On November 16, 2001, IVTIP submitted its response on the Commission communication ìTowards a strategic vision of life sciences and biotechnology: consultation document COM (2001)454 final. Below we summarize the main points of our response.
To increase the chance that research findings are put to practical use, a highly efficient system of technology transfer activities is needed.
We therefore recommend that, in addition to measures stimulating innovation, technology transfer activities are given top priority in a strategy to improve competitiveness of European companies with activities in life sciences.
We applaud the Commissionís recognition that the scientific and technological revolution is a global reality, which creates new opportunities and challenges for al countries in the world. To fully materialize, this scientific and technological revolution needs regulatory oversight that is workable, enforceable and affordable. To ensure the global component, emphasis should be placed on harmonisation of regulatory oversight, ( in particular between the EU and the USA).
We therefore recommend that harmonisation activities are specifically included in the Strategic Vision document.
We strongly recommend to uphold the basis of world-wide regulatory approval processes (safety, efficacy, appropriateness) and to let market forces decide whether the socio-economic impact of a product justifies its existence on the market. However, it would be justified if public funding would be available to carry out socio-economic impact studies, of which the results would be available widely to the public.
On the issue of human resources, the Commission states that producing life scientists is basically a question of education and career choice, but also depends on such factors as professional satisfaction, remuneration and social preferences. We would like to add that anticipation of future needs is equally important. For example, already a few years ago it was to be foreseen that the enormous amount of data generated in genomics projects would lead inevitably to functional genomics and proteomics and hence to a growing demand for cell culture technologists, biochemists, bioinformaticians and statisticians. At present, there is a serious shortage of both scientists and technicians in these fields.
We recommend that European programmes addressing human resource issues in the life sciences and biotechnology regularly make an EU-wide inventory of current and emerging needs in both academia and industry, with a view to better match demand and needs in the future. We also recommend that financial and social incentives are provided for increased mobility of young scientists and technicians, both from an educational as well as from a demand point of view.
On the issue of creating a European research agenda, we are pleasantly surprised to note that the development of alternatives to animal testing is mentioned separately. However, we also notice that this activity is grouped with 'other socio-economic questions'. In this respect we would like to make the observation that the development of alternatives to animal testing certainly has an ethical component and is justified on that merit alone, in particular in the field of testing for regulatory purposes. Increasingly, however, companies are using alternatives to animal testing, such as in vitro or in silico tests, in their compound discovery and development process. These companies report that in vitro and in silico tests speed up the discovery and development process, and at the same time improves quality and reduces the number of compounds failing in later stages of the development process. Thus, these alternative tests are increasingly crucial to the competitiveness of European companies active in the life sciences.
To promote the further development of alternatives to animal testing, and, even more importantly, their incorporation in a life sciences company's day to day activities, we recommend that this topic is not only addressed under 'socio-economic' questions but also under the topic 'boosting competitiveness and innovation' and 'enhancing support for life science and biotechnology research'.
On the issue of availability of the pre-competitive knowledge base while respecting the rights of companies and researchers to receive a fair return on their investments in research:
The current system of patent protection and scientific publications adequately addresses this issue, and should be upheld. However, we recommend activities to increase a scientistís knowledge of the intellectual property protection system as well as activities that show how to optimise the use of the incredible amount of information that can be found inpatent databases.
The full text of the position paper of IVTIP on the Ecs consultation document is available upon request from the IVTIP Secretariat.
U.S. scientists are reducing the number of rodents in chemical safety testing to a fraction of the 50 to 200 animals used in the old LD50 test for toxicity, but the use of human or animal cell lines could immediately reduce the number of animals further &endash; as much as 30 percent more &endash; the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences said today in releasing two new federal interagency reports on alternative testing methods."
For the rest of the story, see:
http://www.niehs.nih.gov/oc/news/anitest2.htm
This press release was issued by NIEHS upon publication of the following documents:
1.The "Report of the International Workshop on In Vitro Methods for Assessing Acute Systemic Toxicity" [NIH Publication 01-4499], online at
http://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov/methods/invidocs/finalrpt/finalcov.htm
2.The "Guidance Document on Using In Vitro Data to Estimate In
Vivo Starting Doses for Acute Toxicity" [NIH Publication 01-4500], online at
http://iccvam.niehs.nih.gov/methods/invidocs/guidance/iv_guide.htm
The Netherlands reports that in the year 2000, the number of animal experiments has increasd with 2,8% to 745,064. This amounts to 47,4% of the index year 1978, when registration started. The number of transgenic animals decreased with 14% compared to 1999.
