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PubMedDate not supplied

Transgenic science.

The ability to manipulate the genome of the whole animal has, for the past 10 years, provided researchers with an alternative route of inquiry into many complex biological processes. Transgenic animals have numerous applications, encompassing a wide range of different disciplines, but they have proved especially useful in the investigation of gene regulation and gene function within the context of the living animal. This review describes the different techniques which have been used to produce transgenic animals and highlights advances which have been achieved using the transgenic approach.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Meeting report: NCI think tanks in cancer biology.

Over the past year and a half, the Division of Cancer Biology of NCI has been assessing the state of cancer biology, with the goal of developing a research agenda for the near future that would accelerate progress in cancer research. Our goal was to identify emerging concepts and promising opportunities for investigation across nine scientific areas with unusual promise for rapid progress. A series of meetings called Think Tanks was convened, each involving a panel of 15-25 experts. In all, over 160 leaders in cancer research and related fields discussed the current state of science in their disciplines, projected its trajectory and recommended what NCI could or should do to facilitate progress. In addition to emphasizing the importance of continued support for investigator-initiated research, the Think Tanks permitted identification of a number of overarching themes. Critical among them was the need to support the development of integrative cancer biology and to encourage studies of the tumor microenvironment by establishing an infrastructure for interactive research. There was also consensus about the importance of comparative studies of normal and tumor states, and development of mechanisms for supporting collaborative, interdisciplinary research and training.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Conservation Biology and real-world conservation.

In the 20 years since Conservation Biology was launched with the aim of disseminating scientific knowledge to help conserve biodiversity and the natural world, our discipline has hugely influenced the practice of conservation. But we have had less impact outside the profession itself and we have not transformed that practice into an enterprise large enough to achieve our conservation goals. As we look to the next 20 years, we need to become more relevant and important to the societies in which we live. To do so, the discipline of conservation biology must generate answers even when full scientific knowledge is lacking, structure scientific research around polices and debates that influence what we value as conservationists, go beyond the certitude of the biological sciences into the more contextual debates of the social sciences, engage scientifically with human-dominated landscapes, and address the question of how conservation can contribute to the improvement of human livelihoods and the quality of human life.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed2003

Rational design and engineering of delivery systems for therapeutics: biomedical exercises in colloid and surface science.

Engineering delivery systems of therapeutic agents has grown into an independent field, transcending the scope of traditional disciplines and capturing the interest of both academic and industrial research. At the same time, the acceleration in the discovery of new therapeutic moieties (chemical, biological, genetic and radiological) has led to an increasing demand for delivery systems capable of protecting, transporting, and selectively depositing those therapeutic agents to desired sites. The vast majority of delivery systems physically reside in the colloidal domain, while their surface properties and interfacial interactions with the biological milieu critically determine the pharmacological profiles of the delivered therapeutic agents. Interestingly though, the colloidal and surface properties of delivery systems are commonly overlooked in view of the predominant attention placed on the therapeutic effectiveness achieved. Moreover, the development and evaluation of novel delivery systems towards clinical use is often progressed by serendipity rather than a systematic design process, often leading to failure. The present article will attempt to illustrate the colloid and interfacial perspective of a delivery event, as well as exemplify the vast opportunities offered by treating, analysing and manipulating delivery systems as colloidal systems. Exploring and defining the colloid and surface nature of the interactions taking place between the biological moieties in the body and an administered delivery vehicle will allow for the rational engineering of effective delivery systems. A design scheme is also proposed on the way in which the engineering of advanced delivery systems should be practiced towards their transformation from laboratory inventions to clinically viable therapeutics. Lastly, three case studies are presented, demonstrating how rational manipulation of the colloidal and surface properties of delivery systems can lead to newly engineered systems relevant to chemotherapy, gene therapy and radiotherapy.

Biomedical Engineering↗
PubMed1996

Human physiology in space.

