Scientific Acceptance Research Articles

Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency: Constructing “Certainty” as Rebuttal

Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency was the first Supreme Court opinion generated specifically as a response to the issue of anthropogenic CO2 emissions, alleging that Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) failure to regulate is leading to environmental harms for plaintiffs. This essay examines the majority opinion of Justice Stevens and his use of presumption and burden of proof, within a logic of problematic integration, to construct “certainty” as a rebuttal to and rejection of the “uncertainty” offered by EPA. I examine how this strategically constructed rebuttal to “uncertainty” functions as a declarative act of “certainty,” advancing a proposition whose scientific, legal, or political acceptance could function as a tipping point away from the claims of “uncertainty” used by opponents on this contentious issue. Because of the court's influence, the implications of their “certainty” extend beyond the case and into the broader discussion of climate change science and environmental communication.

Darwinism and the Origin of Life

AbstractHistorically, ideas on the origins of life have been mingled with evolutionary explanations. Darwin avoided discussing the origin of the very first species in public although he acknowledged the possibility that life originated by natural causes. Some of his followers adopted this materialistic position and advocated some sort of spontaneous generation in the distant past. Nevertheless, Pasteur’s experiments were a major obstacle for scientific acceptance of the sudden emergence of life. The scientific study of the origin of life, established in the 1920s, required abandoning the idea of a unique chance event and considering a view of life emerging as the result of a long evolutionary process. At the turn of the twentieth century, some authors adopted non-Darwinian views on the origin of life, exemplified in this paper by the neovitalism of some Catholic scientists. We propose that Darwinism represents a genuine example of an adaptive scientific framework. By recognizing the shift in the features characterizing Darwinism, we can understand its relationship with theories on the origin of life in a non-dogmatic line.

Research Needs and Challenges from Science to Decision Support. Lesson Learnt from the Development of the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Recommendations for Life Cycle Impact Assessment

Environmental implications of the whole supply-chain of products, both goods and services, their use, and waste management, i.e., their entire life cycle from “cradle to grave” have to be considered to achieve more sustainable production and consumption patterns. Progress toward environmental sustainability requires enhancing the methodologies for quantitative, integrated environmental assessment and promoting the use of these methodologies in different domains. In the context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of products, in recent years, several methodologies have been developed for Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA). The Joint Research Center of the European Commission (EC-JRC) led a “science to decision support” process which resulted in the International Reference Life Cycle Data System (ILCD) Handbook, providing guidelines to the decision and application of methods for LCIA. The Handbook is the result of a comprehensive process of evaluation and selection of existing methods based on a set of scientific and stakeholder acceptance criteria and involving review and consultation by experts, advisory groups and the public. In this study, we report the main features of the ILCD LCIA recommendation development highlighting relevant issues emerged from this “from science to decision support” process in terms of research needs and challenges for LCIA. Comprehensiveness of the assessment, as well as acceptability and applicability of the scientific developments by the stakeholders, are key elements for the design of new methods and to guarantee the mainstreaming of the sustainability concept.

The 3T3 neutral red uptake phototoxicity test: Practical experience and implications for phototoxicity testing – The report of an ECVAM–EFPIA workshop