Source: Bionieuws October 27, 2001
EMEA, the European Medicine Evaluation Agency, is calling for extra resources to investigate a steep rise in reports of adverse reactions to drugs it has approved. The reactions range from hot flushes to deaths. The EMEA is expecting to receive 35,000 of such reports from doctors this year, which is up from around 26,000 in 2000 and 16,000 in 1999. The reports are a reaction on more and more drugs getting onto the market. EMEA says it needs more resources to meet increasing demands for in-depth reviews and assessments. Besides gathering reports, EMEA is already setting up an online database that will track the problems as soon as they are known. Already, the EMEA staff is preparing itself for a heavy 35% increase of workload following a pharmaceutical review tabled by the Commission, which would require firms to submit all new products to EMEA for approval instead of being allowed to choose between its centralised procedure and approval by national authorities.
Source: European Voice October 31, 2001-12-03
The 32nd Joint Meeting held earlier this year, endorsed the initiative and recommendations of a Tripartite Consultation Meeting, to share as much as possible, national activities on endocrine disrupting chemicals, including experimental work and assessment reports. Details of this initiative are explained on the website created for this Special Activity:
On this new website for the Test Guidelines Programme (the old site is also still alive!) you will see on the right side of the page two blue boxes: the first one brings you to the regular website of the Special Activity on Endocrine Disrupters, the second one will take you to the "Sharing the Work" pages where you will find two assessment reports on nonylphenol and tributyltin, respectivily. At the request of the Ministry of Environment in Japan, both reports are unclassified and open for comments. In case you wish to comment, experts are invited to submit their comments directly to the Secretariat (e-mail address for these comments is indicated on the web site) before 30th November 2001. There is no need to draft National Positions.
The lead Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy Committee examined the Caudron draft report on the 6th Framework Programme on 27 August http://www.europarl.eu.int/meetdocs/committees/itre/20010827/434214en.pdf .
Concerning the structure of the programme, the rapporteur proposes to take health out of the priority devoted to biotechnology and to regroup it with food safety and health risks in order to ensure that classic research is supported in areas such as AIDS and other scourges (this priority would be entitled 'Health and safety'). Therefore the genomics and biotechnology section could also include research into health, food, agriculture etc. Ethical and social implications of R&D projects should be taken into account. In the health sector special attention is devoted to cancer, childhood diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neuro-degenerative diseases, rare diseases, resistance to medicines (including prescription patterns) and combating the three major poverty related diseases (AIDS, malaria and TB).
In the meantime the Environment Committee adopted its opinion on the 6th Framework Programme. Amendments adopted include:
Creation of a new priority area devoted to health (Life Sciences for medicine and public health) in order not to confine research in the health area to biotechnology but also enable traditional research. Actions envisaged include:
Fundamental ethical principles: an amendment by Peter Liese calls for fundamental ethical principles to be respected when implementing the programme, such as human dignity, data protection, rights of animals and the environment. Where the cases arise, researchers must obtain the approval of the appropriate ethics committee before embarking on R&D project. If proposals relate to sensitive subjects, systematic ethical review will be carried out. Other amendments call for non financing through the programme of projects involving use of human embryo and use of animals whenever such experiments are avoidable, human cloning or projects resulting in alteration to the human germ line.
The biotech key area should comprise projects on animal and plant model species for post-genomic research to contribute to better understanding of the biology of the human genome, and cytotherapy including adult stem cell therapy.
Source: EFPIA Newsletter September 2001
A recent report on effective lobbying of the European Parliament shows that although two thirds of the MEPs rated lobbying by industry as effective, there is still lots of room for improvement.
The survey of 75 Members of the European Parliament was conducted by Burson-Marsteller/BKSH and Wirthlin Europe between September-October 2001. MEPs were asked how they felt about the lobbying efforts of industry.
The survey showed some interesting results:
Source: Burson-Marsteller: "A Guide to effective lobbying of the European Parliament" (Autumn 2001)
On October 17 last, the European Commission adopted a proposal by Commissioner Busquin to allocate 440 miilion from the future EU research budget to one of the key innovative elements of the key action: "anticipating the EUs scientific and technological needs". This will cover two areas:
At a later stage another 440 million will be allocated as needs develop and new subjects emerge.
