Highly experimental stem cell therapy underway

Stem cell therapies are as controversial as they are experimental. So far, it has been proven difficult to develop treatments that are beneficial for a patients' health, although improvements have been made with the use of stem cells to repair blood vessels, liver tissue and visual impairment, for example. It will take a while before such therapies become a commodity. In Italy, a new stem cell treatment has been given the green light, and is aimed at treating terminally ill children. The sole reason for the approval is the high unmet clinical need, as this novel treatment has no proven track record.

Anti-smoke laws decrease hospitalization and deaths

Several countries have imposed smoking bans for public buildings in order to reduce a phenomenon known as second hand smoking. It means that non-smokers are no longer harmed by the smoke of others in public areas. Previous research conducted in the German city of Bremen showed that such laws sharply decreased the number of myocardial infarctions, but new analysis involving many more areas all over the world shows that it also leads to a decrease in the number of hospitalizations and deaths, further reinforcing the theory that anti-smoking laws are a quick win in terms of health benefits, and an example that other governments should follow.

Science and the transition to open access to literature

If there is anything that goes beyond borders, politics, conflicts and other things that impede globalisation of humanity, it is science. The pursuit of knowledge by scientists is a universal human endeavour, and while differences in perception do exist, science has enough common ground to look past such conflicts. Because of the global organisation of science, it is of paramount importance that scientists have access to data from publications of their peers. Sadly, this process is impeded by scientific journals that charge unreasonably high prices for access and slow down the spread of knowledge. While this blog has already mentioned this issue a couple of times, slowly but steadily science is becoming aware of the problem of access to scientific knowledge. A video from PhD Comics eloquently explains how we can move to open access publishing.

Scientists jailed after false earthquake prediction

Seismologists are tasked with the prediction of earthquakes based on the elastic waves that ripple through the earth. This is not an easy feat, as relating wave patterns and other indicators to the time, intensity and location of the quake is not as well developed as we would like it to be. Nevertheless, scientists working as seismologists are employed in areas that are heavy on earthquakes to keep an eye on seismologic developments. In 2009, an earthquake hit the Italian region of Abruzzo, the epicentre being in L´Aquila. In court, the seismologists working in that area were jailed because they were unable to predict the earthquake. It is shocking to see that judges fail to understand that making such predictions holds a very large degree of uncertainty.

Science network Researchgate has 2 million users

Facebook recently broke the news that it had reached the milestone of a billion active users on its network. An insanely impressive feat, indicating that one in seven earthlings is frequently found using Facebook. As social media is expanding, niche networks also grow. This is evident when looking at ResearchGate: the social network for scientists has recently broken the 2 million user milestone. While not even near Facebook's numbers, it is an impressive feat for a network that is tailored towards research only. The network also has exciting plans, hopefully leading to a transformation in scientific collaboration, participation and sharing of data.

EU wants open access policy for published research

When scientists discover something important, they usually report their findings in scientific journals. Normally, these are printed and distributed weekly or monthly, but with the rise of the internet, more and more journals move towards the web. While scientific publications were originally meant to educate fellow scientists regarding the latest developments, access to such articles is largely restricted. They are frequently closed for the public and demand outrageous payments for access. One of the most well-known scientific journals is Nature, which charges a stunning 34 dollars to access a single article. Fortunately, new scientific journals have moved towards open-access, meaning everybody can access their publications for free. In an effort to promote such journals, the EU has proposed to make all research that they fund publicly accessible.

Pharmaceutical company fined $3 billion after fraud

We rely on pharmaceutical companies, and, in lesser extent, academics, to get new drugs onto the market. They fulfil an important role in society, because their efforts can save lives by curing diseases. However, much can be said about the conduct of such companies, as they need to invest a lot of money in development, meaning they want to earn as much as possible when bringing a drug to the market. There is a thin line between securing much-needed profits and unethical conduct, which sadly sometimes leads to companies crossing the line of what is deemed fair and reasonable. GlaxoSmithKline, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, was ordered to pay 3 billion dollars after the company was found to be guilty of fraudulent conduct.

EU launches database for drug side effects

Drugs help us cure diseases and are therefore arguably one of the best inventions of mankind. However, drugs are not perfect, and all of them induce side-effects. Some are more harmful than others, but it is always necessary to carefully document what medicine does to a patient. That is why drugs tested in clinical trials are first administered, in very low doses, to healthy volunteers: scientists first want to know about the side-effects before actually testing something on fragile patients. The European Union has decided to create a database in order to keep track of all the suspected side-effects that drugs cause. This ought to help us increase drug safety and spread awareness about possible side-effects.

Social networking challenges traditional science

The system of scientific publications has not changed much in the last couple of hundreds years, despite the digital revolution that is pretty much affecting every discipline. Researchers still publish scientific results in established journals, which appear weekly, or monthly. Despite the overwhelming success of the internet, not many scientists have adopted all the digital tools at their disposal. Currently, it can still take months to publish an article in a scientific journal, because of the sluggish peer reviewed system. However, several scientists have taken up initiatives to change this ancient publishing system. A social network aimed at scientists ought to speed up the process, and make science more open.