Crowdsourcing is a promising approach to biomedical research and development (R&D) and could produce solutions to pandemics like this one.
Monaco and Japan have some of the highest life expectancies in the world. But calculating an individual’s life expectancy will require taking data analysis several steps further.
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Predicting life expectancy remains in the realm of science fiction, but it may soon be possible. Are we prepared for such information? And who else would benefit from this knowledge?
A few woefully underfunded academic health sciences centres are responsible for providing complex care to patients with life-threatening illnesses as well as training future doctors and testing the latest in new surgical techniques.
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Canada’s systems of health funding, medical training and physician compensation need an overhaul – to support vital centres of medical research and complex care.
It takes time to see which finding might be a golden egg.
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Basic research can be easy to mock as pointless and wasteful of resources. But it’s very often the foundation for future innovation – even in ways the original scientists couldn’t have imagined.
It may take time for a tiny step forward to show its worth.
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Scientists are rewarded with funding and publications when they come up with innovative findings. But in the midst of a ‘reproducibility crisis,’ being new isn’t the only thing to value about research.
Kaylee Wedderburn-Pugh, a SPURS student, working to help find answers to Huntington’s disease.
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Affirmative action programs at universities are under threat by the Trump administration. That could be especially damaging to medical education. Who knows who holds the idea for the next great cure?
Are research nonprofits holding up their end of the tax-exempt bargain?
Will Hart
Holding patents can be a lucrative and powerful position to be in. Here’s a proposal for how nonprofit patent holders can do more for the common good – and live up to their end of the tax break bargain.
President Barack Obama signs the 21st Century Cures Act on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2016, in Washington.
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Lowering the threshold for FDA approval and feeding the agency less rigorous information will increase the likelihood of approvals of unsafe or ineffective drugs and devices.
Obama annually welcomed students to the White House with their Science Fair projects.
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
The outgoing president leaves behind some solid accomplishments in the world of science, tech and medicine. But the biggest departure from his predecessors might have been in his approach.
More is less in the world of research publications.
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The traditional mode of publishing scientific research faces much criticism – primarily for being too slow and sometimes shoddily done. Maybe fewer publications of higher quality is the way forward.
Who are the winners and losers from recent medical research funding announcements?
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The recent NHMRC funding announcement has renewed criticism about how medical research is funded in Australia. Is the system fair? Or is it stacked against some researchers?
Will China be the first to genetically enhance future generations?
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Regulations, funding and public opinion around genetically enhancing future generations vary from country to country. Here’s why China may be poised to be the pioneer.
Personalised medicine allows treatment to be tailored to a patient’s unique genetic makeup.
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The rise of personalised medicine, which is mainly based on genetic testing, needs adequate regulation so privacy rights aren’t breached. That’s only one of several issues that must be considered.
Tiny fruit flies under a microscope are a powerful weapon for science.
Dr Martha Vicente-Crespo
Fruit flies aren’t just a remarkable organism for research. They are also central to a project that aims to provide more at-home research opportunities for African scientists.
US row might suggest using feotal tissue is new - in fact it’s not only a long-held practice, but essential for many medical breakthroughs.
Biomedical science has made our lives immeasurably better, but it’s time to accept that too much medicine can be as harmful as too little.
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By forgetting that medicine postpones death rather than saving lives, we persuade ourselves it might somehow keep extending our life and come to view death as a failure of medicine.
Restraining the growth in costs and providing better treatments and cures needs a healthy national medical research effort.
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It’s been a great privilege to have been the head of NHMRC for going on a decade. That’s four governments, six health ministers, a funding increase from A$437 million in 2006 to A$859 million today.