S&S: Health & Disease
- Next generation partnerships in translational science and medicinePartnerships between academics, big pharma, biotech firms, philanthropists and patients look set to change the way science advances
Partnerships between academics, big pharma, biotech firms, philanthropists and patients look set to change the way science advances
Academic biomedical research and clinical studies are increasingly funded by and conducted in collaboration with partners from industry, patient organizations, charities, and philanthropists. These new partnerships are a much‐needed source of funds and expertise to advance translational medical research.
- © 2015 The Authors
- Phoning in sick—telehealth in the iPhone ageAs mobile devices become ubiquitous, can health care finally be delivered effectively over the Internet?
As mobile devices become ubiquitous, can health care finally be delivered effectively over the Internet?
- Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com)1
A convergence of communications and IT technology, rising costs for health care and the growing market for personal fitness and well‐being are driving projects to implement telehealth care on increasingly large scales.
- © 2015 The Author
- Mitochondrial replacement to prevent the transmission of mitochondrial DNA disease
New regulations passed in the UK pave the way for treatments using mitochondrial replacement to allow families with mitochondrial DNA disorders to have healthy children, and improve the lives of patients living with such diseases.
- © 2015 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
- Antibiotic discovery goes undergroundThe discovery of teixobactin could revitalise the search for new antibiotics based on the novel method the researchers used to identify the compound
The discovery of teixobactin could revitalise the search for new antibiotics based on the novel method the researchers used to identify the compound
- Philip Hunter, Freelance journalist (ph{at}philiphunter.com) 1
Early in 2015, researchers reported the discovery of an entirely new antibiotic. The ingenious method they used to find it could greatly benefit the search for novel drugs to fight multi‐drug resistant pathogens.
- © 2015 The Author
- Risks inherent to mitochondrial replacement
- 1Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Group, School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- 2Applied Zoology, Department of Biology, Technische Universitaet Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- 3School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia
- ↵*Corresponding author. Tel: +44 1273 87 2862; E‐mail: ted.morrow{at}sussex.ac.uk
Questions remain about the long‐term safety of mitochondrial replacement.
- Received May 30, 2014.
- Revision received January 15, 2015.
- Accepted March 2, 2015.
- © 2015 The Authors
- Attacking the systemNext‐generation auto‐immune therapies target pathways rather than symptoms
Next‐generation auto‐immune therapies target pathways rather than symptoms
- Philip Hunter (ph{at}philiphunter.com) 1
The prevalence of auto‐immune diseases is an increasing burden for patients and healthcare systems. A new generation of drugs that modify specific signaling pathways of the immune system promises to substantially alleviate the impact of many of these diseases.
- © 2015 The Author
- Changing the future, not the past: a translational paradigm shift in treating anxiety
Understanding how long‐term memories are enshrined at the molecular level has led to new drug targets for treating anxiety disorders. But drugs do not provide lasting effects and we need to find ways to better couple them with therapy to help patients cope with traumatic experiences.
- © 2015 The Authors
- Medicinal use of cannabis in EuropeThe fact that more countries legalize the medicinal use of cannabis should not become an argument for unfettered and uncontrolled use
The fact that more countries legalize the medicinal use of cannabis should not become an argument for unfettered and uncontrolled use
The use of cannabis to treat chronic pain from cancer or neurological diseases is now legal in many countries. However, the uncontrolled smoking of cannabis leads to neurological harm and cannabis should be treated like any prescription drug to achieve the best effect for patients and safety for the public.
- © 2015 The Authors
- Do we understand the personalized medicine paradigm?Personalized medicine marks the beginning of a new attitude in medicine
Personalized medicine marks the beginning of a new attitude in medicine
Personalized medicine is a new, holistic view of health focused on the individual. Social scientists will need to help handle the inevitable societal, ethical and legal challenges created by these new applications of science and medicine.
- © 2014 The Authors
- Living too longThe current focus of medical research on increasing the quantity, rather than the quality, of life is damaging our health and harming the economy
The current focus of medical research on increasing the quantity, rather than the quality, of life is damaging our health and harming the economy
- Guy C Brown (gcb3{at}cam.ac.uk) 1
Longer lifespans, often ending with multiple diseases, threaten the viability of social and health systems. Rather than prolonging life further, research and funding should focus on increasing the quality of life in old age.
- © 2014 The Author
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