Includes bibliographical references. / In this thesis I analyse the human rights dimensions of the South African law on four topical medical biotechnology subjects, namely human embryo research, the use of human gametes, autologous tem cell therapy, and private stem cell banking. In all four cases, my analyses give specific prominence to two research themes: first, human dignity as touchstone of the South African human rights regime, and secondly legal certainly. The analyses show that the legal rules governing three of the four selected medical biotechnology subjects are not aligned with the country's human rights regime.

Current research in natural products has heavily focused on the identification of potent biologically active compounds, specifically for drug development. The project detailed in this thesis focuses on the extraction of compounds from marine invertebrates as well as defining the absolute configuration for a compound. Utilizing marine invertebrates, the sonications method developed in this thesis provides an alternative approach to rapidly extract compounds for primary screening. This method is viable compared to a traditional overnight extraction method, without suffering compound degredation... Previously, clathric acid was isolated from an unknown Clathria sp. This compound is a bibyblic C-21 terpenoid shown to have mild antimicrobial activity against gram positive bacteria. With only its relative configuration established, additional amounts of clathric acid were required to define the overall absolute configuration. Identifying the Clathria sp. to be Clathria compressa, through spicule analysis, additional sponge tissues were then collected off the coast of Boca Raton, Florida to isolate additional quatities of clathric acid. The absolulte configuration was determined through circular dichroism and the octant rule to establish a final configuration for clathric acid's four carbon stereocenters to be: (3S, 7S, 8R, and 12S). / by Rolando Rueda de Leâon. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash depicts a world in which the more freedom the characters believe they have, the more control is actually being exerted upon them. I argue that Snow Crash parallels the world in which we are beginning to find ourselves today. In the modern world, we have the convenience of the Internet, which gives us the belief that we have a great deal of control over our environment. However, my argument stems from the idea that the freedom the characters believe that they are afforded in such a universe is actually another level of control being exercised upon them. I argue that our world is mimicked by the world of Snow Crash in a way that shows how truly little freedom we are given in our posthuman society. / by Monica Sedore. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-01-26T12:51:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 eudesquintinodeoliveirajunior_tese.pdf: 1111369 bytes, checksum: 88b0f45321dd3ad4e873ab99dd8ef6ed (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-31 / Bioethics, a term that was coined for the first time in 1970 by the North American oncologist Van Rensselaer Potter, is a multidisciplinary science with the purpose of discussing varied aspects of the human life, raising the man on the top of the pyramid to decide regarding the conduct that is more appropriate, convenient and constructive for his own life project. The will autonomy, as the marker principle of the life science, is the feasible mechanism that will provide the best choice to reach the objectives of the person's accomplishment. The BioLaw, for its turn, derived from the bioethical perspective, is considered like a regulator device of the scientific progress, with the special objective to protect and to check safety to both the health and life, either human, animal being or vegetable. The Biotechnology and the Biotechnoscience with immeasurable progress offer, in short time, resources so that the man can have a better quality of life. But the scientific productions, not all of them salutary and convenient for the human being, need regulation. The BioLaw accounts for the juridical reading, as a parameter of the constitutional principles, among them with relevance, the human being's dignity. In the linking of the Bioethics and BioLaw, it is searched the answer to the issues that sharpen and challenge the man not yet prepared and who does not have promptly a definition on the acceptance or rejection of conducts that can break the ethical consensus or the use of techniques incompatible with the expectation of the individualized life. Several themes will cause further social, ethics, cultural and juridical changes among research such as: research involving adult and embryonic stem cells; different approved techniques for the accomplishment of medically assisted procreation; the substitutive maternity; the genetic patrimony; the synthetic cell; the understanding of the recombinant DNA; the allowed abortion, anencephaly fetus and the woman's procreative option; the transgender surgery and their consequences in the civil life; the scientific research with human beings and the CEP/CONEP System; the therapeutic and scientific cloning; the blood transfusion and the right to the faith faced with the right to life; the right to death dignity and the palliative cares provided by euthanasia, disthanasia , ortothanasia and assisted suicide; the homoaffective relationship and their legal implications; the Inventory for Elderlies and the longevity; the donation and transplantation of organs and human tissues; the beginning and the end of human life, and others. The present work aims to demonstrate the reach of the autonomy of the human will facing with new presented challenges. Or if the volition, in the extent of its individuality, with the burden of the rational, by itself, has effectiveness to reject or to accept the scientific progress. / A bioética, termo que foi cunhado pela primeira vez em 1970 pelo oncologista norte-americano Van Rensselaer Potter, apresenta-se como uma ciência multidisciplinar com a finalidade de discutir variados aspectos da vida humana, alçando o homem no topo da pirâmide para que possa decidir a respeito da conduta que seja mais adequada, conveniente e construtiva para seu projeto de vida. A autonomia da vontade, como o princípio balizador da ciência da vida, é o mecanismo racional que irá proporcionar a escolha da opção mais correta para se atingir os objetivos de realização da pessoa. O biodireito, por sua vez, fruto do pensamento bioético, coloca-se como um dispositivo regulador dos avanços científicos, com o objetivo especial de proteger e conferir segurança à saúde e à vida, quer seja humana, animal ou vegetal. A bioteconologia e a biotecnociência, com avanços imensuráveis, oferecem, em curto espaço de tempo, recursos para que o homem possa ter uma qualidade melhor de vida. Mas as produções científicas, nem todas salutares e convenientes para o ser humano, necessitam de regulação. O biodireito encarrega-se da leitura jurídica, tendo como parâmetro os princípios constitucionais, dentre eles com relevância o da dignidade da pessoa humana. Na junção da bioética e biodireito busca-se a resposta para os temas que aguçam e desafiam o homem ainda despreparado e que não carrega de pronto uma definição a respeito da aceitação ou rejeição de condutas que podem quebrar o consenso ético ou da utilização de técnicas que venham a ser incompatíveis com a expectativa da vida individualizada. As pesquisas envolvendo células-tronco adultas e embrionárias; as variadas técnicas aprovadas para a realização da procriação assistida; a maternidade substitutiva; o patrimônio genético; a célula sintética; a decifração do DNA recombinante; o aborto permitido, o de feto anencéfalo e o proveniente da opção procriativa da mulher; a cirurgia de transgenitalização e suas consequências na vida civil; as pesquisas científicas com seres humanos e o Sistema CEP/CONEP; a clonagem terapêutica e científica; a transfusão de sangue e o direito à crença diante do direito à vida; o direito à dignidade da morte oferecidos pela eutanásia, distanásia, ortotanásia e suicídio assistido; as uniões homoafetivas e suas implicações legais; o Estatuto do Idoso e a longevidade; a doação e o transplante de órgãos e tecidos humanos; o início e o fim da vida humana, são dentre muitos outros, temas que provocarão mudanças sociais, éticas, culturais e jurídicas. O presente trabalho procura demonstrar o alcance da autonomia da vontade humana diante dos novos desafios apresentados. Ou se a volição, no âmbito de sua individualidade, com a carga do racional, por si só, tem eficácia para repudiar ou aceitar os avanços científicos.