Science Prize Research Articles

Future Science Prize goes to non-invasive prenatal testing

Future Science Prize goes to non-invasive prenatal testing

2017 King Faisal International Prize for Science and Medicine

The King Faisal Foundation in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has awarded the 2017 King Faisal International Prize (KFIP) for Medicine (topic: Biologic Therapeutics in Autoimmune Diseases) to Tadamitsu Kishimoto of Japan in recognition of his prominent role in developing a novel biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases. The Prize for Science in the field of physics has been awarded to Daniel Loss of Switzerland and Laurens W. Molenkamp of the Netherlands.

Georgy Vasiliyovich Gaiko

The article devoted to the life and scientific way of famous traumatologist orthopaedist, a talented surgeon, director of the State Institution "Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics of NAMS of Ukraine" Professor, Honored Scientist of Ukraine, laureate of the State Prize for Science and Technology of Ukraine, head of the Traumatology and Orthopedics Clinic, Gaiko Georgy Vasilievich, MD, who turned 80 years old in December 2016.

Louis Pasteur and Claude Bernard: about a posthumous controversy

Claude Bernard and Louis Pasteur will meet on various occasions, scientific prizes were awarded by Claude Bernard to Louis Pasteur, Claude Bernard's lessons were followed by Louis Pasteur at the Faculty of Science or at the College de France, and friendly relationship were established. But the essential lies in a posthumous controversy where Claude Bernard, denying the role of microbes in the fermentation, seems to criticize Pasteur's assertions and, later, his method and vision. We shall report here the exchanges which concern these two scientists and, beyond that, the scientific approach.

2015 Lush Science Prize.

The Lush Prize supports animal-free testing by rewarding the most effective projects and individuals who have been working toward the goal of replacing animals in product or ingredient safety testing. Prizes are awarded for developments in five strategic areas: Science; Lobbying; Training; Public Awareness; and Young Researchers. Should there be a major breakthrough in 21st century toxicology, a Black Box Prize equivalent to the entire annual fund of £250,000 is awarded. A Background Paper is prepared each year, prior to the judging process, to provide the panel with a brief overview of current developments in the field of Replacement alternatives, particularly those relevant to the concept of toxicity pathways. The Background Paper includes information on recent work by the relevant scientific institutions and projects in this area, including AXLR8, the OECD, The Hamner Institutes, the Human Toxome Project, EURL ECVAM, ICCVAM, the US Tox21 Programme, the ToxCast programme, and the Human Toxicology Project Consortium. Recent developments in toxicity pathway research are also assessed by reviewing the relevant literature (including conference proceedings), and the abstracts and papers receiving the highest score are presented to the judges for consideration.

Establishment of a tumour-stroma airway model (OncoCilAir) to accelerate the development of human therapies against lung cancer.

This paper highlights the work for which OncoTheis, a Swiss biotechnology company, engaged in the development of innovative bioengineered tissues and organoids for cancer research, was co-awarded the 2015 Lush Science Prize. Noting that the use of animal models failed to lead to the design of effective treatments for cancer, OncoTheis has opted to develop in vitro models based exclusively on human cells. The company currently focuses on lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, with more than one million deaths per year. To address this public health concern, we developed OncoCilAir™, a new 3-D model that mimics in vitro the progression of the disease as it happens in patients. In this system, bronchial and lung tumour cells obtained from discarded surgical tissue are cocultured in a Petri dish to reconstitute a fragment of the human lung. After appropriate differentiation, the culture closely reproduces malignant pulmonary nodules invading a small piece of functional airway tissue. As OncoCilAir includes both healthy and cancerous tissues, it can be used to test tumour-killing activity and the adverse effects of chemotherapies and other anti-cancer drugs. Moreover, a single culture can be maintained for up to three months, which permits studies of longer-term effects, including the assessment of drug resistance and tumour recurrence. OncoCilAir heralds a new generation of integrated in vitro models, which is expected to increase the quality of preclinical research while replacing animal testing.

Body-on-a-chip systems for animal-free toxicity testing.

Body-on-a-chip systems replicate the size relationships of organs, blood distribution and blood flow, in accordance with human physiology. When operated with tissues derived from human cell sources, these systems are capable of simulating human metabolism, including the conversion of a prodrug to its effective metabolite, as well as its subsequent therapeutic actions and toxic side-effects. The system also permits the measurement of human tissue electrical and mechanical reactions, which provide a measure of functional response. Since these devices can be operated with human tissue samples or with in vitro tissues derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS), they can play a significant role in determining the success of new pharmaceuticals, without resorting to the use of animals. By providing a platform for testing in the context of human metabolism, as opposed to animal models, the systems have the potential to eliminate the use of animals in preclinical trials. This article will review progress made and work achieved as a direct result of the 2015 Lush Science Prize in support of animal-free testing.

