CRISPR/Cas: a Nobel Prize award-winning precise genome editing technology for gene therapy and crop improvement

Since it was first recognized in bacteria and archaea as a mechanism for innate viral immunity in the early 2010 s,clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats(CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein(Cas) has rapidly been developed into a robust, multifunctional genome editing tool with many uses. Following the discovery of the initial CRISPR/Cas-based system, the technology has been advanced to facilitate a multitude of different functions. These include development as a base editor, prime editor, epigenetic editor, and CRISPR interference(CRISPRi) and CRISPR activator(CRISPRa) gene regulators. It can also be used for chromatin and RNA targeting and imaging. Its applications have proved revolutionary across numerous biological fields, especially in biomedical and agricultural improvement. As a diagnostic tool, CRISPR has been developed to aid the detection and screening of both human and plant diseases, and has even been applied during the current coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) pandemic. CRISPR/Cas is also being trialed as a new form of gene therapy for treating various human diseases, including cancers, and has aided drug development. In terms of agricultural breeding, precise targeting of biological pathways via CRISPR/Cas has been key to regulating molecular biosynthesis and allowing modification of proteins, starch, oil, and other functional components for crop improvement. Adding to this, CRISPR/Cas has been shown capable of significantly enhancing both plant tolerance to environmental stresses and overall crop yield via the targeting of various agronomically important gene regulators. Looking to the future, increasing the efficiency and precision of CRISPR/Cas delivery systems and limiting off-target activity are two major challenges for wider application of the technology. This review provides an in-depth overview of current CRISPR development, including the advantages and disadvantages of the technology,recent applications, and future considerations.     

Cultivating Hope Through Learning for the Common Good

This article examines how an orientation toward hope can guide institutions of higher education in achieving their ultimate purpose of providing education for the common good of society. In today's cultural context, colleges and universities must navigate a multitude of challenges and competing philosophies, many of which question the validity of their inherent value and purpose. As society continues to press questions of market relevance, sustainability, accessibility, quality, and the value of higher education, a basic question remains: How, amid all of these challenges, can today's postsecondary institutions contribute to the cultivation of a better society? In this regard, faith-based colleges and universities can offer guidance. By carrying out their distinctive mandate of infusing their educational mission with the holistic character formation of students, these institutions can promote the common good by coupling the Gospel message of personal hope in Jesus Christ with the call to cultural influence and transformation. To demonstrate this concept, a framework is offered that describes both a starting point—a biblical foundation for understanding humanity and hope—and a pathway through learning. The application of this framework—uncommon learning for the common good—invites implications for curricular design, the facilitation of learning, and institutional leadership that faculty and administrators from across the spectrum of higher education may find timely and relevant to their own learning contexts.     

Women's Role in Creating the Field of Health and Safety Communication

Crystal Eastman, Alice Hamilton, and the women who organized the Workers' Health Bureau helped shape the field of health and safety communication early in this century. In texts targeted to varied professional and popular audiences, they sought to prevent occupational accidents and disease by promoting voluntary efforts by employers, government regulation and compensation programs, and unions to incorporate health and safety standards in contracts. While both their approach to research and their argumentative strategies can be considered “feminine”, this designation reflects a tendency to associate women with activities and behaviors that have been devalued.     

熟能生巧

如今计算机时代已经真正到来，对传统带来了诸多冲击，电子邮件代替了传统信函，打字代替了书写，书法还有存在的必要吗？本在这方面给我们一些启迪和思考。[编按]     

Communist education as modernisation strategy? The swings of the globalisation pendulum in Eastern Europe (1947–1989)

This article engages with the influence of Soviet educational models and Western European contacts, mediated by historical institutional and cultural legacies in producing specifically Eastern educational variants. A first level of analysis will identify the reasons behind the emergence of these variations. A second and higher level of analysis will question the use of global models in the modernisation processes. The Soviet influence in education is conceptualised as initially both an imperialist force and a voluntary borrowing, followed by internationalisation with local adaptation. It cannot be conceived of as a coherent model. In fact, Soviet education was transformed over time and incorporated both Western and elitist elements. Nevertheless, a historical and comparative analysis indicates that, while not divergent on educational grounds, the Soviet and the Western European educational patterns at times intermingled. These countries looked increasingly to the West in search of models and to reposition themselves in the global arena.     

Metalinguistic Awareness,Reading and Spelling: Roots and Branches of Literacy

Studies on the role of metalinguistic awareness in emerging literacy have established that metalinguistic abilities at phonological, syntactic, print and pragmatic levels are linked to later attainments in literacy. Few have examined the interplay among these skills and developing reading and spelling. Using time-reversed path analyses, this study explores the possibility that metalinguistic awareness registers stronger direct effects on literacy than early pre-conventional reading and invented spelling skills. Sixty children aged 54 months (initially) were given measures of metalinguistic abilities, pre-conventional reading and invented spelling on three occasions. This allowed the exploration of reciprocal relationships between pre-conventional reading, invented spelling and metalinguistic abilities. On the fourth occasion, standardised tests of reading and spelling were administered. Results from time-reversed path analysis show that pre-conventional reading and invented spelling influenced each other across development and had stronger direct effects on subsequent literacy than did aspects of metalinguistic awareness. Pre-literate metalinguistic abilities were shown to affect pre-conventional reading and invented spelling skills and combine with these to influence further growth in literacy. The study’s results have implications for current models of literacy development.