On 13 and 14 September, the European Commissionís Research DG gathered the co-ordinators of the 15 transnational R&D projects on stem cell therapy it is currently financing with a total EU contribution of EUR 27.4 million. The meeting made clear that the over one hundred participating laboratories work on stem cells taken only from adults, from umbilical cord blood or from aborted foetuses. The projects address the scientific as well as the ethical, legal and social aspects of stem cell therapy.
EU Commissioner for research, Philippe Busquin, said: "Stem cell research is among the proposed research priorities under the next Framework Programme for research (2002 - 2006). Stem cell-based therapies hold great potential for curing diseases and injuries. I believe we can gain a lot from a stronger exchange of information and co-ordination of stem cell research across Europe. But I want to make clear that European research programmes do not, and will not, fund research on embryonic stem cells that involves the creation of an embryo for research purposes."
The so-called therapeutic cloning is excluded from EU R&D programmes in line with the recent opinion of the European Group of Ethics which said that this technology is still too immature and presents possible risks, despite its great potential.
The research project co-ordinators, together with the legal, ethics and industry experts who joined the meeting, concluded that we need to know much more about stem cells before we can predict with confidence the future outcome of this kind of novel therapy. Participants stressed that all possible sources of stem cells (adults, aborted foetuses, umbilical cord blood, early embryos) should be explored. Precluding exploration of many of these tracks would be a shortsighted decision. Europe needs a common policy and criteria for quality and safety assessment and evaluation of the efficiency of clinical trials. There is still much to do in Europe to reach an optimal level in terms of exchange of information, transparency, integration and co-operation - key objectives in the next Framework Programme
For additional information please contact:
Line Matthiessen, Quality of Life Programme, Research DG,
Tel.: +32.2.295 28 53, Fax : +32 2 299 18 60
E-mail : line-gertrud.matthiessen-guyader@cec.eu.int
A full listing of all projects mentioned below, including names and contact details of coordinators, can be requested from the IVTIP Secretariat: ivtip@ivtip.org
In total 15 projects involving 117 laboratories with a total EC contribution of EUR 27.399.000 are currently being funded. The main topics are being addressed:
Engineering neural precursors for myelin repair.
Co-ordinator: Prof. Monique DUBOIS-DALCQ
Neural stem cells and stem cell-based therapies
Co-ordinator: Dr Angela GIANGRANDE
Neural stem cells - from basic science to CNS repair
Coordinator: Prof. Urban LENDAHL
Development of Human Dopaminergic Neuronal Cell Lines for Transplantation
Coordinator: Dr Lars WAHLBERG
European cell therapy in the nervous systemÝ
Coordinator: Dr John SINDEN
Chief Scientific Officer
Cellular Production of Wnts, Secreted Growth and Differentiation Factors and their use as Coordinators of Organ Specific Stem Cells
Coordinator: Prof. Seppo VAINIO
Mesodermal stem cells: from basic biology to development of pre-clinical models of tissue replacement and cell therapy
Coordinator: Dr Giulio COSSU
Biomechanical interactions in tissue engineering and surgical repair
Coordinator: Dr Alicia EL HAJ
Chondral and Osseous Tissue Engineering
Coordinator: Dr Timo WARIS
Cord blood as an allogeneic source of stem cells for clinical use
Coordinator: Prof. Eliane GLUCKMAN
European Network for Fetal Transplantation
Coordinator: Dr Rhodri JONES
Suicide Gene Therapy in Stem Cell Transplantation
Coordinator: Dr Maria Chiara BONINI
Lentiviral vectors for gene therapy of the hematopoietic system: development from bench to bedside
Coordinator: Dr.Luigi Naldini
The Ethics of Human Stem Cell Research and Therapy in Europe
Coordinator: Prof. John HARRIS
Empirical methods in bioethics
Coordinator: Dr. Soren HOLM
Full details of the workshop (i.e. reviews of national legislation, project abstracts etc) are available upon request from the IVTIP secretariat (IVTIP@IVTIP.org).