The universality of gravity (1 g) in our daily lives makes it difficult to appreciate its importance in morphology and physiology. Bone and muscle support systems were created, cellular pumps developed, neurons organised and receptors and transducers of gravitational force to biologically relevant signals evolved under 1g gravity. Spaceflight provides the only microgravity environment where systematic experimentation can expand our basic understanding of gravitational physiology and perhaps provide new insights into normal physiology and disease processes. These include the surprising extent of our body's dependence on perceptual information, and understanding the effect and importance of forces generated within the body's weightbearing structures such as muscle and bones. Beyond this exciting prospect is the importance of this work towards opening the solar system for human exploration. Although both appear promising, we are only just beginning to taste what lies ahead.

Astronauts↗
PubMed1999

Exposure assessment of laboratory students.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has two kinds of laboratories, teaching for undergraduate students and research laboratories for graduate students and research staff. The objective of this study is to determine chemical exposures during teaching and research activities. There are three hypotheses in this study: (1) Exposures in academic laboratories are well below health standards; (2) Students in undergraduate teaching laboratories have less chemical exposure compared to students in graduate research laboratories; and (3) Students in different disciplines are expected to have different exposures. From September 1996 to December 1996, 132 air samples were collected from both teaching and research laboratories in the departments of Material Sciences and Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Biology. The most frequently sampled chemicals in these three departments were cobalt, styrene, and formaldehyde, respectively. A total of 23 different agents were measured. In this study, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) threshold limit value (TLV)-short-term exposure limit (STEL) is used as the health-effect standard for exposure time less than four hours. The ACGIH TLV-TWA (time-weighted average) is used as the standard for exposure times equal to or greater than four hours. The ratio of measured concentrations to the appropriate ACGIH standard was then calculated. The geometric mean of the ratio for the total samples was 0.34 percent of the standards. There were 70 samples from teaching laboratories (geometric mean = 0.38% of the standards), and 62 samples from research laboratories (geometric mean = 0.08% of the standards). The chemical exposures relative to the standards in teaching laboratories were statistically higher than in research laboratories (p-value < 0.001). Information about personal protective equipment and the use of laboratory chemical hoods was also collected. The differences in use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among these departments was not statistically significant. From the air sampling results, we concluded that (1) Chemical exposures in the academic laboratories in this study were all well below the health standards; (2) Undergraduate students in teaching laboratories had higher chemical exposures than graduate students in research laboratories; (3) Chemical exposures among departments were not significantly different; and (4) Hazard communication, safety training, and laboratory rules enforcement are important for protection and may be the reason that the results from this study indicate that chemical exposures in this academic institution are well below the health standards under normal operations.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[History of the Société Française de Neurologie: 1899-1974].

The "Société de Neurologie de Paris", started by 17 founding members all of whom with the exception of Dejerine were students of Charcot, helds its inaugural session on 6th July 1899. It became the "Société Française de Neurologie" in 1949. Its history is intertwined with that of neurology itself, to whose progress it greatly contributed through the work presented at its monthly sessions and collated in the Revue Neurologique, "the official organ for its publications". The "Réunions Neurologiques Internationales", which began in 1920, increased its prestige and widened its public. Down the years they have borne witness to the preoccupations of the day, reflecting the development of neurology and the prodigious changes that it has undergone. Born under the sign of the anatomico-clinical method, the Society has unceasingly transformed itself in keeping with the evolving science, taking on board all the latest advances in medicine and biology and their associated techniques. It has given birth to neurosurgery, clinical neurophysiology and neuroradiology. The multiplicity of new techniques governing progress in the discipline threatened to have an adverse effect on the integrity of the Society. However, it is within the context of the Society that the wide range of neurosciences can find the federating influence they need to take their place within the corpus of neurology. The history of the Society has also reflected the century through which it has lived, a century which has proved one of the most tragic in the history of the western world. It has suffered its many vicissitudes, which have been fundamental in determining the nature of its work and its sphere of influence.

France↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The impact on the international literature of the scientific production of Italian researchers in the disciplines "psychiatry" and "psychology". A bibliometric evaluation].

