Benefits Of Scientific Progress Research Articles

Upholding ethical values and human rights at the frontier of TB research.

Until recently, human rights have played a minor role in the fight against tuberculosis (TB), even less so in TB research. This is changing, however. The WHO's End TB Strategy and Ethics Guidance stress respect for human rights and ethical principles in every area of TB care, including research. The desired reductions in TB incidence and mortality are impossible without new tools and strategies to fight the disease. Yet, little suggests that the current state of TB research-including funding levels, evidence being produced, and community involvement-will alleviate concerns related to the availability, accessibility, and acceptability of TB diagnostics, drugs, and prevention in the near future. In this article, we consider these ethics concerns in relation to the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and the right to health. We also reflect on community involvement in research and offer recommendations in the spirit of the rights to health and science, such as involving affected communities in all aspects of research planning, execution, and dissemination. Finally, we argue that states have a responsibility under international law for the continued realization of the right to health. This realization rests, in part, on the realization of the right to science.

The UN Declaration on Peasants' Rights (UNDROP): Is Article 19 on seed rights adequately balancing intellectual property rights and the right to food?

AbstractThe UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2018. One provision that caused opposition by certain states was Article 19 on the right to seeds. The article discusses whether the right to seeds is implicitly recognized by Article 15.1(b) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) on “benefits of scientific progress…,” seen in light of ICESCR Article 11.2(a) on “improving methods of production…” as well as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Article 14.2(g), on rural women's right to appropriate technology. Moreover, the positive protection of farmers' breeding efforts is covered by the wording of ICESCR Article 15.1(c). Other treaties and soft‐law sources also direct states to improve peasants' livelihoods, including seeds. States can legislate to serve peasants' interests and strengthen their rights when adopting IPR legislation. The article shows how this can be done, for instance by introducing exclusions and limited exceptions to IPRs. States have a policy space when implementing IPR legislation that should be utilized to promote the right to food and the livelihood of peasants.

Extraterritorial Human Rights Obligations and the Transfer of Technology for Local Production and Research & Development for Essential Medicines

The starting point for this paper is the question whether international human rights law needs an extension of its scope of application in light of processes of (economic) globalization? This question is explored with reference to different dimensions of the right to health, the right to the enjoyment of the benefits of scientific progress (here after REBSP) and application to the issue of (the lack of) access to (essential) medicines. It is suggested that the notion of the extraterritorial scope of human rights law is needed to fill a normative and accountability gap that currently exists. We argue that filling this gap is necessary to deal with the challenges that processes of economic globalisation pose for the protection of human rights, especially of vulnerable members of society in developing countries. We raise the question how these people can benefit from the progress in science and technology in the area of health and medicines. The 2011 Maastricht Principles on Extraterritorial Obligations of States in the Area Of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Maastricht Principles) provide for such a normative framework.

Pancreatitis: Global Research Activities and Gender Imbalances: A Scientometric Approach Using Density-Equalizing Mapping.

Despite the high impact of acute and chronic pancreatitis on the global burden of disease, no scientometric evaluation in this research field has yet been conducted. Therefore, we have issued an analysis in the field of pancreatitis research covering the past 112 years. Data were retrieved from the Web of Science database. Density-equalizing mapping and large-scale data analysis were used to visualize bilateral and multilateral research cooperation. Finland is the only 1 of the 15 most productive countries showing a ratio in favor of female scientists. The United States is the most productive supplier with 24.1% of all publications. The most successful international cooperation proved to be the one between the United States and Germany. Although the United States holds the highest h-index, Switzerland obtains by far the highest citation rate. China, Russia, and India show only little international cooperation, given their scientific productivity. For the benefit of scientific progress, more countries with considerable numbers of patients should contribute to international collaborations and female researchers should be encouraged and supported.

Right to health- A human rights approach

The human rights based approach to health primarily aims to realize the right to health by achieving other health related human rights. This paper tries to analyse the relationship between right to health and human right and examines how far the law in India, in health care sector, incorporates the rules and principles embodied in various International conventions. The paper takes into account two approaches for the linkage between right to health and human rights. Primarily, it focuses on the impact of health policies, schemes, programmes etc. on human rights. The second approach mainly focuses on impact of neglect of violations human rights on health. By giving human rights framework to the right to health, the Government is under an obligation to ensure that all people in a society should have shelter, food, medical care and basic education. However, specifically three rights i.e. right to non-discrimination, right to the benefit of scientific progress and the rights to health are relevant to the health in human rights perspective. The paper examines the relevancy of the above aspect in the health care sector. The various obligations and monitoring mechanisms of the state to have proper legislations to protect the heath in line with the provisions of the international treaties are the subject matter of this paper. The paper suggests certain recommendations for the effective safeguard of healthcare with special reference to vulnerable people. The paper end with some suggestions for having a systematic review to examine to what extent governmental policies and programmes are successful, to respect the human rights with special importance on healthcare system of vulnerable people.