China-only science prize honours pathologist and experimental physicist

China-only science prize honours pathologist and experimental physicist

Robert P Heaney, MD: 1927–2016

Robert P Heaney Dr. Robert P. Heaney's six decades of research investigating bone physiology and biology had a profound impact in the field of osteoporosis. His early work at Creighton included the Creighton University “Nun” Study. Many people in the field recognize this study when it is mentioned. This project was originally designed as a 20-year project. Roman Catholic nuns with mother houses in the Omaha, NE, USA, area were invited to attend an 8-day inpatient metabolic balance study at 5-year intervals. Each admission was preceded by a 7-day diary recording all dietary intakes. The daily food provided to each inpatient study participant was matched for calcium, phosphorus, protein, fat, and carbohydrate to the intake recorded in the diaries. Dr. Heaney characterized plasma calcium kinetics using radio-calcium isotopes, which described the interface between the calcium in the skeleton and that in the circulation. He also measured calcium absorption efficiency and recorded obligate losses of calcium in the urine and stool. All of this focused on calcium and skeletal physiology, and pathogenesis of osteoporosis. This project ultimately culminated after 41 years with each subject studied at 5-year intervals. The study sample of 161 nuns who entered the study in 1967 decreased to 131 at the end of the study, ie, only 30 dropouts over this 41-year study, some of whom were deceased. This study documented the importance of calcium nutrition and the calcium loss at the time of menopause, and set the standard for the US recommendations for calcium intake. Dr. Heaney's research contributions pertained not only to bone and osteoporosis but also to other illnesses, such as end-stage renal disease and insulin resistance, in the study of vitamin D. He applied his skills in biologic kinetics to characterize the appearance and disappearance of calciferol and its various metabolites in the serum of humans. His research in vitamin D nutrition and its physiology has had an enormous impact on the understanding of vitamin D physiology. Dr. Heaney always stressed that a research project is not complete until the findings are disseminated. He took that responsibility seriously and was a prolific writer and a frequent speaker at scientific, corporate, and community meetings. He authored 866 scientific articles including abstracts, reviews and other scientific papers. He participated actively in policy making in groups such as the Office of Technology Assessment, US Congress, Scientific Advisory Panel on Osteoporosis and the Panel on Calcium and Related Nutrients, Food & Nutrition Board, National Academy of Science (NAS). His achievements were widely recognized and his awards include the Creighton University Lifetime Achievement Research Award, the Frederick C Bartter Award from the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research, the Kappa Delta award from the American College of Orthopedic Surgeons, the E.V. McCollum Award of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and the Institute CANDIA Scientific Prize from France. He was recognized by the National Osteoporosis Foundation as a “Legend of Osteoporosis.” Perhaps most importantly, he focused widespread attention on the importance of osteoporosis. In recognition of this, he was presented a lifetime achievement award in the US House of Representatives on November 10, 2015. Dr. Heaney has mentored a large number of people including the authors of this memorial. He was an icon in the fields of osteoporosis, bone physiology, bone diseases in general, and vitamin D. His mentorship has been inspirational for our students, residents, and fellows at Creighton University as well as similar trainees in other institutions. He has been an enthusiastic, passionate teacher of medicine and bone pathology and physiology. Dr. Heaney had another dimension known mostly inside Creighton. He has been very active in Creighton University's spiritual community. He was well known for his passion for the scripture and his contributions to “Daily Reflections” on the Creighton website. His spiritual writings have been a source of great inspiration for persons at Creighton University and beyond. He also wrote for a monthly Catholic magazine America and for the Creighton Magazine. Dr. Heaney and his late wife, Barbara, raised seven children, and, at his death, his descendants include 14 grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. They all were a source of great pride and much enjoyment for him. Dr. Heaney will be remembered as a healer, a thinker, and a man of grace and generosity. We are all greatly saddened by his loss. Robert R Recker, MD Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA Joan M Lappe, PhD Osteoporosis Research Center, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA

Note on the Taylor and Francis Scientific Prize.

Note on the Taylor and Francis Scientific Prize.

