#i.e. essentially using MB as a tool as humans have done to it for a long time - except maybe worse because MB doesn't even know

[coquelicoq]

what really strikes me in rereading artificial condition is that once murderbot gets past its initial "oh my god this evil genius research transport could squash me like a bug, i'm so fucked" reaction to ART threatening it, it is WAY more chill about being vulnerable to ART than it is about being vulnerable to humans. MB is stressed out if a human so much as looks at it, but it lets ART hitch a ride in its brain and observe everything it's doing the whole time it's on RaviHyral, not to mention the two times it lets down its wall (!!) or the time it allows ART to modify its physical body while it's unconscious (!!!!). that's about as vulnerable as it's possible for MB to be, and it consents to it. so what's the deal with that?

not only is ART more of a direct threat to MB than any human is ("I had never directly interacted with anything this powerful before"), but also MB is more emotionally vulnerable (i.e., more exposed) to ART than it is to humans just in the sense that ART is privy to more of MB's perceptions/reactions/experience/feelings (its interiority) than humans are. with humans, MB is constantly checking its expression in the security cameras, trying to figure out if it's giving anything away. ART can't read MB's mind, but it can, e.g., perceive MB's emotions while watching Worldhoppers in a way that a human would not be able to. it's afraid of humans recognizing and reacting to the fact that it is sentient and has an inner life, but not of ART doing the same thing.

ultimately the root of this discrepancy is that MB is terrified of its own ability to hurt others. in artificial condition, the thing it's most immediately afraid of is being recognized as a rogue SecUnit. this would threaten its autonomy, and losing its autonomy would mean it could be used to hurt people against its will. (there's a ton more to say about this, and about the other things MB is afraid of, but i will save it for another day.)

but crucially, MB can't really hurt ART. it could do some damage if it really tried, but the power imbalance is in ART's favor. it doesn't need to worry about losing control/being controlled and hurting ART, because ART can defend itself from rogue SecUnits. and it doesn't need to worry about ART controlling it in order to hurt humans, because ART sobs into its figurative ice cream any time a fictional human bites it on a TV show.

with humans, MB is in the weird position of fearing their power over it (both their structural power as entities that are legally considered people where it is considered a thing, and their more immediate power to force it to carry out their commands) and also fearing its ability to harm them (humans are so squishy, guys). ART doesn't have structural power over MB - there is the potential for bot/construct solidarity there - and it wouldn't use its other power to wield MB as a tool to harm humans because it doesn't want to harm humans either (remember that at this point MB doesn't know about ART's trigger-happy colony-exploding proclivities). and MB isn't even the slightest bit of afraid of hurting ART, because MB is but a tiny bug in comparison.

ART is a safe entity for MB to be friends with, not in spite of the power imbalance in ART's favor but precisely because of it. MB can only have a relationship that's not overshadowed by fear when it is freed from its fear of its own potential to harm.

#can't wait till i get to network effect in my reread and get to think about all this again in the context of #the massive betrayal of trust inherent in ART manipulating MB to not only put MB's humans in danger #but also put MB in the position of harming additional humans w/o knowing the whole story & being able to make informed decisions about it #i.e. essentially using MB as a tool as humans have done to it for a long time - except maybe worse because MB doesn't even know #that that's what's happening #also network effect is so interesting because ART is basically powerless for so much of it! which is a total reversal #murderbot #the murderbot diaries #artificial condition #my posts #vulnerability #intimacy #gaze #moot admins #mb trust #autonomy #mb ac #mb meta #my mb posts #f #ugh this is so wordy. sorry i always use 100 words when 30 would do #also sorry if i'm treading ground that's already been covered really thoroughly by past meta #i have only read a tiny fraction of the mb meta out there so i'm probably just restating things everyone already knows! #but i had to get there myself #if you have any really good mb meta that you love feel free to send it to me because i'd like to read it!!

[biomedgrid]

Biomed Grid| The Genetic Revolution: The Challenges of Genetic Sequencing in Substance-Use Disorders

Introduction

Substance Use Disorders present a global public-health issue and are responsible for approximately 12.4% of deaths worldwide as well as injury or illness in over 40 million individuals every year [1]. Substance Use Disorders are associated with loss of productivity, higher levels of domestic violence, and increased propensity for criminal behavior and incarceration [2]. Due to the high numbers of people affected by this disorder and the large burden it places on society as a whole, developing effective treatment protocols to combat substance Use Disorders is necessary. The brain-disease model can reduce the stigma around addiction as it suggests that the likelihood of substance abuse is influenced by factors such as genetics and neural pathways rather than any moral shortcomings or poor decision-making skills [2]. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) allow scientists to investigate genes associated with substance-use on a much deeper level [3].

