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PubMed2026

Intra-individual genetic diversity of vaginal Lactobacillus crispatus revealed through citizen science-driven isolation and pangenome analysis.

AIMS: A vaginal microbiome dominated by Lactobacillus crispatus is associated with positive reproductive and sexual health outcomes, yet intra-individual genetic diversity within this species remains largely unexplored. This study characterized inter- and intra-individual genomic variation in L. crispatus strains isolated through a citizen science initiative and assessed implications for multi-strain probiotic development. METHODS AND RESULTS: Fifty-three women participated in this citizen science project. Self-sampling resulted in 48 shotgun metagenomes. Twenty-two participants isolated their own L. crispatus strains using selective enrichment and LAMP-based species confirmation, resulting in 53 whole-genome-sequenced isolates. Lactobacillus crispatus dominated 20 of 48 metagenomes (50.1%-99.6% relative abundance). Pangenome analysis revealed 3456 gene families, of which 43.7% were core and 56.3% accessory. A 14-kb plasmid harbouring a Fic-domain toxin-antitoxin protein, but devoid of antimicrobial resistance genes, was present in 44 of 53 strains. Strains from the same individual clustered closely together yet harboured 1-123 gene differences. Intra-individual variation was observed in the pullulanase type I gene required for glycogen degradation: 40 strains were predicted to grow on glycogen, six showed genetic disruptions with unknown consequences, and seven were predicted to lack this ability entirely. Variation within individuals was also found for bacteriocin classes and CRISPR-Cas genes. CONCLUSIONS: Substantial functional diversity exists within L. crispatus, even among strains from the same individual, supporting the rationale for multi-strain vaginal probiotics. This citizen science approach enabled discovery of host-specific adaptations while ensuring participant ownership of their strains.

Female↗
PubMed1993

Policy development lessons from two federal initiatives: protecting human research subjects and handling misconduct in science.

The authors compare and contrast two policy development exercises--one that resulted in the publication of a common federal policy for the protection of human research subjects, and the other that is under way to develop a government-wide common policy for addressing misconduct in science. The article offers some basic lessons derived from these interagency activities and may shed some light on the issues that institutions face in developing their own policies and procedures for handling allegations of misconduct in science. These lessons include, among others: lead from a position of authority; use smaller working groups to draft text or work out differences; never underestimate the time needed to elucidate where all the participants are coming from; garner support of key players; timing is everything; and when presented with lemons, make lemonade. Although the process is not yet finished, interagency work is developing concerning misconduct in science. The different participants agree in theory that coordination is desirable, but they can be understandably concerned that they might have to relinquish some of their autonomy in setting policies for activities supported by their agencies. Although it may seem that the federal government moves slowly, often there is much going on behind the scenes, and often that work can be as important as, if not more important than, the task at hand.

Federal Government↗
PubMed2004

Integrating the social and behavioral sciences in an undergraduate medical curriculum: the UCSF essential core.

Dramatic global-migration patterns over recent decades have forever changed the racial, ethnic, social, and cultural makeup of the people of the United States. Simultaneously, the patterns of disease and risk factor distribution within the U.S. population are changing in ways that accentuate the role of lifestyle, behavior, and social and economic differences in the onset and outcomes of disease. Medical school curricula must prepare students to address these demographic realities. The University of California, San Francisco's (UCSF's) redesigned curriculum, launched in September 2001, integrates social, behavioral, and biomedical science education in an early and sustained way. The traditional undergraduate medical structure of two years of basic science plus two years of clinical rotations was replaced with a model divided into three stages spanning four years: the Essential Core, the Clinical Core, and Advanced Studies. The authors summarize the role of the social and behavioral sciences in the UCSF Essential Core-the first 16 months of instruction divided into integrated blocks, each centered on clinical cases. Basic thematic areas (e.g., behavior change, health disparities), content illustrations (e.g., Introduction to the Biopsychosocial Model, The Culture of Medicine), and process considerations (e.g., integration, content order, evaluations) are presented. Special challenges and limitations are also discussed.

Behavioral Sciences↗
PubMed1970

Communication in the physical and the social sciences.

Although composed of similar elements and structured similarly, the communications systems associated with the physical sciences and the social sciences differ markedly with respect to the operation and use of these elements. For both groups of disciplines, as information flows through the system it encounters lags and filtering, and much of a scientist's communication behavior is an effort to compensate for these factors. Because the lags and filtering within each system differ in loci and extent, the members of different disciplines adjust to them differently, and the overall information flow patterns in the physical and in the social sciences differ.

Communication↗
PubMed2006

Defending science education against intelligent design: a call to action.

