Joseph S. Alper

Individual, family, and societal dimensions of genetic discrimination: A case study analysis

AbstractBackground. As the development and use of genetic tests have increased, so have concerns regarding the uses of genetic information. Genetic discrimination, the differential treatment of individuals based on real or perceived differences in their genomes, is a recently described form of discrimination. The range and significance of experiences associated with this form of discrimination are not yet well known and are investigated in this study. Methods. Individuals at-risk to develop a genetic condition and parents of children with specific genetic conditions were surveyed by questionnaire for reports of genetic discrimination. A total of 27,790 questionnaires were sent out by mail. Of 917 responses received, 206 were followed up with telephone interviews. The responses were analyzed regarding circumstances of the alleged discrimination, the institutions involved, issues relating to the redress of grievances, and strategies to avoid discrimination. Results. A number of institutions were reported to have engaged in genetic discrimination including health and life insurance companies, health care providers, blood banks, adoption agencies, the military, and schools. The alleged instances of discrimination were against individuals who were asymptomatic and sometimes impacted on other asymptomatic relatives. Few surveyed respondents knew of the existence of institutions such as state insurance commissions or the Medical Information Bureau, Inc., which may play roles in redress of grievances or correction of misinformation. Conclusions. Genetic discrimination is variable in form and cause and can have marked consequences for individuals experiencing discrimination and their relatives. The presence of abnormal genes in all individuals makes each person a potential victim of this type of discrimination. The increasing development and utilization of genetic tests will likely result in increased genetic discrimination in the absence of contravening measures.

Genetic Discrimination and Screening for Hemochromatosis

Recent advances in tests for the genotype for hemochromatosis and suggestions that the tests be used in mass screening programs for the disease raise the possibility of a large increase in the incidence of discrimination against people who are found to be homozygous for hemochromatosis. This paper presents cases of genetic discrimination drawn from a study of discrimination against people with a variety of genetic conditions. The cases discussed here involve employment and several types of insurance discrimination against people diagnosed with hemochromatosis who either are currently asymptomatic or whose condition is controlled by means of phlebotomies. There is no justification for these types of discrimination since people with controlled hemochromatosis suffer no excess mortality or morbidity. Our study suggests that genetic discrimination is already a serious problem and that any proposed screening program for hemochromatosis or other genetic condition must consider and attempt to mitigate its effects.

The genetic analysis of human behavior: A new era?

Recent developments in DNA-based techniques may revolutionize the study of human behavioral genetics. However, unless these methods are used with great care, many of the same mistakes which have plagued non-molecular genetic analyses of behavior will reoccur. Errors in the application of genetic approaches and in the interpretation of results have been a common feature of published studies in this field. We review studies in human behavioral genetics, focusing on those using identical twins and DNA-based linkage techniques in order to draw attention to recurrent problems in molecular and non-molecular studies. We suggest possible guidelines for future research in the area of the biological basis of human behavior.

Genes, free will, and criminal responsibility.

Advances in human genetics have raised the possibility that genetic mechanisms can explain various aspects of human behavior. It has been suggested that such genetic explanations would tend to diminish responsibility for ones actions. In this paper I argue that the genetic approach adds little to our understanding of free will, determinism, and responsibility. Even though human beings are material systems obeying the laws of the physical and biological sciences, their behavior may still be unpredictable and essentially undetermined. Moreover, with few exceptions, behavior influenced by genes is no more deterministic than is behavior influenced by the environment. An analysis of the genetic and environmental influences and the complex interactions between them reveals a certain symmetry between genetic and environmental explanations of behavior. Consequently, any argument concerning the relevance of a genetic excuse to a criminal defense will be equally applicable to an environmental excuse.

Reconsidering Genetic Antidiscrimination Legislation

In response to the awareness that genetic discrimination is a significant problem, many states have passed or are passing legislation regulating the use of genetic information. Authors discuss the weaknesses as well as the strengths of such legislation, and recommend that the laws be redrafted to prohibit discrimination on the basis of any type of predictive medical information.

Vibronic Interactions in the Anions of Benzene and Substituted Benzenes

The Jahn–Teller and pseudo‐Jahn–Teller effects involving degenerate and nearly degenerate electronic levels, respectively, are investigated for the anions of benzene and substituted benzenes. Two different transformation methods are discussed. In each the total Hamiltonian for the degenerate case is expressed in second quantized form. In the first method, complex orbitals and coordinates are used and a conanical transformation is employed. The coupling term of the transformed Hamiltonian becomes a small perturbation and the use of a small number of zeroth‐order states suffices to give accurate values of the vibronic energy lowering for the lowest state. In the second method, real orbitals and coordinates are used, a different transformation is performed, and second‐order perturbation theory is used to calculate the vibronic energy lowering. In both methods, the energy is expressed as a function of a dimensionless coupling parameter. The second method is then applied to the nondegenerate cases. The two tra...

Scaled quantum mechanical calculation of the vibrational structure of the solvated glycine zwitterion

Abstract The scaled quantum mechanical (SQM) method for calculating the vibrational structure of molecules is applied to the solvated glycine zwitterion. The ab initio force field generated by means of a molecular dynamics calculation [J.S. Alper, H. Dothe and D.F. Coker, Chem. Phys. 153 (1991) 51] was scaled using the frequencies from experimental spectra taken in aqueous solution. Theoretical frequencies, potential energy distributions, intensities, and line shapes were obtained. The theoretical frequencies and normal mode assignments were in excellent agreement with the aqueous spectra. Theoretical frequencies and normal modes calculated by scaling to frequencies obtained from the experimental α-crystal spectra of glycine were in significantly worse agreement with the experimental crystalline values. These results suggest that the calculation has distinguished the aqueous from the crystalline environment.

What is a newtonian system? The failure of energy conservation and determinism in supertasks

Supertasks recently discussed in the literature purport to display a failure ofenergy conservation and determinism in Newtonian mechanics. We debatewhether these supertasks are admissible as Newtonian systems, with Earmanand Norton defending the affirmative and Alper and Bridger the negative.

Genetic screening: triumphs, problems, and controversies.

As genetic screening becomes more widespread, it becomes increasingly impor tant to analyze the manifold implications of genetic screening programs. This paper characterizes the various types of programs and discusses some of the scientific, ethical, social, and economic issues that arise in evaluating any genetic screening program. Two examples of successful programs, newborn screening for phenylketonuria and carrier detection for Tay-Sachs disease, are presented. We then discuss three other screening programs that have not yet been fully implemented but which have already engendered a great deal of controversy: mass screening for heterozygosity for cystic fibrosis, DNA fingerprinting in the criminal justice system, and genetic screening in the workplace.

Newtonian Supertasks: A Critical Analysis

In two recent papers Perez Laraudogoitia has described a variety of supertasks involving elastic collisions in Newtonian systems containing a denumerably infinite set of particles. He maintains that these various supertasks give examples of systems in which energy is not conserved, particles at rest begin to move spontaneously, particles disappear from a system, and particles are created ex nihilo. An analysis of these supertasks suggests that they involve systems that do not satisfy the mathematical conditions required of Newtonian systems at the time the supertask is due to be completed, or else they rely on the application of the time-reversal transformation to states which are not well-defined. Consequently, it is unjustified to conclude that the paradoxical results are arising from within the framework of Newtonian mechanics. In the last part of this article, we discuss various aspects of the physics of these supertasks.