2015 european political science prize

2015 european political science prize

Finalists selected for prize to turn data into science products

Projects that would make air quality, clinical trial, and emerging disease data more readily available are among the finalists for the Open Science Prize. The competition is designed to take the vast trove of government and other open data and turn it into products that can be used by scientists and the public. The six finalists use data generated in air-quality monitoring, clinical trials, pathogen surveillance, brain imaging, fruit fly brain research, and genetics investigations. They were chosen from among 96 international teams that submitted ideas. Each finalist team will receive $80,000 to turn its idea into a prototype by this December. The winner will be announced in February or March 2017. “We’re supporting these six international teams of innovators so that they can demonstrate the exciting potential of open science both to advance discovery and, through the application of research, to improve health across the world,” says Clare Matterson,

Six finalists to compete for Open Science Prize

Six finalists to compete for Open Science Prize

“Enmity Rather Than a Competition”

The sorts of great minds capable of major scientific breakthroughs often come with oversized and confrontational personalities. Both Ivan Pavlov and Vladimir Bekhterev had such personalities. What started as reasoned contention between two talented scholars grew into a heated rivalry that boiled over into science and public life as outright enmity. Using memoirs of their contemporaries, this article examines Pavlov's and Bekhterev's personal and scientific relationships against the backdrop of Russian science of their day. Pavlov's possible role in the decision not to grant the 1912 Nobel Prize for science is also described.

In Memoriam: Ernest Maréchal

AbstractIt is with great sadness that we have learned of the passing of Professor Ernest Maréchal on 9 January 2016, at the age of eighty-four. Between 1993 and 2008, Ernest Maréchal was deeply involved in the activities of the IUPAC Polymer Division (formerly the Macromolecular Division) and of the Subcommittee on Polymer Terminology, and has led or contributed to six IUPAC Recommendations, amongst others on chemically modified polymers and source-based nomenclature. Ernest Maréchal was a graduate of Ecole Normale Supérieure (Cachan, France), with a degree in Physics (Aggrégation). He received his Doctorate degree from the University of Paris in 1965, specializing in the chemistry of cationic polymerization and was immediately appointed full Professor at the University of Rouen. In 1976, he joined the University Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (UPMC, Paris), where he developed research studies on the mechanisms of cationic polymerizations and polycondensations and on the chemical modification of polymers, establishing close relationships with the polymer industry. He was behind the discovery and development of thermoplastic elastomers, now commercialized by Arkema under the trade name Pebax. His last research works were devoted to pioneering studies on enzymatic catalysis in polymerizations (1989-2001). During his career, he acted as Head of the departments of physical chemistry (1978-1980) and macromolecular chemistry (1985-1992) at UPMC and as Head of the molecular and macromolecular physical chemistry branch of the National Committee for Research of CNRS (1983-1987). He authored or co-authored more than 300 research papers and has supervised more than 100 PhD studies. He was awarded many scientific prizes, including the Silver Medal of CNRS, the Pierre Sue Great Prize, and the Lavoisier Medal of the Société Chimique de France. Ernest was a great figure in polymer science, a leading scientist whom his numerous students will never forget, a man of culture, full of humour, and a warm and faithful friend who will be sorely missed.