We review here the current political landscape and our own efforts to address the attempts to undermine science education in Wisconsin. To mount an effective response, expertise in evolutionary biology and in the history of the public controversy is useful but not essential. However, entering the fray requires a minimal tool kit of information. Here, we summarize some of the scientific and legal history of this issue and list a series of actions that scientists can take to help facilitate good science education and an improved atmosphere for the scientific enterprise nationally. Finally, we provide some model legislation that has been introduced in Wisconsin to strengthen the teaching of science.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Galileo and the embryos: religion and science in parliamentary debate over research on human embryos.

Confrontation between science and religion was a significant feature of the lengthy public appraisal of research on human embryos in Britain during the 1880s. The series of formal debates over embryo research in the House of Lords is chosen as a particularly appropriate setting to study this confrontation. It is shown that religious opposition to embryo research was repeatedly attacked in these debates by means of a stereotyped contrast between religious and scientific styles of thought. Leading figures in the movement for embryo research attempted to discredit their opponents by claiming that, whereas their own case was built upon reasoned assessment of the facts, the other side relied on religious dogma, clerical authority and faith. It is shown that, although there were genuine differences between those critical of embryo research on religious grounds and those supporting such research on grounds furnished by scientists, this account of the differences is inaccurate: dogma, reliance on authority and faith were as characteristic of the discourse associated with science as they were of that associated with religion. It is argued that these features were not generated by the presence of religious or scientific beliefs as such, but by the struggle between advocates of science and religion for intellectual and moral dominance.

Beginning of Human Life↗
PubMed2005

Information extraction in the life sciences: perspectives for medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology.

Information extraction approaches have been successfully applied to mine the scientific literature in biology and medicine. So far, the main focus of research and development in this domain was on the recognition and extraction of gene and protein names in the context of molecular biology and genome research and on disease names and other medical terms in the context of clinical research. Similar to biology and medical sciences, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology are descriptive sciences. However, information extraction approaches in these disciplines encounter a number of problems that are specific to the fact that these scientific areas are essentially centred at chemical compounds and their structures. In this review, we will give a short overview on general information extraction strategies in the life sciences and we will introduce new approaches to apply information extraction to the domain of pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and toxicology. Finally, we will emphasize on how information extraction approaches will support public and commercial research in medicinal chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology by linking information on chemical structures to biological information.

Biological Science Disciplines↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The end of cognition? Science and technology studies challenge the concept of the cognising agent].

The concept of 'cognition' is central to a wide literature in social science and philosophy where a key assumption conceptualises the central unit of analysis as a cognising agent. However, recent developments in Science and Technology Studies (STS) question this assumption and suggest the basis for its modification. The paper describes and evaluates these developments. It examines critiques for the "received view" of science and suggests that nothing less than a full scale analytic inversion is needed adequately to confront entrenched conceptions about cognition. It surveys progressive attempts to achieve symmetry in STS. It then considers three sets of key assumptions about agency: 1. what is the agent doing?; 2. what is the nature of the agent?; and 3. why should human agents have the monopoly on human attributes?

Cognition↗
PubMed1991

[Laboratory medicine in the area of interest between medicine and science].

The scientific disciplines of laboratory medicine are analyzed from the point of view of history and the philosophy of science. The results of this study are the following: 1. Laboratory medicine is the name of a group of subjects which exist in an interdisciplinary area between medicine and science. 2. Historical development shows that these subjects arose in the 19th century when medicine adopted the "natural scientific method" and became "scientific medicine". 3. Clinical chemistry, as one example of these subjects, is analyzed in detail to understand the thinking process and the scientific method. This subject is, on the one hand, a "theoretical discipline" (like all of the natural sciences) but, on the other hand, it is a typical "practical scientific discipline" (which like clinical medicine is aimed at certain decisions and actions). 4. The disciplines of laboratory medicine have developed typical "professions" mainly because of their application in clinical practice and their commitment to patient care.

Chemistry, Analytic↗
PubMed1984

The union of dental behavioral and clinical science: educational and research prospectives.

It has been argued that behavioral scientists too wedded to their disciplines are merely interlopers in dentistry. According to this argument, these individuals see dentistry as a laboratory for investigation but care little for the problems faced by clinicians. No doubt this has been true in some cases. However, since the growth of the discipline of behavioral medicine in the 1970s, a substantial number of behavioral scientists have been attracted to the basic problems of clinical science. These individuals have neither been seeking the role of part-time questionnaire designer, programmer, or statistician, nor are they simply seeking a laboratory for their studies. Academicians involved in behavioral medicine are genuinely interested in clinical phenomena in the healing sciences. The collaboration of behavioral scientists and clinical dental investigators has much to offer. The isolated clinician collecting data without methodological rigor is unlikely to make a major contribution. Behavioral scientists can add, beyond technical expertise, to the methodology or logic of the investigator. Moreover, the behavioral scientist and clinician may produce an enhanced understanding of behavioral factors important in clinical practice. This model for research also has implications for teaching and service. Courses integrating behavioral and clinical science can be offered based on the results of the collaborative research. Clinics employing both professional groups can use this knowledge to treat dental fear, TMJ disorders, and other problems effectively. Careful recruitment and training of behavioral scientists with research skills is needed.

