Defining Disability: Creating a Monster?

Defining disability – Re-defining policy

Introduction: In 2002, an EC study reported that different European countries define disability differently, and this is one of the primary reasons why no common Europe-wide policies on disability exist. The EU-MHADIE project was funded with the aim of producing recommendations and guidelines for future common disability policies. The WHO’s ICF classification and its bio-psycho-social model of ...

Creating a "hopeful monster": mouse forward genetic screens.

One of the most straightforward approaches to making novel biological discoveries is the forward genetic screen. The time is ripe for forward genetic screens in the mouse since the mouse genome is sequenced, but the function of many of the genes remains unknown. Today, with careful planning, such screens are within the reach of even small individual labs. In this chapter we first discuss the ty...

Defining reliable disability outcomes in multiple sclerosis.

Prevention of irreversible disability is currently the most important goal of disease modifying therapy for multiple sclerosis. The disability outcomes used in most clinical trials rely on progression of Expanded Disability Status Scale score confirmed over 3 or 6 months. However, sensitivity and stability of this metric has not been extensively evaluated. Using the global MSBase cohort study, ...

A Double-Headed Monster

A Monster Lie Algebra ?

We define a remarkable Lie algebra of infinite dimension, and conjecture that it may be related to the Fischer-Griess Monster group. The idea was mooted in [C-N] that there might be an infinite-dimensional Lie algebra (or superalgebra) L that in some sense “explains” the Fischer-Griess ‘Monster” group M . In this chapter we produce some candidates for L based on properties of the Leech lattice ...