germline. It is worked out which shared values ​​the different legal systems connect and which differences exist. On this basis, it is examined whether an international regulation of the topic is possible and how it could be designed. In addition, it will be examined to what extent the regulations of other countries can serve as a model for German legislation.

Using movies and narratives as naturalistic stimuli in human neuroimaging studies has yielded significant ad- vances in understanding of cognitive and emotional functions. The relevant literature was reviewed, with em- phasis on how the use of naturalistic stimuli has helped advance scientific understanding of human memory, attention, language, emotions, and social cognition in ways that would have been difficult otherwise. These ad- vances include discovering a cortical hierarchy of temporal receptive windows, which supports processing of dynamic information that accumulates over several time scales, such as immediate reactions vs. slowly emerging patterns in social interactions. Naturalistic stimuli have also helped elucidate how the hippocampus supports segmentation and memorization of events in day-to-day life and have afforded insights into attentional brain mechanisms underlying our ability to adopt specific perspectives during natural viewing. Further, neuroimaging studies with naturalistic stimuli have revealed the role of the default-mode network in narrative-processing and in social cognition. Finally, by robustly eliciting genuine emotions, these stimuli have helped elucidate the brain basis of both basic and social emotions apparently manifested as highly overlapping yet distinguishable patterns of brain activity. 

While understanding their positions on various ethical issues in the field of reproductive technologies, IVF patients form their own special language, not scientific, but rather vernacular, based on real experience. A group of women actively seeking procreation with modern biotechnologies remains somewhat conservative, focused on a traditional family. New concepts and terminology are particularly well-formed in their disputes over the use of reproductive donation. In general, what they articulate and advocate is consistent with concepts of bioethics that are also controversial – for some, the priority of genetic connectivity is unusually strong, while others deny its significance. The study bases on examining perceptions of reproductive donation by bioethics specialists presented in the literature and their comparison with the views of ART patients communicating on the Internet. The author uses qualitative discourse analysis and studies thematic discussions on the Probirka.ru website, which are devoted to the preferences of their participants in relation to reproductive donation, its acceptance or rejection. The study shows that patients’ positions are somewhat more extreme than the views of bioethics. For example, some participants practically deny the existence of genes, while others talk about the advantage of finding a child without using one’s own body. The author reveals different groups of patients, and more traditionally oriented women prefer to delegate the genetic part of parenthood to third parties and cannot refuse to bear pregnancy as they see it as a central part of female identity, while more modernized prefer to keep genetic connection if it is possible to refuse childbearing.

Question:Paired pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation(ppTMS) is a common approach to probe cortical excitatory and inhi-bitory processes [a]. ppTMS paradigms can be classified by the inter-stimulus interval (ISI) to long and short interval ppTMS. It isassumed, that short interval ppTMS phenomena such as short-inter-val cortical inhibition phenomenon (SICI) are rather focal and arediscussed in terms of surround inhibition in the motor cortex [b].Longer interval ppTMS phenomena are believed to be based on morewidespread trans-synaptic mechanisms[c]. The topographic aspectsof these ppTMS phenomena are not fully understood yet. The associ-ation of the various ppTMS phenomena studied in different musclesof the same limb remains unexplored. The aim of this study was toassess the interaction of ppTMS phenomena, probed in differentupper limb muscles. We hypothesized that the correlation amongthe different hand muscles within the ppTMS phenomenon willdepend on the ppTMS ISI.Methods:19 healthy right-handed volunteers participated in thestudy (15 females, 18–30 y.o.). Four ppTMS phenomena (SICI/LICI –short-interval/long-interval intracortical inhibition, SICF – short nterval intracortical facilitation and ICF – intracortical facilitation)were probed using navigated TMS (MagPro X100, Localite TMSNavigator) applied at the APB hotspot of the left primary motor cor-tex. We registered motor evoked potentials (MEPs) from four rightupper limb muscles: abductor pollicis brevis (APB), extensor digito-rum communis (EDC), abductor digiti minimi (ADM) and biceps bra-chii (BB). Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was calculated toevaluate an association of inter-muscle ppTMS phenomena.Multiple comparisons were controlled with the FDR. For the finalanalysis we considered only correlations between spatially sepa-rated muscles with sufficiently high amplitudes of MEPs during sin-gle pulse TMS.Results:SICI, ICF and LICI phenomena correlated significantlyamong all the considered muscles‘ pairs. SICI for APBEDC:r=0.793,p= 0.000; for ADMEDC:r= 0.905,p= 0.000. ICF for APBEDC:r= 0.639,p= 0.000; for ADMEDC:r= 0.639,p= 0.000.SICF for APBEDC:r= 0.423,p> 0.05; for ADMEDC:r= 0.779,p= 0.000. LICI for APBEDC:r= 0.575,p= 0.000; for ADMEDC:r= 0.704,p= 0.004.Conclusion:In agreement with the previous data, we did not finda clear association among different ppTMS phenomena. In contrastto our hypothesis, there is no link between ISI and the correlationof the same ppTMS phenomenon among muscles. The lack of thecorrelation between APB and EDC in SICF might be explained bySICF peculiar mechanism through the superposition of D-and I-waves [d]; and by a specialized functionality of the thenar, compar-ing to hypothenar muscles, – the idea which should be further ver-ified in the following experiments.

