Anthropomorphism has long been considered a cardinal error when describing animals. Ethicists have feared the consequences of misrepresenting animals in their reasoning. Recent research within human-animal studies, however, has sophisticated the notion of anthropomorphism. It is suggested that avoiding anthropomorphism merely creates other morphisms, such as mechanomorphism. Instead of avoiding anthropomorphism, it is argued that it is a communicative strategy that should be used critically. Instances of anthropomorphism in animal ethics are analyzed in this paper. Some analogies made between people and non-human animals in present theories of animal ethics are clear instances of psychological anthropomorphism. Other analogies are implicit cases of cultural anthropomorphism. It is argued that animal ethics needs to take the wider discourse of critical anthropomorphism into account in order to sophisticate the understanding and use of anthropomorphic projections. Anthropomorphism is an efficient tool of communication, and it may be made an adequate one as well.
Proteoglycans are cell surface and extracellular matrix molecules to which long, unbranched glycosaminoglycan side chains are attached. Heparan sulphate, a type of glycosaminoglycan chain, has been proposed as a co-factor necessary for signalling by a range of growth factors. Here we provide evidence that loss of 2-O-sulphation in heparan sulphate leads to a significant reduction in cell proliferation in the developing cerebral cortex. The gene encoding heparan sulphate 2-sulphotransferase (Hs2st) is expressed in embryonic cortex and histological analysis of mice homozygous for a null mutation in Hs2st indicated a reduction in the thickness of the embryonic cerebral cortex. Using 5′-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation assays we found a reduction of approximately 40% in labelling indices of cortical precursor cells at E12. Comparison of the fates of cortical cells born on E13 and E15 in Hs2st−/− mutant and wildtype littermate embryos revealed no differences in the pattern of cell migration. Our findings suggest a critical role for 2-O-sulphation of heparan sulphate proteoglycan (HSPG) in regulating cell proliferation during development of the cerebral cortex, perhaps through the modulation of cellular responses to growth factor signalling.