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to present the results of a citation analysis concerned with the impact of Italian researchers and institutions in psychiatry and psychology upon the international scientific community. METHOD: The analysis has been performed using a database of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI): All scientific papers which were published between 1981 and 1998 in psychiatric and psychological journals included in the Science Citation Index (SCI) and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) were considered. The most cited Italian papers, authors and institutions are reported, as well the most frequently utilised journals. RESULTS: Publications concerned with neuropsychology, psychopharmacology and biological psychiatry were the most cited. This prevalence also affected the ranking of the most cited authors, even though, in this case, research groups in disciplines such as clinical psychology and epidemiological psychiatry appeared to be strong. The four most productive Italian Universities were characterized by the presence of both a School of Medicine and a School of Psychology. The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry and Psychopharmacology were the most frequent vehicles of scientific communication. CONCLUSIONS: The results entail important implications for Italian research in psychology and psychiatry. On a general level, these analyses appear to be helpful for monitoring scientific production by granting agencies and for comparing different individual researchers. On a more specific level the analysis has identified the leading trends in research of Italian psychiatry and psychology.

Bibliometrics↗
PubMed1998

Cardiovascular physiology in the twentieth century: great strides and missed opportunities.

In a broad sense, physiology is the study of the chemical and physical bases of life processes. Consequently, the evolution of our knowledge of cardiovascular functions is closely linked to the developments in many fields of science, including chemistry, physics, engineering, and biology. A cursory examination reveals that different "foundation" sciences predominated in different stages of the history of cardiovascular physiology. Today, cardiovascular physiology is poised to exploit new developments in all areas of scientific inquiry. However, cardiovascular physiologists have not always embraced the power of the multidisciplinary approach. In this brief overview of the history of cardiovascular physiology in the 20th century, the major focus is on some of the major advances in the field and the contributions of other disciplines to these developments. In addition, the forces that influenced cardiovascular science in this century and their impact on the evolution of the field in the new millennium are discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Integration of biological and nursing sciences: a 10-year plan to enhance research and training.

A proposed multiyear plan of funding mechanisms by the National Center for Nursing Research (NCNR) to increase the use of biological theory and measurements in nursing research has been developed for both research training and research programs. The objectives of the research training programs are (a) to develop a cadre of nurse scientists with solid research training in the biological sciences, (b) to upgrade to state-of-the-art biological research for mid-career nurse scientists, and (c) to ensure adequate highly trained biological-nurse manpower will be available to accomplish the nation's nursing research agenda. The objectives of the research programs are (a) to stimulate nurse scientists to undertake novel, innovative research using state-of-the-art biological technology, (b) to link the behavioral and biological underpinnings of nursing science in specified areas of biomedical clinical research, and (c) to ensure that, in the coming decade, nursing science and behavioral research will be inextricably interwoven with biological research. The research training programs include: targeted predoctoral-postdoctoral transitional training, targeted predoctoral or postdoctoral fellowships, training awards for existing institutional training grants in other disciplines, mid-career awards, the Nurse Scientist award, and institutional training grants for biological nursing. The research programs include: small grants programs, augmentation of existing projects in other Institutes, Requests For Applications (RFA) in biobehavioral nursing, cluster studies, and clinical trials.

Awards and Prizes↗
PubMed2005

Report on the first congress of the Spanish Proteomics Society.

This report describes the first congress of the Spanish Proteomics Society (SEProt) and the Foundation Meeting of the European Proteomics Association (EuPA), which were held in Cordoba, Spain, February 13-17, 2005. The EuPA meeting joined together thirty European representatives from 17 national European proteomics organisations to discuss the opportunity of creating a supranational association aimed to promote all aspects of proteomics as a scientific discipline throughout Europe. The main subjects of the SEProt congress, which was attended by over 350 researchers mainly from Spain and other European countries, were the current status and applications of proteomics in medical and biological sciences.

Congresses as Topic↗
PubMed2004

Characterizing children's exposures: beyond NHANES.

Biomonitoring programs, such as those being conducted at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in conjunction with the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), are of benefit to all disciplines of environmental public health. However, all programs have limitations, and like most things in science, "One size does not fit all." We point out some of these limitations, particularly those dealing with the amount of biological sample available from various age groups and the specificity of the exposure assessment. We recommend additional studies to supplement the NHANES biomonitoring data.

Blood Chemical Analysis↗
PubMed1987

William Osler and the new psychiatry.