One of the features of the developing suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the “biological clock” of the body, is the early expression of dopamine (DA) receptors in the absence of dopaminergic neurons as a source of DA. Only recently we showed that DA in SCN is synthesized together by nerve fibers containing only tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and neurons containing only aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC). This study was aimed to assess specific characteristics of the phenotype of TH-fibers in ontogenesis. For this purpose, PCR and immunohistochemical analysis of the expression of genes and proteins such as TH, AADC, vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT), and receptors for DA (D1, D2) was performed. We have detected numerous TH-immunoreactive fibers in SCN of young and adult rats. VMAT was observed in some of them, which suggests vesicular storage of L-DOPA. Considering the key role of TH-fibers in cooperative synthesis of DA, we assumed the presence of their dopamine regulation. Using double immunolabeling, we showed that D1 and D2 are present in TH-fibers in adult rats, and only D1 in young rats. According to PCR, D1 and D2 are also expressed in neurons of SCN in adult rats and only D1 in young rats. Thus, it was shown for the first time that VMAT and D1 are coexpressed in TH-fibers synthesizing L-DOPA in SCN in young and adult rats, and also D2 receptors in adult rats, which suggests vesicular storage and dopamine regulation of L-DOPA secretion, respectively.

Valosin-containing human protein (VCP) or p97 performs enzyme functions associated with the maintenance of protein homeostasis and control of protein quality. Disruption of its normal functioning might be associated with the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Tissues of mice with toxininduced presymptomatic and early symptomatic stages of PD, as well as 52 treated and untreated patients with newly diagnosed PD and nine patients with a “predicted” form of PD, were investigated. Signifcant changes in Vcp gene expression were observed in almost all studied mouse tissues. A signifcant decrease in VCP expression specifc for PD was also detected at both the late preclinical and the early clinical stages of PD in untreated patients. Thus, a decrease in VCP expression is important for changes in the function of the nervous system at early stages of PD. Analysis of changes in VCP expression in all patients with PD and in Vcp in the peripheral blood of mice used as models of PD revealed signifcant decreases in expression specifc for PD. These data suggest that a decrease in the relative levels of VCP mRNA might serve as a biomarker for the development of pathology at the early clinical and preclinical stages of human PD.

The predictive properties of methods aimed for estimating the water content in skin from the spectral diffuse reflection characteristics near the water absorption line in the near-IR spectral range are analysed. Numerical simulation data, experimental data on diffuse reflection from human skin phantoms, and data from the reference data set of human skin reflectance spectra are used to consider the possibility of gaining additional information about the water distribution in skin. The influence of variations in the scattering coefficient and oxyhaemoglobin concentration on the water content estimates is investigated.

Background: Sleep disorders have emerged as potential cancer risk factors.

Objective: This review discusses the relationships between sleep, obesity, and breathing disorders with concomitant risks of developing cancer.

Results: Sleep disorders result in an abnormal expression of clock genes, decreased immunity, and melatonin release disruption. Therefore, these disorders may contribute to cancer development. Moreover, in sleep breathing disorder, which are frequently experienced by the obese persons, the sufferer experiences intermittent hypoxia that may stimulate cancer cell proliferation.

Discussion: During short- or long- duration sleep, sleep-wake rhythm disruption may occur. Insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea increase cancer risks. In short sleepers, an increased risk of stomach cancer, esophageal squamous cell cancer, and breast cancer were observed. Among long sleepers (>9 hours), the risk of some hematologic malignancies is elevated.

Conclusion: Several factors including insomnia, circadian disruption, obesity, and intermittent hypoxia in obstructive sleep apnea are contributing risk factors for increased risk of several types of cancers. However, further studies are needed to determine the more significant of these risk factors and their interactions.

Background: The ability of the human body to produce metabolic energy from light modifies fundamental concepts of biochemistry.

Objective: This review discusses the relationships between the long-accepted concept is that glucose has a unique dual role as an energy source and as the main source of carbon chains that are precursors of all organic matter. The capability of melanin to produce energy challenges this premise.

Results: The prevalent biochemical concept, therefore, needs to be adjusted to incorporate a newly discovered state of Nature based on melanin’s ability to dissociate water to produce energy and to reform water from molecular hydrogen and oxygen.

Discussion: Our findings regarding the potential implication of QIAPI-1 as a melanin precursor that has bioenergetics capabilities.

Conclusion: Specifically, we reported its promising application as a means for treating retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). The instant report focuses on the long-term treatment medical effects of melanin in treating ROP.

Background: In this review we survey medical treatments and research strategies, and we discuss why they have failed to cure degenerative disc diseases or even slow down the degenerative process.

Objective: We seek to stimulate discussion with respect to changing the medical paradigm associated with treatments and research applied to degenerative disc diseases.

Method Proposal: We summarize a Biological Transformation therapy for curing chronic inflammations and degenerative disc diseases, as was previously described in the book Biological Transformations controlled by the Mind Volume 1.

Preliminary Studies: A single-patient case study is presented that documents complete recovery from an advanced lumbar bilateral discopathy and long-term hypertrophic chronic rhinitis by application of the method proposed.

Conclusion: Biological transformations controlled by the mind can be applied by men and women in order to improve their quality of life and cure degenerative disc diseases and chronic inflammations illnesses.