Genes and Substance Abuse

Current models for Genetic Architecture of Human Dependence The general consensus for the genetic basis of human dependence on drugs is that it is affected approximately 50% by polygenic influences which each contribute a small amount to the likelihood of abuse [1]. The first major GWAS study for alcohol abuse was published in 2008 and analyzed genetic samples from 1,024 German males compared to a control sample of 1,358 subjects from separate population-based studies (487 from PopGen, 488 from KORA-gen, and 383 from the Heinz Nixdorf Risk Factors, Evaluation of Coronary Calcium, and Lifestyle (RECALL)) [3]. All patients were diagnosed with alcohol dependence by two independent psychiatrists using the DSM-IV criteria and were separated by sex, ethnicity, age at onset and recruitment procedures; results were compared with a study in rats [3]. Through this method, the researchers found two strong markers: rs7590720 and rs1344694 on chromosome region 2q35 which were previously linked to alcohol dependence. The gene most associated with these Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) was PECR which is an enzyme involved in fatty acid metabolism [3]. This study provides promising data that this variant may be involved with alcohol-use disorders by affecting the metabolic pathway in alcohol consumption.

Several studies have suggested that the endogenous opioid system is involved in the neurobiological pathway of alcohol addiction [4]. The A118G polymorphism of the OPRM1 gene causes a functional difference in the opioid receptors which cause the receptor to bind endorphin three times more strongly than other variants. One study showed that individuals with the G allele had stronger feelings of intoxication, sedation, and happiness across all trials compared to the control, and were three times more likely to report a history of familial alcohol abuse [4].

Studies that examine the genes involved in the nicotine pathway and addiction have revealed several markers in the chromosome 15 gene cluster which encode for nicotine acetylcholine receptors such as the 3,5, and 4receptors and differ significantly between heavy and light smokers [5]. Identifying these types of genetic markers could help further understanding of the mechanisms involved with substance use as well as inform the way patients think about their substance use. Researchers have already begun to investigate the emotional impact of receiving genetic predisposition information for nicotine addicts. One such study surveyed 269 British adult smokers—both men and women with a mean age of 41.5 years— who smoked at least 1 cigarette a day. The study investigated the individual’s perceived control over stopping smoking as well as preferred cessation methods given their genetic results (i.e. “using my own willpower,” “taking Zyban, a drug that reduces cravings for nicotine by increasing dopamine levels,” “using nicotine replacement therapy such as gum or patches,” “asking my family doctor for advice” etc.). This study did suggest that learning about a genetic predisposition to nicotine may increase the desire for effective cessation methods, increasing the likelihood of reaching out to get help [5].

While most genetic studies of addiction focus on specific Substance Use Disorders and particular genetic pathways, one study attempted to find potential addiction variants by converging genome scanning data from multiple studies [6]. The study analyzed more than 104 markers that have previously been found to have a positive correlation with addiction based on previous linkage studies. They then used the criteria of ‘5 Mb’ which follows that positive markers linked to substance abuse vulnerability in at least two different samples lie within 5 Mb of each other and found that 34 of the 104 markers fell into 15 5-Mb chromosome regions. They found that 6 different human chromosome areas contained positive markers for addiction [6]. Further studies based on this analysis should be done to understand the molecular genetic pathway of those identified chromosome regions.

Conclusion

NSG and GWAS studies represent powerful tools for investigating possible genetic factors involved in Substance Use Disorders. The research in this area is still in its early stages and more work is needed to identify genes linked to different types of Substance Use Disorders and to uncover the mechanisms by which these genes act. Improving the understanding of genes involved in Substance Use Disorders could allow for more precise and effective treatment options as well as shift perceptions around Substance Use Disorders. Providing robust and informative genetic counseling be an essential part of the future genetic research and precision medicine for people with Substance Use Disorders to ensure that patients understand the complexity, limitations, and significance of their results.

Read More About this Article: https://biomedgrid.com/fulltext/volume3/the-genetic-revolution-the-challenges-of-genetic-sequencing-in-substance-use-disorders.000673.phpFor more about: Journals on Biomedical Science :Biomed Grid

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