William Osler steered medical education towards knowledge of the natural history of disease and the biological sciences that explain its course and characteristic symptoms. A psychiatric education is now ready to move from a pre-Oslerian period, where the emphasis has been on teaching therapy, to a post-Oslerian discipline, where teaching focuses on distinctions in the presentation of psychiatric disorders and the basic sciences that can illuminate the causes and pathologic mechanisms behind abnormal human behaviors. Educational programs based on such ideas eliminate the denominationalism that has characterized psychiatry and make it more obviously a subdiscipline of medicine.

Curriculum↗
PubMed2002

[Retrospect and prospect of pollution ecology].

Since 1970s, pollution ecology has gone through several historical stages including the natal, growing and developing and expanding stage with the rise in environmental sciences and the development of applied ecology. The theoretical system and researching methods with special characteristic of the subject has taken shape. So far pollution ecology has become an independent discipline to probe into interactions between biological systems and polluted environment and to control and remedy polluted environment using ecological principles, is an important component part of applied ecology and derives from amalgamation and intersection between ecology is faced with challenges and opportunities. A breakthrough and good progresses will be made in its branches and frontal fields such as ecology of combined pollution, contaminant ecotoxicology, ecological processes of pollutants and ecological remediation of contaminated environment.

China↗
PubMed2006

The 2005 conference on the biology of manual therapies.

A historic and critically important scientific workshop for all professions involved with manual therapies was held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on June 9 and 10, 2005. The conference was jointly sponsored and organized by the NIH and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and was the first ever national or international research conference to focus on the biologic mechanisms that underlie a broad range of interventions, which can be described as "manual therapies." Leading scientific experts from North America and Europe presented their latest findings and theories related to 5 different areas of science relevant to manual therapies: neuroscience, biomechanics, endocrinology, imaging, and immunology. During the conference, breakout groups composed of scientists, physicians and therapists, and patient advocates were formed in the relevant disciplines. These groups developed consensus statements on key unanswered research questions, which were then submitted back to the conference for comment and approval. The outcomes of this workshop have subsequently been incorporated into a new initiative by the NIH and Canadian Institutes of Health Research for funding research on the biology of manual therapies. This editorial includes presentation summaries and 13 key consensus recommendations relating to mechanisms of action for manual therapies.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Molecular mechanisms involved in atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Research in atherosclerosis is a good example how helpful different disciplines such as clinicians, epidemiologists and basic science can collaborate. In recent years our knowledge on cellular and subcellular mechanisms involved in initiation and progress of atherosclerosis has expanded due to the shared knowledge of different disciplines and thanks to new technologies in molecular biology. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF LDL AND HDL METABOLISM: The understanding of the molecular basis of inborn errors of LDL metabolism - such as familial hypercholesterolemia due to a defect of the LDL receptor - provided us new insights in physiology and pathophysiology of LDL metabolism. Most recently we have learned much about the vasoprotective HDL cholesterol. HDL is the major player in reverse cholesterol transport and some of its receptors such as ABCA1 and SR-BI were identified. This knowledge gives us a deeper understanding of the complex system which performs reverse cholesterol transport from peripheral tissue and the vessel wall back to the liver. PLAQUE FORMATION: Furthermore the process of formation and progression of the atherosclerotic plaque has been the focus of recent research. The stability or instability of plaques is depending on the complex interaction of adhesion molecules, monocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, cytokines, transmitters and proteinases. Since we are unable to prevent plaque formation completely, the stabilization of plaques is a major goal for the coming years. Despite some success (such as the use of statines and ACE inhibitors) there is still a long way to go.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

'Molecules and monkeys': George Gaylord Simpson and the challenge of molecular evolution.

In this paper, I analyze George Gaylord Simpson's response to the molecularization of evolutionary biology from his unique perspective as a paleontologist. I do so by exploring his views on early attempts to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships among primates using molecular data. Particular attention is paid to Simpson's role in the evolutionary synthesis of the 1930s and 1940s, as well as his concerns about the rise of molecular biology as a powerful discipline and world-view in the 1960s. I argue that Simpson's belief in the supremacy of natural selection as the primary driving force of evolution, as well as his view that biology was a historical science that seeks ultimate causes and highlights contingency, prevented him from acknowledging that the study of molecular evolution was an inherently valuable part of the life sciences.

Animals↗