The two 2002 cut-off dates for submitting CRAFT project proposals have been merged into one. The last cut-off date for submitted CRAFT projects in FP 5 most likely is the 28th of February, 2002. For the Quality of Life Programme, 18 million EURO have been earmarked for this deadline. Please follow announcements in the official journal at www.cordis.lu/sme
EC contact: Waldemar.kutt@cec.eu.int
The following calls are still open and have the following deadlines:
So far, 102 projects for Marie Curie Individual Fellowships have been selected. Equally, out of 100 proposals to host trainees from industries and PhD host institutions under the Marie Curie Host fellowships, 57 have been selected. Vacancies are listed at:
http://improving-mcf.sti.jrc.it/project/
EC contact: Margherita.Mongini-Mantegazza@cec.eu.int
A report in the journal Nature says that scientists in China have inserted human DNA into rabbit eggs that have been stripped of their own chromosomes. The team, from the Sun Yat-Sen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou, hopes to use the resulting 'hybrid embryos' in embryo stem (ES) cell research. Using rabbit eggs might overcome egg shortages for experiments into ES cell research and therapeutic cloning. Chen Xigu, leader of the team, said that they had put nuclei from the skin cells of a seven-year old boy into the stripped rabbit eggs. About 100 of the embryos created developed to the morula stage, about three days of development. However, the blastocyst stage - when ES cells can be isolated from embryos - was not reached.
Sources: Nature 27/9/2001 'China plans 'hybrid' embryonic stem cells'
http://www.nature.com/nature/news/010927.html#3
The stem cell debate in America continues. The US National Academy of Sciences, an advisory body to the government, has produced a report stating that the 64 embryonic stem cell lines identified by Bush as eligible for federally funded research will not be enough to progress with the science. It says that new stem cell lines will be needed in order to facilitate research, even though President Bush has said that research will only be allowed to take place on those already in existence.
The panel also voiced its support for therapeutic cloning. In addition, the academy also advised that the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) set up an advisory group to continually monitor and oversee research on human embryonic stem cells because of the ethical problems that arise. It also calls for more federal funding for stem cell research.
Meanwhile, the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research (MJFF) has pledged $2.2 million in funding for a research program that aims to produce a stem cell line with benefit to Parkinson's disease patients. Proposals for the award will be based on merit, rather than the source of the cells to be used, a MJFF spokesperson said.
Sources:
- Yahoo Daily News 10/9/2001 'Group offers $2.2 million for stem cell research'
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20010910/hl/stemcell_2.html
- The Washington Post 11/9/2001 'Broader stem cell research backed'
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A7126-2001Sep11
A bill approved last week recently by a subcommittee of the US Senate would allow limited federally financed stem cell research, and give President Bush discretion over how to control this. The proposal would allow Bush to follow through on his proposal to restrict the research to the 64 stem cell lines that he said already exist.
It would also mean he could allow further stem cell research projects, using embryos left over from fertility treatments, as long as the embryos used for the research would otherwise be destroyed. Consent for their use in research must be granted by the people whose fertility treatments created them.
But Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman said that Bush would be likely to stand by his earlier decision on stem cell research.
Source:
- Yahoo Daily News 10/10/2001 'Senate panel OKs stem cell bill'
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/ap/20011010/pl/senate_stem_cells_2.html
The Spanish parliament has voted against a proposal to allow the use of embryonic stem (ES) cells from embryos created originally for in vitro fertilisation (IVF). A government spokesman said that the proposal was rejected because an 'Advisory Committee on Ethics of Scientific and Technological Research' must be set up. He also said that future projects were not at risk because the government were 'aware of 40,000 spare embryos' in existence in Spain.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands has approved a new law allowing embryo research, including embryonic stem cell research, but not the use of therapeutic cloning. Dutch MPs have voted, after a year of debate, not to amend the Netherlands embryo bill to allow the possibility of creating embryos specifically for research. Scientists will be allowed to use embryos 'left over' from in vitro fertilisation techniques, but only where there is informed consent from a donor enabling them to do so and approval has been given by a central committee. Human cloning, embryonic sex selection and the combining of human and animal embryos remain prohibited.
Sources:
- The Lancet 20/10/2001 'Spain closes the door on embryonic stem cell research'
- The British Medical Journal 19/10/2001 'Netherlands votes in favour of therapeutic cloning'
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7318/884/a
After a two-year enquiry, an Australian parliamentary panel has made recommendations on how the country should regulate stem cell research. Six of the ten panel members voted for fairly permissive legislation, which would allow scientists to derive stem cells from embryos donated by IVF patients, provided the necessary consent was obtained. Work on these cells would, it was recommended, be strictly regulated. The rest of the panel opposed the use of these embryos, saying that research could take place on existing stem cell lines, six of which are known to be in Australia.
