Cure for Stupidity... In Only 8 Years!
HOW MANY TIMES... Have we all seen great news about... 
... a science "breakthrough" story with the promise of some cure or another [my favs: obesity, brain cancer, aging, etc.] but it will be years before we can get an actual prescription in our aging hands? Now there's "translational medicine!" This is the go-from-basic-discovery-to-human-applications-at-warp-speed idea. I love the way the people in this new-ish field think. Here's an excerpt from an article in Science Magazine. (You have to be a subscriber to read it.) It's kind of a how-to on making translational medicine work:
Recommendations for the Future Our analysis documents objectively show the long length of time that passes between discovery and translation. As scientists, we should convey to our funders and the public the immense difficulty of the scientific discovery process. Successful translation is demanding and takes a lot of effort and time even under the best circumstances; making unrealistic promises for quick discoveries and cures may damage the credibility of science in the eyes of the public. The following are some recommendations for improving the system, based on our analyses:
• Discovery of new substances and interventions remains essential, but proper credit and incentives should be given to accelerate the testing of these applications in high-quality, unbiased clinical research and the replication of claims for effectiveness.
• Multidisciplinary collaboration with focused targets and involving both basic and clinical sciences should be encouraged.
• Proof of effectiveness for new interventions requires large, robust randomized clinical trials.
• Translational efforts for common diseases should focus more on novel agents and new cutting-edge technologies; for these ailments, it is unlikely that genuine major benefits from interventions already known for a long time have gone unnoticed.
Now isn't that smart? And smart is as smart does, so the Stimulus Package has megabucks in it to help all this along. And Science Magazine has a new publication called - of all things - Translational Medicine.
Watch a little You-Tube to get a preview of what will be in this new journal.
YEA! Progress!
... a science "breakthrough" story with the promise of some cure or another [my favs: obesity, brain cancer, aging, etc.] but it will be years before we can get an actual prescription in our aging hands? Now there's "translational medicine!" This is the go-from-basic-discovery-to-human-applications-at-warp-speed idea. I love the way the people in this new-ish field think. Here's an excerpt from an article in Science Magazine. (You have to be a subscriber to read it.) It's kind of a how-to on making translational medicine work:Recommendations for the Future Our analysis documents objectively show the long length of time that passes between discovery and translation. As scientists, we should convey to our funders and the public the immense difficulty of the scientific discovery process. Successful translation is demanding and takes a lot of effort and time even under the best circumstances; making unrealistic promises for quick discoveries and cures may damage the credibility of science in the eyes of the public. The following are some recommendations for improving the system, based on our analyses:
• Discovery of new substances and interventions remains essential, but proper credit and incentives should be given to accelerate the testing of these applications in high-quality, unbiased clinical research and the replication of claims for effectiveness.
• Multidisciplinary collaboration with focused targets and involving both basic and clinical sciences should be encouraged.
• Proof of effectiveness for new interventions requires large, robust randomized clinical trials.
• Translational efforts for common diseases should focus more on novel agents and new cutting-edge technologies; for these ailments, it is unlikely that genuine major benefits from interventions already known for a long time have gone unnoticed.
Now isn't that smart? And smart is as smart does, so the Stimulus Package has megabucks in it to help all this along. And Science Magazine has a new publication called - of all things - Translational Medicine.
Watch a little You-Tube to get a preview of what will be in this new journal.YEA! Progress!
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