Behavioral Sciences↗
PubMed1996

The Missouri planning grant for the education and training of health sciences librarians.

The planning grant at the School of Library and Informational Science (SLIS) at the University of Missouri has two aims: (a) developing a model curriculum for health sciences librarianship at the master's level and (b) developing materials that can be delivered by alternative instructional methods. To accomplish the first aim, the faculty will investigate the possibility of offering courses in other disciplines, such as health care administration, educational technology, adult education, and medical sociology. In addition, the SLIS faculty will investigate the development of new kinds of placement for the students' practicum experience. To reach the second aim, the SLIS faculty will investigate alternative means of delivering both graduate and continuing education. Three instructional modalities will be evaluated. Some material will be delivered via satellite broadcast, some material will be made available via the World Wide Web and some will be presented in an intensive seminar. The outcome of the planning grant will be two distinct plans. The first will be a plan for the curriculum in health sciences librarianship at the master's level. The second will be a plan for offering instruction through alternative methods, both for graduate education and for continuing education.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed2004

Girls' and boys' developing interests in math and science: do parents matter?

Previous studies (for example, Bregman & Killen, 1999; Eccles, Wigfield, & Schiefele, 1998; Jacobs, 1991;Jacobs & Eccles, 2000) have demonstrated the important role that parents' attitudes play in shaping their children's later self-perceptions and achievement behaviors. Studies indicate that in the math and science arena, parents' perceptions of their children's abilities as well as their own values about math and science are related to their children's later self-perceptions and values for achieving in these domains. The previous work suggests that parents are conveying their attitudes and values about math to their children through their words and actions; however, little research has documented the ways in which parents' beliefs and specific behaviors might promote positive achievement attitudes and behaviors in their children. The goal of the study reported here was to document relations between parents' math and science--promotive behaviors and attitudes and their children's later activity choices, values, and achievement in these subjects.

Achievement↗
PubMed2005

Toward a consilient science of psychology.

From its inception, psychology has been characterized by conceptual fragmentation and slow scientific progress (Henriques, 2004; Meehl, 1978). In contrast, the natural sciences have achieved in recent decades a remarkable degree of consilience--the linking of fact, theory, and method across disciplines (and subdisciplines) and across nested levels of informational complexity (Wilson, 1998). Although such consilience serves as a potent catalyst of scientific discovery, there exists several barriers to the emergence of a consilient science of psychology (e.g., the persistent influence of dualism, longstanding internecine discord, resistance to perceived reductionism, etc.). We discuss the manner in which the development of metatheoretical frameworks (including Henriques' Tree of Knowledge model) may play an important role in addressing such barriers. Likewise, we describe the hybrid interdisciplinary domain of cognitive neuroscience, which provides an empirically testable metatheory and a promising consilient bridge between psychology and the natural sciences.

Cognitive Science↗
PubMed2002

Arsenic, drinking water, and health: a position paper of the American Council on Science and Health.

The purpose of this American Council on Science and Health report is to review issues and sources of uncertainty affecting assessment of potential health risks related to drinking water in the United States. Some background is included on how these issues arose, as is a review of the 1999 National Research Council report (with references to an updated version), to formulate a position based on the current science concerning how much of a risk of adverse health effects actually exists from arsenic in drinking water in the United States. ACSH concludes that there is clear evidence that chronic exposure to inorganic arsenic at concentrations of at least several hundred micrograms per liter may cause: (1) cancer of skin, bladder, lung (and possibly several other internal organs, including kidney, liver, and prostate), and (2) noncancer effects, including classic cutaneous manifestations that are distinctive and characteristic of chronic arsenic poisoning (diffuse or spotted hyperpigmentation and palmar-plantar hyperkeratoses). Noncancer effects may be multisystemic, with some evidence of peripheral vascular, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and adverse reproductive outcomes. Further study is needed to know if beneficial effects of arsenic in animal studies apply to humans. ACSH concludes that there is little, if any, evidence of a detrimental health effect in humans from inorganic arsenic in drinking water at the current maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 50 microg/L or below, either in the United States or elsewhere. As noted in the 1999 NRC report, "No human studies of sufficient statistical power or scope have examined whether consumption of arsenic in drinking water at the current MCL results in an increased incidence of cancer or noncancer effects" (NRC, 1999, p. 7). Based on our review, described in this article, ACSH finds that the limitations of the epidemiological data available and the state-of-the-science on the mode-of-action of arsenic toxicity, including can cer, are inadequate to support the conclusion that there are adverse health effects in the United States from arsenic in drinking water at or below the limit of 50 microg/L.