Dean S. Worth In Memoriam

Dean S. Worth In Memoriam Henning Andersen The Slavic linguistics community lost one of its great leaders in 2016. Dean Stoddard Worth, who lived in retirement in Lititz, Pennsylvania, passed away after a long illness on 29 February at the age of 88 years. Worth, who was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1927, earned his BA at Dartmouth College, studied Slavic languages in Paris at the École nationale des langues vivantes and at the Sorbonne (Diploma and Certificat 1952) and went on to Harvard, where he completed the PhD in 1956 with a dissertation on a problem in Russian syntax, written under the supervision of Roman Jakobson. In 1957 he hired on at UCLA, where he rose through the ranks, retiring in 1994. During his career Worth made significant contributions in Russian linguistics, descriptive as well as historical, with early publications on syntactic problems and numerous papers on morphophonemics and morphology, especially word formation. In many other studies he applied linguistic analysis to Russian texts from all periods, chronicles as well as literary, from the Igor’ Tale to Kantemir. He produced more than a dozen papers on rime and metrics, both in classical and in oral literature, where he showed a special interest in the Russian lament. His many studies of the language of these many text types from different periods formed the background for contributions to our understanding of the historical development of the Russian literary language. Besides publications in Russian linguistics, Worth wrote several studies of the southern Kamchatka language Kamchadal (Russian Itel’men). He also edited and coedited several conference volumes and was editor of the International Journal of Slavic Linguistics and Poetics from its first issue (1959) to its last (2006). In between he wrote some fifty reviews, about a quarter of the items in his list of publications. Two collections of Worth’s research articles were published (1977, 2006). The latter lists his publications through 2004. Among Worth’s book-length publications are a volume of edited Kamchadal texts, a Kamchadal dictionary, a Russian derivational dictionary (1970), a bibliography of Russian word formation (1977), a two-volume bibliography of Slavic linguistics (1966, 1970), and a monograph on the development of Russian grammar writing (1983). At UCLA Worth played a decisive role in his department’s development into a preeminent center of Slavic studies, the result of judicious hiring and a [End Page 269] stream of visiting lecturers and professors from Slavic countries. He served several terms as department chair, as director of the Advisory Committee of the UCLA Center for Russian and East European Studies, as well as on a variety of campus-wide committees. Beyond the walls of the university, Worth served on, and at times chaired, both the American and the International Committee of Slavists and at various times was a consultant to the RAND Corporation, the National Science Foundation, the American Council of Learned Societies, and the Social Sciences Research Council. Over the years Worth was awarded research funding from the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, the International Research and Exchange Board, the National Science Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 1984 he was awarded the UCLA College of Letters and Science Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching, Research, and Service. In 1992 he received the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Scholarship from the American Association of Teachers of Slavic and East European Languages. He was honored by colleagues with a Festschrift to celebrate his 65th birthday, and former students marked his 70th birthday and 40th anniversary at UCLA with a Festschrift for him in 1997. His students and colleagues will remember him for his high standards in teaching and scholarship, his generosity, his hospitality, and his spirit of conviviality. Dean Worth is survived by his wife, Professor Emerita Emily Klenin, and by a niece and two nephews. Henning Andersen Slavic Languages and Cultures Department University of California Los Angeles Humanities Bldg. Ste. 322 Los Angeles, CA 90095 USA andersen@ucla.edu Received: October 2016 References Birnbaum, Henrik and Michael S. Flier, eds. (1995) The language and verse of Russia: In honor of Dean S. Worth on his sixty-fifth birthday. Moscow: Izdatel’skaja firma Vostočnaja literatura RAN...

2014 Lush Science Prize.

The Lush Prize supports animal-free testing by rewarding the most effective projects and individuals who have been working toward the goal of replacing animals in product or ingredient safety testing. A Background Paper is prepared each year, prior to the judging process, to provide the panel with a brief overview of current developments in the field of Replacement alternatives, particularly those relevant to the concept of toxicity pathways. This Background Paper includes information on recent work by the relevant scientific institutions and projects in this area, including AXLR8, OECD, CAAT, The Hamner Institutes, the Human Toxome Project, EURL ECVAM, ICCVAM, the US Tox21 Programme, the ToxCast programme, and the Human Toxicology Project Consortium. Recent developments in toxicity pathway research are also assessed by reviewing the relevant literature, with a view to presenting the two papers receiving the highest score to the judges for consideration.

Toward the Replacement of Animal Experiments through the Bioinformatics-driven Analysis of 'Omics' Data from Human Cell Cultures.

This paper outlines the work for which Roland Grafström and Pekka Kohonen were awarded the 2014 Lush Science Prize. The research activities of the Grafström laboratory have, for many years, covered cancer biology studies, as well as the development and application of toxicity-predictive in vitro models to determine chemical safety. Through the integration of in silico analyses of diverse types of genomics data (transcriptomic and proteomic), their efforts have proved to fit well into the recently-developed Adverse Outcome Pathway paradigm. Genomics analysis within state-of-the-art cancer biology research and Toxicology in the 21st Century concepts share many technological tools. A key category within the Three Rs paradigm is the Replacement of animals in toxicity testing with alternative methods, such as bioinformatics-driven analyses of data obtained from human cell cultures exposed to diverse toxicants. This work was recently expanded within the pan-European SEURAT-1 project (Safety Evaluation Ultimately Replacing Animal Testing), to replace repeat-dose toxicity testing with data-rich analyses of sophisticated cell culture models. The aims and objectives of the SEURAT project have been to guide the application, analysis, interpretation and storage of 'omics' technology-derived data within the service-oriented sub-project, ToxBank. Particularly addressing the Lush Science Prize focus on the relevance of toxicity pathways, a 'data warehouse' that is under continuous expansion, coupled with the development of novel data storage and management methods for toxicology, serve to address data integration across multiple 'omics' technologies. The prize winners' guiding principles and concepts for modern knowledge management of toxicological data are summarised. The translation of basic discovery results ranged from chemical-testing and material-testing data, to information relevant to human health and environmental safety.

