China & research

It is reported China has experienced the strongest growth in scientific research over the past three decades & it’s not slowing down. It is only second place to the US now. And if it continues like this, it will be the largest producer of scientific knowledge by 2020.

Experts in the field said China is out on its own, far ahead of the pack. Although its quality remains mixed, Chinese research has also become more collaborative, with almost 9 per cent of papers originating in China having at least one US-based co-author.

The Thomson Reuters figures show not only the “awe-inspiring” expansion of Chinese science but also a very powerful performance by Brazil, much slower growth in India and relative decline in Russia.

 Three main factors are driving Chinese research.

First is the government’s enormous investment, with funding increases far above the rate of inflation, at all levels of the system from schools to postgraduate research.

Second is the organised flow of knowledge from basic science to commercial applications.

Third is the efficient and flexible way in which China is tapping the expertise of its extensive scientific diaspora in north America and Europe, tempting back mid-career scientists with deals that allow them to spend part of the year working in the west and part in China.

Research using animals

Lately in Singapore, a national facility to provide large animals such as monkeys and pigs to research groups has been given the thumbs up, following an extensive feasibility study. We needed that as this  move will help speed up the development of new drugs and treatments, and take Singapore's biomedical capabilities up a notch.

Large animals are needed for such work because a compound that looks like a successful drug in the petri-dish or on a mouse might not work as well in larger creatures and humans. E.g. Before clinical trials on people, research on vaccines and diseases including glaucoma, myopia and HIV infection is carried out on monkeys such as macaques, which are genetically similar to humans.

Pigs, with their physiology and anatomy relatively similar to humans, are used to test new drugs and medical devices such as artificial knee joints and dental implants, and for surgical training. Generally, rats, mice and fish are used in experiments, although rabbits, dogs, pigs and monkeys are also used in some. Most are euthanised at the end of a trial.

But scientists say that while they continue to develop alternatives to animal testing, in many cases it is still impossible for a computer or test tube to substitute a complex biological system when studying a disease, vaccine or drug for efficacy and side effects. "Monkeys are more similar to us than mice, and pigs are closer in size. Sometimes, it's a necessary evil and there's no way around it."

“Such a facility will enhance Singapore's overall capability in translating discoveries to the clinic .  It will increase our strength in pre-clinical research such as drug discovery, drug development, testing of biomarkers and medical technology, prior to first-in-man studies”  said Professor Wong Tien Yin, group director of research at SingHealth , who is also executive director of the Singapore Eye Research Institute.

But research using animals has long been condemned by animal welfare groups. Thank goodness this is spore, we are probably more practical.....hahha... do we even have such groups active here?

 

 

No more dyes?????

Researchers are in hot pursuit of a "cure" for gray hair—and they're getting closer.

 A study published last year showed that gray is caused by hydrogen peroxide and other cell-damaging molecules that build up as we age, bleaching color from the hair. The absence of an enzyme called catalase allows these molecules to accumulate, but EXT Life Sciences, a Michigan-based biotechnology company, believes it has found a chemical compound that can restore catalase and thus return hair to its original color.

 The company is working to incorporate the ingredient into leave-in conditioners and serums, says cofounder Stanley Terlecky, PhD, professor of pharmacology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.

 And across the Atlantic, L'Oréal's Paris-based hair biology research group recently identified a pair of genes that may determine the longevity of the cells that give hair its color. L'Oréal scientists are hard at work developing a treatment (either a pill or a topical formula) to block the progressive decline in these color-giving cells and stop—or at least slow—the graying process, says group director Bruno Bernard, PhD. Lets hope they make it!!!!

Christmas Shopping!!!!!

Went shopping today. Time to buy Christmas gifts for family & friends.

I'm lazy, so for the girls I'll get them perfume this year. Why? Because that cant go wrong. Just go for the most beautiful bottles & there are lots to choose from. Even if the scent is wrong or they hated it, no one can say no to a beautiful bottle....lol..... it's all about packageing!!!!

For guys ...hmm..... that's hard but I'll go with perfume also.....lol..... Come on, I've got not much time & dont particularly like shopping so....? Not very creative???? What you expect? They'll understand!!!