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S&S: Technology

  • The right to care and the expectations of society—controversial stem cell therapy in Italy
    1. Maurizio Bifulco1 and
    2. Patrizia Gazzerro2
    1. 1 Department of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Salerno, Italy
    2. 2 Department of Pharmacy at the University of Salerno, Italy

    Claiming that a disease is incurable does not justify the use of unsafe or ineffective therapies. Instead, the process of drug approval as a whole should be improved, with all involved giving clear and honest answers to ensure the dignity of patients and quality of care.

    Maurizio Bifulco, Patrizia Gazzerro
    Published online 01.07.2013
  • Banking the brainAddressing the ethical challenges of a mental‐health biobank

    Addressing the ethical challenges of a mental‐health biobank

    1. Myanthi Amarasinghe1,2,
    2. Hannah Tan1,2,
    3. Samantha Larkin1,3,
    4. Barbara Ruggeri1,
    5. Sarah Lobo1,2,
    6. Philip Brittain1,
    7. Matthew Broadbent2,
    8. Martin Baggaley2 and
    9. Gunter Schumann1
    1. 1 MRC Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
    2. 2 South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
    3. 3 Cancer Sciences Unit, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, UK

    Mental health diagnoses are largely based on clinical observation and symptom reports, rather than biological evidence. A biobank that collects biological samples should allow the identification of disease mechanisms and more effective treatments.

    Myanthi Amarasinghe, Hannah Tan, Samantha Larkin, Barbara Ruggeri, Sarah Lobo, Philip Brittain, Matthew Broadbent, Martin Baggaley, Gunter Schumann
    Published online 01.05.2013
  • XNA marks the spotWhat can we learn about the origins of life and the treatment of disease through artificial nucleic acids?

    What can we learn about the origins of life and the treatment of disease through artificial nucleic acids?

    1. Philip Hunter1
    1. 1 London, UK

    Synthetic genomics tinkers with nucleic acids to understand the evolution of these molecules of life. But the so‐called ‘XNAs’ created also hold great potential for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.

    Philip Hunter
    Published online 01.05.2013
  • The health risks of ARTScience & Society Series on Sex and Science

    Science & Society Series on Sex and Science

    1. Daria Grafodatskaya1,
    2. Cheryl Cytrynbaum1 and
    3. Rosanna Weksberg1
    1. 1 The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto University, Toronto, Canada

    Assisted reproductive technologies enable subfertile couples to have children. But there are health risks attached for both mothers and children that need to be properly understood and managed.

    Daria Grafodatskaya, Cheryl Cytrynbaum, Rosanna Weksberg
    Published online 01.02.2013
  • Educating the brainThe growing knowledge about how our brain works can inform educational programmes and approaches, in particular, for children with learning problems

    The growing knowledge about how our brain works can inform educational programmes and approaches, in particular, for children with learning problems

    1. Katrin Weigmann1
    1. 1 Oldenburg, Germany

    Insights from neuroscience can help us understand what goes on in the brain when we learn. Such insights might have an impact on educational practice in schools and help design programmes for those with learning impairments.

    Katrin Weigmann
    Published online 01.02.2013
  • Data‐driven hypotheses
    1. Paul van Helden1
    1. 1 Department of Biomedical Science at Stellenbosch University, Faculty of Health Science, Tygerberg Cape Town, South Africa

    Omics technologies and the large data sets they produce do not undermine hypothesis‐driven research. Rather, they help scientists formulate better and more relevant hypotheses to be put to the test.

    Paul van Helden
    Published online 01.02.2013
  • Caught in the actFemtochemistry opens the lid on biology's third vital criterion

    Femtochemistry opens the lid on biology's third vital criterion

    1. Philip Hunter1
    1. 1 London, UK

    Femtobiology freeze‐frames crucial split seconds of chemical reactions to investigate how enzymes function. The potential prize from this knowledge could be new avenues for drug development or ways to produce clean energy.

    Philip Hunter
    Published online 03.01.2013
  • Reproduction without sex: social and ethical implicationsScience & Society Series on Sex and Science

    Science & Society Series on Sex and Science

    1. Thomas Baldwin1
    1. 1 University of York, Nuffield Council on Bioethics

    For more than 30 years, in vitro fertilization has helped numerous couples to have children. Despite this success, some still object to the use of artificial reproductive technologies on moral and ethical grounds.

    Thomas Baldwin
    Published online 01.12.2012
  • Does intelligence require a body?The growing discipline of embodied cognition suggests that to understand the world, we must experience the world

    The growing discipline of embodied cognition suggests that to understand the world, we must experience the world

    1. Katrin Weigmann1,†
    1. 1 Oldenburg, Germany

    The new research field of embodied cognition aims to find out whether a mind needs a body to be able to think. The research is attracting psychologists, neurologists, artificial intelligence developers and robotics experts, all trying to understand the mystery of human intelligence.

    Katrin Weigmann
    Published online 01.12.2012
  • Equally potent?Does cellular reprogramming justify the abandonment of human embryonic stem cells?

    Does cellular reprogramming justify the abandonment of human embryonic stem cells?

    1. Kristopher L Nazor1,
    2. Jeanne F Loring1,2 and
    3. Louise C Laurent3
    1. 1 Center for Regenerative Medicine, Department of Chemical Physiology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California, USA
    2. 2 University of California, San Diego, California, USA
    3. 3 University of California, San Diego, Department of Reproductive Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA

    Induced pluripotent stem cells and our ability to transdifferentiate somatic cells might obviate the clinical use of embryonic stem cells in the future. Too many questions currently remain unanswered, however, to abandon embryonic stem cell research.

    Kristopher L Nazor, Jeanne F Loring, Louise C Laurent
    Published online 01.10.2012

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