The global alliance for genomics and health: towards international sharing of genomic and clinical data

The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) was officially launched in March 2014. The aims of the Global Alliance are to accelerate the world-wide effort to responsibly aggregate, analyse and share large amounts of genomic and clinical information to advance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment for cancer, inherited diseases, infectious diseases, and drug responses. The alliance consists of over 200 of the world's leading biomedical research institutions, healthcare providers, information technology and life science companies, funders of research, and disease and patient advocacy organizations. As part of four Working Groups (Clinical, Regulatory and Ethics, Data, and Security), Alliance Members have already developed products such as: • A Framework for Responsible Sharing of Genomic and Health-Related Data , containing foundational governance principles and guidelines for research. This Framework is guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the right of scientific freedom of all citizens to share in the benefits of scientific progress and for scientists to be recognised for their contributions. • A GA4GH Genomics API (published at www.ga4gh.org ) that allows researchers to exchange genomic information, including sequence reads and reference variation, across organisations and platforms. The Genomics API comes with a compliance test and reference implementation, to facilitate adoption and ensure interoperability. The Global Alliance is also supporting key data sharing projects being undertaken by Alliance Members. These projects will demonstrate value and promote real-world learning: • An international Matchmaker Exchange, that will facilitate researchers and clinicians finding other patients with similar rare phenotypic and genotypic profiles through a connected system of 'Matchmakers'. • The Global BRCA Challenge is being driven by leaders in the field internationally with the aim of sharing and pooling genotype and phenotype data. This initiative has the potential to dramatically increase our ability to estimate BRCA1 and BRCA2 -related cancer risks.

Human Rights and the Challenges of Science and Technology

The expansion of the corpus of international human rights to include the right to water and sanitation has implications both for the process of recognizing human rights and for future developments in the relationships between technology, engineering and human rights. Concerns with threats to human rights resulting from developments in science and technology were expressed in the early days of the United Nations (UN), along with the recognition of the ambitious human right of everyone "to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications." This comment explores the hypothesis that the emerging concepts most likely to follow recognition of the human right to water primarily involve issues of science and technology, such as access to medicines or clean and healthy environment. Many threats to human rights from advances in science, which were identified in the past as potential, have become real today, such as invasion of privacy from electronic recording, deprivation of health and livelihood as a result of climate change, or control over individual autonomy through advances in genetics and neuroscience. This comment concludes by urging greater engagement of scientists and engineers, in partnership with human rights specialists, in translating normative pronouncements into defining policy and planning interventions.

The right to adequate food as the example of human rights’ interdependence/ Prawo do właściwego wyżywienia jako przykład współzależności praw człowieka

AbstractVienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted on 1993 recognize and affirms that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. The right to adequate food as part of the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living (art. 11 CESCR) is inseparable from human dignity and physical survival of human kind.The fulfillment and holistic approach in human rights’ analysis is perceived as an effect of enforcement of human rights’ interdependence. The prerequisite of the right to food realization is the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger. On the other hand, right to adequate food is a wider ontological and legal concept than just the requirement to fight hunger. The proper fulfillment of the right depends on several conditions such as the realization of the right to health, work, education, women rights, rights of the child, property rights, right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications, right to information and freedom of choice etc. The proper explanation of terms such as ‘adequate food’ is a sine qua non indicator for those responsible for human rights’ fulfillment.

A child’s right to enjoy benefits of scientific progress and its applications

The right to enjoy benefits of scientific progress and its applications (REBSPA) is under debate. The efforts of a U.N. Expert, the U.N. CESCR, an AAAS coalition, and scholars have shed light on and raised awareness of this right. Deserving more attention is children’s REBSPA. Young people stand to gain significantly from REBSPA, yet little is known about how this right may impact children’s interests. This article examines young people’s REBSPA in the context of international agreements and research on this right. Indicators reveal differences in this children’s right across and within countries, suggesting research is needed to explore young people’s experiences with REBSPA.

