The White House Office of Science and Technology (OST) released its National Bioeconomy Blueprint , which charts the course for the future development of bioscience research in the US and addresses numerous regulatory issues. The blueprint is described as a priority of the administration because of the "tremendous potential for growth and job creation." While basic research is an important aspect of the bioeconomy, said OST, regulatory issues are key drivers of ...

Those interested in the history of medicine should read the details surrounding the therapy rendered to President George Washington by his physicians in December 1799. 1 Purging, bloodletting and other methods were employed, which hastened his death. His treatment was also discussed recently in the New England Journal of Medicine 's 200 th Anniversary issue. 2 The authors used Washington's experience as a benchmark for measuring the remarkable progress medicine has ...

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has found the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) information technology (IT) infrastructure improvement project-a $280 million program known as the Mission Accomplishments and Regulatory Compliance Services (MARCS) program-is suffering from a cavalcade of operational deficiencies and may not be completed. The program "is intended to enhance existing applications and develop new systems that provide infor...

It can be argued that among the various illnesses associated with aging, including osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Parkinson's disease, none is more dreaded than Alzheimer's disease. The affected patient suffers a progressive loss of cognitive awareness and his or her independence, and eventually dies, usually within three to nine years after diagnosis. 1   Alzheimer's disease causes the mind to slowly vanish, leaving an em...

The head of the Indian Ministry of Science and Technology, Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, called for a new emphasis on science and technology, including regulatory science, during a speech on 3 January 2011. Speaking at the Indian Science Congress in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, Minister Deshmukh said that research and development (R&D) spending should double under a new science and technology policy so that India can catch up to China, according to Biospectrum Asia ...