Chemistry Is Central to Repairing Genes and Global Health: Reflections on the 2015 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physiology or Medicine.

Autumn—a time associated with the changing of leaves, a crisp note to the air, and the smell, at least for scientists, of anticipation. Scientists and laypeople alike wait with bated breath in early October for the consecutive Nobel laureate announcements—first Physiology or Medicine, then Physics, and finally, Chemistry. The weeks preceding the announcement elicit a spirited atmosphere of Nobel prize-winner predictions among colleagues, including this year’s C&EN’s webinar featuring a fellow Editor-in-Chief, Jillian Buriak from Chemistry of Materials. The crowd was mostly in agreement, favoring John Goodenough for the lithium ion battery that now is glued semipermanently to the linings of most of our pockets. This year, as in most years, the vast majority of the hype did not come to fruition, but I do not think that is really the point of the banter. I believe it is simply gratifying to ponder all the wonderful accomplishments that enrich our lives, and know that for a few days, at least, the rest of the world cares almost as much as we do. After discussion of batteries, bioinorganic chemistry, the role of applied science and many other potential winners, the day went to the discovery that our genes must constantly be fixed and the study of the machinery involved in such processes. Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar each made seminal contributions to the field of DNA repair, each discovering distinct mechanisms by which the macromolecule that constitutes our genetic blueprint recovers from light or chemically induced damage or by mistakes that inevitably occur during DNA replication. In the run-up to the day, another frequently mentioned candidate discovery was CRISPR, the genome editing tool that has taken the biomedical sciences by storm. One has to wonder if the committee was subtly trying to underscore the importance of understanding how natural DNA repair systems work as a foundation for recent technologies in chromosome engineering. In any case, the notion that DNA repair and editing are worthy of recognition as breakthroughs in chemistry highlights the fact that our world is molecular and that transformational developments in biomedicine often have their roots in chemistry. Indeed, people who do not necessarily define themselves as “chemists” win chemistry’s top honor fairly regularly. But the reverse relationship occurs as well and not infrequently. One of the other gratifying aspects of Nobel week, for me, is how so often the other scientific prizes rely on chemistry. Last year, this was seen in the physics prize for blue LEDs, and a few years earlier for graphene. On the physiology side, one can argue that several recent prizes have also had certain chemical components—from the cargo being moved in the vesicles that won in 2013, to the genes that must be manipulated to afford Pluripotent stem cells. These are all molecules after all. The tie-in was especially obvious in this year’s citation in Physiology or Medicine. Here, the prize was split for work discovering lifesaving natural product drugs against parasitic scourges of the developing world—awarded to William C. Campbell and Satoshi Omura for the discovery of avermectin (and various analogues) for treatment of river blindness and lymphatic filariasis, and to Youyou Tu for elucidating the structure of artemisinin, a key component in the global fight against against malaria. In both cases, brilliant combinations of analytical, synthetic and medicinal chemistry, inspired by clues from ancient medicinal practices, led to medicines that have saved millions of lives. When you look at these structures, one cannot help but wonder if not for the power of nature and the persistence of these three people, would we have such therapeutics? Natural products, to this day, remain the most prevalent source of clinically approved medicines despite trends in the pharmaceutical community toward screening strictly synthetic compound collections.1 These libraries give lead compounds that are synthetically tractable and more easily modified, to be sure, but they lack the rich structural complexity and capabilities honed by millions of years of natural selection. By contrast, every complex natural product has a story to tell, written during the battles of interspecies competition and the triumphs of coevolution, but decoding and exploiting this information remains a significant research investment. This year’s Nobel reminds us that such investments in natural products discovery and synthesis can pay huge dividends in the realm of global health, and also sets in stark relief the relative neglect of infectious diseases of developing nations in today’s collective pharmaceutical effort. This last idea brings me back to the concept of the week as a whole. While we start by celebrating science, we end with literature and peace: a clear reminder of Alfred Nobel’s priorities. Should we not all aspire to beauty and the greater good?

The European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine Scientific Prize 2014

No abstract available