Arsenic↗
PubMed1991

The place of human values in the language of science: Kuhn, Saussure, and structuralism.

The current paradigm in medicine generally distinguishes between genetic and environmental causes of disease. Although the word "paradigm" has become a commonplace, the theories of Thomas Kuhn have not received much attention in the journals of medicine. Kuhn's structuralist method differs radically from the daily activities of the scientific method itself. Using linguistic theory, this essay offers a structuralist reading of Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Our purpose is to highlight the similarities between these structuralist models of science and language. In part, we focus on the logic that enables Kuhn to assert the priority of perception over interpretation in the history of science. To illustrate some of these issues, we refer to the distinction between environmental and genetic causes of disease. While the activity of scientific research results in the revision of concepts in science, the production of significant differences that shape our knowledge is in part a social and linguistic process.

Disease↗
PubMed1999

[Relevance of life sciences for traumatologic and orthopedic surgery].

During the last 15 years biology and life science underwent a dramatic development. Daily we hear about new discoveries in this area of research. There is for example the identification of new genes, which are responsible for different phenomena: cancer genes, adipositas genes and suicide genes. Furthermore there are reports of human ears growing on the back of a mice or cloning of complex organisms (i.e. Dolly). This kind of research is mostly summarized under terms like: genetic engineering, life science, genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioanalytics, tissue engineering and reproduction medicine. Because of the indiscriminate use of these terms and the complexity of the single discipline only specialists are able to understand and to assess the relevance of results. Aim of this article is to explain some of these terms and to clarify the principles of some important techniques. By this we want to show the relevance of life science for traumatology which possibly leads to new diagnostic and therapeutic concepts.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

What use is science to animal welfare?

The topic of this review was suggested to me by the Council of the International Ethological Congress, who invited me, a non-ethologist, to address an international gathering of the most eminent of ethologists in Vienna, the birthplace of ethology, and call into question the relevance of science in general, and their scientific discipline in particular, to one of their most ardently sought goals, namely the improvement, through improved understanding, of the welfare of other sentient animals. My concern is to question the quality and utility of science in general and ethology in particular as applied to animal welfare. This topic has in the past provoked me to some severe criticism, for example, 'A lot of well-intended welfare research is neither very good science nor very helpful to the animals.... Too much welfare research is (in my opinion) flawed either because it is oversimplistic, or because it is not so much designed to test preconceptions but to reinforce prejudice' (Webster 1994). Dawkins (1997) has recently responded to this challenge, addressing the question 'Why has there not been more progress in welfare research?' Her response is concerned largely with applied ethology. My own criticism was not directed at ethologists in particular. I was more concerned by the misuse of scientific method by those who seek to obtain a so-called 'objective' measurement of something which they preconceive to be a stress (e.g., measurement of plasma concentrations of cortisol or endorphins in animals following transportation). Here the 'objective' measure frequently becomes the test that gives the answer that they want, and if it fails, then they seek other 'objective' markers until they achieve a set of measurements that supports the subjective impression which they had at the outset. My second main concern is that the welfare state of a sentient animal is a very complex affair and cannot be embraced by any single scientific discipline, be it ethology, physiology, molecular or neurobiology. Unfortunately it is also too complex to be embraced by a single-sentence definition. The best I can do is to suggest that it is determined by the capacity of an animal to sustain physical fitness and avoid mental suffering. The assessment of this is necessarily multidisciplinary.

Animal Welfare↗
PubMed2004

Indicators of sustainability: challenges and opportunities at the interface of science and policy.

Rising global interest in sustainability has triggered attention in indicators as a means of achieving a more sustainable world. Although the search for indicators has led to the development of criteria for good indicators, it has also been dominated by scientific elites. The consequences of such dominance leads to significant social and policy implications, particularly with regard to how the search for sustainability has become defined primarily as a technical/scientific exploration when it is actually a moral and ethical issue. Our discussion about sustainability and appropriate indicators centers on what constitutes the public interest, a question that requires inclusiveness and centers on the interface of science and policy. The paper reviews the rationale for selecting indicators, the functions they serve, and the implications and consequences involved when one sector-science-dominates the debate. The paper concludes with suggestions about appropriate roles of science, policy and the public in the indicator selection process.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