The “Citizen Scientist”: Reflections on the Public Role of Scientists in Response to Emerging Biotechnologies in New Zealand

Much of the traditional discussion on science and society engagement has concentrated on the role (and even duties) of citizens in response to science, and on attempts to scientise civilian consciousness to appreciate the benefits of scientific progress. Irwin's (1995) concept of “Citizen Science” was an important milestone in our understanding of “science and society” relations, which focused attention on the needs and concerns of citizens and looked to a new form of science “enacted by citizens themselves” (Irwin 1995: ix). In this paper, I consider the other side of the science and society relationship by focusing on the scientist as citizen. Over time, a significant minority of scientists have been active in raising public concerns around the social impacts of science and technology, particularly around biotechnology and nanotechnology. This paper presents results from a New Zealand study that engaged scientists with community groups in dialogue about biotechnology. I discuss how this may represent an emerging form of scientific reflexivity and consider the implications for future engagement practice.

The “Citizen Scientist”: Reflections on the Public Role of Scientists in Response to Emerging Biotechnologies in New Zealand

Much of the traditional discussion on science and society engagement has concentrated on the role (and even duties) of citizens in response to science, and on attempts to scientise civilian consciousness to appreciate the benefits of scientific progress. Irwin’s (1995) concept of “Citizen Science” was an important milestone in our understanding of “science and society” relations, which focused attention on the needs and concerns of citizens and looked to a new form of science “enacted by citizens themselves” (Irwin 1995: ix). In this paper, I consider the other side of the science and society relationship by focusing on the scientist as citizen. Over time, a significant minority of scientists have been active in raising public concerns around the social impacts of science and technology, particularly around biotechnology and nanotechnology. This paper presents results from a New Zealand study that engaged scientists with community groups in dialogue about biotechnology. I discuss how this may represent an emerging form of scientific reflexivity and consider the implications for future engagement practice.

Editorial: Well Documented Articles Achieve More Impact

AbstractThis issue offers for the first time supplementary material to articles. It consists of Excel files providing data the research is based on, calculation sheets, and optimization tools. Moreover, text files with pseudo code of algorithms and data of instances used for testing these algorithms as well as a video file with a demonstration of the use of a system in experiments are supplied for download. This material facilitates the understanding of the published articles and the replication of their findings to the benefit of scientific progress. And last but not least, such well documented articles will achieve much more impact.

Leprosy and human rights

On the 18th June the United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously adopted a resolution (A/HRC/8/L.18) on ‘The elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.’ This historic resolution was sponsored by 59 member states and made specific reference to key earlier documents, namely the Universal of Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). The Council called upon Governments to take effective measures to eliminate any type of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members and requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to collect information on the measures that Governments take to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members and to submit a report to the Council. It further requested the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee to formulate a draft set of principles and guidelines to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, and to submit it to the Council for its consideration by September 2009. This resolution is very important and all should be encouraged to pursue its follow-up and implementation. However, leprosy has traditionally been seen as a disease apart and there are parallel arguments that rights-based approaches to health and development should be pursued for the benefit of all people, including those affected by leprosy. Since people affected by leprosy should have the same human rights as all people, it is appropriate to make greater use of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). Almost all the articles of this Covenant can be seen to remain unfulfilled and unrespected for people who have been affected by leprosy. Its articles cover self determination, economic and social and cultural rights, right to work and fair remuneration, protection of the family, adequate living standards, physical and mental health, education, participation in cultural life, and access to the benefits of scientific progress. In 2008 the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities entered into force following its adoption and ratification by the requisite number of member states. This Convention too, represents a major new international legal instrument, and with its greater focus on inclusivity in development, is of critical importance in pursuing the rights of all persons with disabilities, including those affected by leprosy. The WHO Global Strategy on Leprosy highlights the importance of social justice and equity and stresses that this must be integral to all leprosy work including approaches to preventing disability, stigma and discrimination.

Healthcare and other social aspects of genetics: a judicial perspective

This paper discusses several scientific developments relating to genetic science, including DNA technology; gene therapy; cloning; stem cell research; pharmocogenetics; reproductive technology; and genetically modified organisms used in agriculture and environmental protection. It also identifies various social, ethical and legal issues relating to these developments, including genetic privacy; genetic discrimination in employment and insurance; gene doping in sports; commercialisation of products developed from genetic information; confidentiality, disclosure and other liability issues for physicians; rights and responsibilities regarding donated reproductive material; environmental and health concerns; and principles of criminal responsibility. It explores these issues in order to highlight both the fact that the benefits of scientific progress inevitably raise difficult and complex social problems, and society's need to consider, discuss, and pursue solutions to these problems before they become overwhelming.