The Joslin Diabetes Center has a long history of being on the cutting edge of diabetes care and research. It was founded 117 years ago by Elliott Joslin, a physician dedicated to understanding and treating type 1 diabetes in young people. He used the latest methods to treat the disease—which at that time mainly meant […]
The Lancet
Tight budgets complicate Canadian health research reforms
A major overhaul of the grant and peer review system at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is underway. But will finances and objections from researchers hamper plans? The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) received some good news in the federal government’s pre-election budget this spring: a modest CAN$15 million increase in its $1 […]
UCL geneticist faces questions over image duplication
An ongoing investigation by University College London, UK, has found problems with eight papers by renowned British geneticist David Latchman. An internal university investigation of work by David Latchman, a well known professor of genetics at University College London (UCL) and the Master of Birkbeck College, UK, has resulted in at least one retraction and […]
Qatar forges ahead with science vision
Brian Owens visited Qatar to see how the tiny Gulf state is working to become a world leader in health and life sciences research as part of its broader national vision for 2030. Qatar might be small, but it has big ambitions in several realms, including science. The Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community […]
Academia gets social
Brian Owens examines the rise of academic social networking websites, such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate, and asks researchers how these sites are shaping their careers. A few years ago, Jorge Castillo-Quan, a post-doc studying the biology of ageing at University College London, UK, wrote a report about how insulin and cortisol interact to affect brain […]
Rare enterovirus continues to circulate in North America
D68, an uncommon strain of enterovirus, has caused an unexpectedly high number of respiratory illnesses across the USA and has now appeared in Canada. A rare strain of enterovirus that can cause severe respiratory illness in children is circulating throughout the USA and Canada, causing a higher than usual number of infections. Between mid-August and […]
Lasker Foundation announces 2014 award winners
Five researchers have been honoured for their clinical and basic science research, including the scientists who developed deep brain stimulation for neuromotor diseases. Read more in The Lancet.
Anthrax and smallpox errors highlight gaps in US biosafety
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal agencies are in the dock over serious lapses in their handling of dangerous pathogens. A recent series of lapses in biosafety at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies shows that there is a serious problem with the […]
Mapping biomedical research in the USA
An overview of biomedical research in the USA—the major funders, trends, and strengths and weaknesses facing the world’s major scientific superpower. The biomedical research landscape in the USA is so vast and comprehensive that it can be difficult to get a handle on specifics. But within the expanse of the biomedical specialty, there are a […]