The panel did not rule out therapeutic cloning, but it has suggested that a three-year moratorium on the practice be imposed, after which time it will be reappraised.
Source:
- BBC News Online 2/9/2001 'Australia edges forward on stem cells'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1555000/1555914.stm
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has said that India is to bring in stringent new guidelines to govern stem cell research. Currently, IVF and assisted reproduction are unregulated in India, and there is no ban on the use of 14-day old embryos for research. Ten of the named stem cell lines eligible for federally funded research in the US are held in India.
The new guidelines will prevent international commercial trade in human embryos and regulate the transfer of ES cell lines for foreign use. IVF clinics will be given an accreditation system, as they are seen as the largest source of embryos. A central ethics committee will be set up to monitor and regulate progress and research.
Finally, Science reports that Israel's national bioethics committee has approved both the derivation of ES cells and research into therapeutic cloning.
Source:
Yahoo Daily News 29/9/2001 'India framing strict laws for stem cell research':
http://in.news.yahoo.com/010929/43/15pfr.html
During the September plenary session, members of the European Parliament adopted a report on quality and safety standards for human blood and blood components. They adopted a number of technical amendments on collection, storage and testing of blood (e.g. haemovigilance and traceability). They insisted on the non-commercial character of blood donations and recommended that blood should be collected from voluntary and non-remunerated donors only in order to reduce risk for donors and patients. MEPs also recommend that more attention be paid to umbilical cord blood and adultíís blood donation in the context of stem cells research. The final EP resolution is available on the following website:
http://www3.europarl.eu.int/omk/omnsapir.so/pv2?PRG=CALEND&APP=PV2&LANGUE=EN&TPV=PROV&FILE=010906
Recently it has become possible to culture neuronal cells of Lymnia stagnales on the silicon coating of a microchip. The chip carries a impulse-generating and an impuls-recording part. To prevent the neuronal cells moving during their growth, the researchers equipped the chip with a microscopic fence. The chip was used to measure the synaptic activity between various neurons of the snail.
The chip can be used in further research on neuroprosthetics and artificial neurons.
Source: Nature Biotechnology 19, 927; Nature Biotechnology 19, 121-124;
The November issue of Nature Biotechnology describes a generic sensor that allows detection of drug binding to a target by a simple growth assay in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Yeast-based screens could provide a simple means to identify compounds that bind to a protein target or to perform structure-function analysis.
Source: Nature Biotechnology Vol 19, p 1042-1046
Quartz crystals can be used as detectors for viruses. The crystals vibrate in response to electric fields, and the frequency of this vibartion increases in proportion to the mass of a foreign object attached to its surface. By increasing the frequency beyond a certain point, the virus breaks loose, and this rupture evnet can be detected by the quartz disk doubling as a miniature microphone. The resolution is detecting a single viral particle in a microliter of sample.
Source: Nature Biotechnology Vol 19, pp. 833-837
The newest portrait at the National Portrait Gallery in London is a DNA portrait of geneticist Sir John Sulston. The portrait is by Marc Quinn, the young artist who became famous for his sculpture 'Self', which was made from his own deep-frozen blood.
Sulston donated his sperm for the work, from which a sample of DNA was taken. This was put in agar jelly and bacterial cultures were grown to make the image which is framed in stainless steel to represent a sterile, scientific environment.
Source: BBC News Online 19/9/2001 'Gallery puts DNA in the frame'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/arts/newsid_1550000/1550864.s
The British Medical Journal:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/323/7314/652/e
The Sanger Centre, near Cambridge, has recently announced a five-year plan to try to identify as many genes as possible, try to determine their functions, and establish which regions control their expression.
The Wellcome Trust, the world's biggest biomedical charity, will sponsor the work, spending £300 million on the new research.
The Centre is changing its name to become the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.
Source: The Financial Times 19/10/2001 'Post-genomic studies funded'
http://globalarchive.ft.com/globalarchive/article.html?id=011019000977
The genetic sequence of the bacteria that causes Black Death, otherwise known as the plague, has been decoded. The discovery may lead to the production of a vaccine or treatments for the disease, which still affects people around the world today and is viewed as a potential weapon for bio-terrorists.
It was found that the plague bacterium is a recent descendant of a benign stomach-dwelling bug, which is thought to have evolved over only a few hundred years, a relatively short time. In doing so, it learnt to move from fleas and mammals to humans, where it adapted to live in the blood, rather than the gut.
Source: Nature Science Update 4/10/2001 'Black Death's DNA'
http://www.nature.com/nsu/011004/011004-12.html
Dutch TNO Nutrition and Food Research, together with a global biotechnology company, will establish the full metabolome (the complete set of metabolites present in a cell) of Bacillus subtilis. The metabolome is estimated to consist of 1,000 different metabolites.
Source: TNO press release, August 18, 2001
A new educational CD includes an illustrated description of a microorganism growth monitoring equipment and a MS Excel based scientific software to display growth curves and to perform multipurpose calculations including calculation of generation time and specific rate of growth. A broad spectrum of applications include in vitro toxicology research, environmental research, food-, pharmaceutical- or clinical research and other research where a microorganism or phage growth in liquid medium is monitored. The educational CD (8.2 MB) is downloadable at
www.allmicrobiology.com/setup201.exe
A novel multiwell technology solution for toxicity research by using microorganisms is available at www.transgalactic.com .
Snaiil is an employment website for the biotech, pharmaceutical, medical and information technology fields. Candidates can post resumes and search scientific job openings from companies world-wide. Recruiters and companies can post job openings to attract qualified candidates. Visit:
An online Job Resource Centre is accessible by:
http://www.iets.org and click on Job Resource Centre Link
Online market places for the pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing and process industries can be found on BioPharmaWeb and EuroChemWeb. Visit:
http://pull.xmr3.com/p/114-47C9/10691005/ www.BioPharmaWeb.com
http://pull.xmr3.com/p/114-47C9/10691011/http- www.EuroChemWeb.com
Issue of Euroabstracts on The Genome and Human Health. Published by EC Innovation/SME programme. Vol 39/4/2001. August 2001. See also:
http://www.cordis.lu/euroabstracts/en/ausut
On CORDIS, a special website exists which combines all information on specific measures for SMEs. For help you may also contact the SME National Contact Points, which can advise you or help you in searching for a partner.
http://www.cordis.lu/sme/src/sme-ncps.htm
The EU Institutions have created a single entry point to EU legal texts, called EUR-Lex. One may find the Official Journal, the Treaties, legislation in preparation, case law, parliamentary questions and documents of public interest. Documents are available in html, pdf and tiff. Some are subject to payment. See:
The Research DGs homepage now includes a new service ñ European Research ñ News Centre. It provides access by major scientific topics to hundreds of articleds and project profiles, as well as other information published by the European Commission on scientific, technological and political development in the European Research Area. Visit:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/news-centre/index_en.html
AlphaGalileo is a mediator of scientific information. It now has some 1,100 contributors in Europe, including universities, research networks, companies and specialist publishers. AG is mainly intended for journalists and media professionals. It also has a searchable database of all press releases received. A recently launched service allows journalists to directly contact European experts best qualified to answer their questions in particular fields. Visit:
A new public discussion board has opened on the web. It deals with discussions on gene synthesis, molecular biology problems, and life science issues in general. The board is expected to foster the discussions around the emerging applications of synthetic genes in an open and easy-to-access environment.
The Nobel Prize now exist exactly 100 years (established in 1901). There are several interesting websites:
Nobel museum: http://www.nobels-bjorkborn.t.se/index-eng.html
Exhibition on Nobel Prize: http://www.bigidea.org/uk
Nobel Prize website: http://www.nobel.se
A number of interesting conferences and workshops is coming up. Of all the events mentioned here, the detailed programmes and registration/application forms are available from the IVTIP secretariat.
This " Life Sciences Discussion Platform " aims at fostering a pluralistic and reciprocally informative debate between science and society on novel concepts of therapies - based on the use of stem cells - with promising potentials for the medicine of the future and with important societal and ethical implications.
Scientists, experts in the ethical implications of biotechnology, specialists in human sciences and law, associations of patients, interest groups, students and teachers, educators and media, the medical profession and various representatives of public authorities
Place: Charlemagne Building, Brussels, Belgium
Central contact: Elisabetta.Balzi@cec.eu.int
Web: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/quality-of-life/stemcells.html
Organization: Cambridge Health Tech Institute: http://www.healthtech.com
Organization: Cambridge Health Tech Institute: http://www.healthtech.com
Organization: http://conferences.oreilly.com/biocon/