This is the report from the “ECVAM–EFPIA workshop on 3T3 NRU Phototoxicity Test: Practical Experience and Implications for Phototoxicity Testing”, jointly organized by ECVAM and EFPIA and held on the 25–27 October 2010 in Somma Lombardo, Italy.The European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) was established in 1991 within the European Commission Joint Research, based on a Communication from the European Commission (1991). The main objective of ECVAM is to promote the scientific and regulatory acceptance of alternative methods which are of importance to the biosciences and which reduce, refine and replace the use of laboratory animals.The European Federation of Pharmaceuticals Industries and Association (EFPIA) represent the pharmaceutical industry operating in Europe. Through its direct membership of 31 national associations and 40 leading pharmaceutical companies, EFPIA is the voice on the EU scene of 2200 companies committed to researching, developing and bringing to patients new medicines that improve health and the quality of life around the world.The workshop, co-chaired by Joachim Kreysa (ECVAM) and Phil Wilcox (GSK, EFPIA) involved thirty-five experts from academia, regulatory authorities and industry, invited to contribute with their experiences in the field of phototoxicology.The main objectives of the workshop were: – to present ‘in use’ experience of the pharmaceutical industry with the 3T3 Neutral Red Uptake Phototoxicity Test (3T3 NRU-PT), – to discuss why it differs from the results in the original validation exercise, – to discuss technical issues and consider ways to improve the usability of the 3T3 NRU-PT for (non-topical) pharmaceuticals, e.g., by modifying the threshold of chemical light absorption to trigger photo-toxicological testing, and by modifying technical aspects of the assay, or adjusting the criteria used to classify a positive response.During the workshop, the assay methodology was reviewed by comparing the OECD Test Guideline (TG 432) with the protocols used in testing laboratories, data from EFPIA and JPMA ‘surveys’ were presented and possible reasons for the outcomes were discussed. Experts from cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries reported on their experience with the 3T3 NRU-PT and evidence was presented for phototoxic clinical symptoms that could be linked to certain relevant molecules. Brainstorming sessions discussed if the 3T3 NRU-PT needed to be improved and whether alternatives to the 3T3 NRU-PT exist. Finally, the viewpoint from EU and US regulators was presented. In the final session, the conclusions of the meeting were summarized, with action points.It was concluded that the 3T3 NRU-PT identifies phototoxicological hazards with a 100% sensitivity, and thus is accepted as the tier one test that correctly identifies the absence of phototoxic potential. Consequently, positive results in the 3T3 NRU-PT often do not translate into a clinical phototoxicity risk. Possible ways to improve the practical use of this assay include: (i) adaptation of changed UV/vis-absorption criteria as a means to reduce the number of materials tested, (ii) reduction of the highest concentration to be tested, and (iii) consideration of modifying the threshold criteria for the prediction of a positive call in the test.

System Dynamics Applied to Operations and Policy Decisions

This paper reviews how concepts and techniques of system dynamics are being applied in new ways to analyse the operations and formation of artificial and societal systems and then to make decisions about them. The ideas and modelling methods to describe natural and technological systems are mostly reductionist (or ‘bottom-up’) and based on general scientific principles, with ad-hoc elements for any particular system. But very complex and large systems involving science, technology and society, whose complete descriptions and predictions are impossible, can still be designed, controlled and managed using the methods of system dynamics, where they are focused on the outputs of the system in relation to the input data available, and relevant external influences. For many complex systems with uncertain behaviour, their models typically combine concepts and methods of bottom-up system dynamics with statistical modelling of past or analogous data and optimization of outputs. System dynamics that has been generalized by advances in mathematical, scientific and technological research over the past 50 years, together with new approaches to the use of data and ICT, has led to powerful qualitative verbal and schematic concepts as well as improved quantitative methods, both of which have been shown to be of great assistance to decisions, notably about different types of uncertainty and erratic behaviour. This approach complements traditional decision-making methods, by introducing greater clarity about the process, as well as providing new techniques and general concepts for initial analysis, system description – using data in non-traditional ways – and finally analysis and prediction of the outcomes, especially in critical situations where system behaviour cannot be analysed by traditional decision-making methods. The scientific and international acceptance of system methods can make decision-making less implicit, and with fewer cultural assumptions. Topical examples of systems and decision-making are given.

Possible association between Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis infection and Crohn's disease

Paratuberculosis is a chronic intestinal disease of animals caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), which has some pathological features similar to Crohn's disease (CD) in humans. The presence of MAP in food for human consumption and in affected tissues of patients with CD has been detected. Therefore, a causal association between this microorganism and the disease in humans, has been postulated. However, several related studies have failed to confirm this hypothesis and the scientific acceptance of MAP as a zoonotic agent remains controversial. This review presents the main findings related to this issue, contrasting evidences for and against an association between MAP and CD. The need to promote national studies focusing on this area is suggested.

Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis y enfermedad de Crohn: evidencias de una zoonosis

Paratuberculosis is a chronic intestinal disease of animals caused by Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP), which has some pathological features similar to Crohn's disease (CD) in humans. The presence of MAP in food for human consumption and in affected tissues of patients with CD has been detected. Therefore, a causal association between this microorganism and the disease in humans, has been postulated. However, several related studies have failed to confirm this hypothesis and the scientific acceptance of MAP as a zoonotic agent remains controversial. This review presents the main findings related to this issue, contrasting evidences for and against an association between MAP and CD. The need to promote national studies focusing on this area is suggested.

A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming

Review: A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming By Paul N. Edwards Reviewed by Susan Maret San Jose State University, California, USA Edwards, Paul N. A Vast Machine: Computer Models, Climate Data, and the Politics of Global Warming.Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2010. 528pp. ISBN 0262013924. US$32.95, cloth. Global climate is one of the most pressing and misunderstood issues facing civil society in the 21 st century. In a recent poll of Americans, “majorities... incorrectly believe that the climate often changes from year to year or that 'weather' means the average climate conditions in a region, suggesting that many people continue to confuse weather and climate” (Leiserowitz 2010). In addition, many Americans believe “computer models are too unreliable to predict the climate of the future (37%)” (Leiserowitz 2010). Perhaps in part due to poor scientific and technical grasp of the evolution of climate modeling and data interpretation, the subject is also linked to conspiracy theory and skepticism over global warming (Hickman and Randerson 2009; BBC News 2010). A Vast Machine, written by University of Michigan iSchool Associate Professor Paul N. Edwards, is a significant text that contributes to understanding how we make climate knowledge (p. xiv). Edwards' book not only offers an historical account of the evolution of the global weather information infrastructure, scientific acceptance of interactions between data and models, and includes discussion of “global atmospheric politics” and current controversies over global warming. Using John Ruskin's (1839, p. 210) idea of the “moving power of a vast machine,” a “global weather observing system” (Edwards 2004), Edwards recounts the complex history of data collecting initiatives that contributed to what we know about climate “as the history of weather” (Edwards 2010, p. xiv). In a sense, the book is a case study in the philosophy of science in terms of how models and simulations are constructed, data interpreted, and standards adopted by epistemic communities. In writing this history, Edwards devises fresh concepts that serve as a conceptual framework. For example, data friction is tied to “making global data”; metadata friction reflects the “difficulty in recovering contextual knowledge about records” (Edwards 2010, p. xvi-xvii); data analysis models (used to “process historical weather and climate records”) and climate knowledge infrastructure (those national and international entities that observe, share, and link data historically to the present) show how communities construct climate knowledge in the form of environmental history and interpreting contemporary data. Of note, Chapters 8 through 10 relate to the “weather information infrastructure between 1950 and 1980, the years the U.S. military took interest in weather data, especially in attempts to model global nuclear fallout patterns that “could be used to trace flows back in time to an origin point, thus determining the approximate locations of secret test sites” (Edwards 2010, p.

Alberta’s Oil Sands: Hard Evidence, Missing Data, New Promises

Pitched battles are a regular occurrence in northern Alberta, Canada, as development of the province’s oil sands continues to expand. One ongoing battle—with another salvo launched in February 2011 with the leak of a European Commission report1—concerns how dirty oil sands are, relative to other fuels. Another concerns the influence of the oil sands industry in monitoring its own activity.2 In an effort to cut through the rhetoric of health advocates, industry representatives, environmentalists, government officials, and local residents, the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) selected and covered expenses for an expert panel to winnow out the facts. In a report issued 15 December 20103 the panel cited substantial evidence that efforts to extract oil from the Alberta deposits have degraded air, land, and water quality to varying degrees. The extent of the degradation is sometimes controversial; water quality data, in particular, are subject to differing interpretations and attributions of causality. However, the panel says that, based on publicly available evidence, there appear to be no significant human health threats to the general population either now or from development anticipated in the next decade or so. But the panel also warns that their conclusions come with a major caveat: there are major gaps in health and environmental data, risk assessments, government oversight, information transparency, industry efforts, and disaster preparedness. The health of the region could hinge on these gaps being addressed, particularly since, according to Travis Davies, a spokesman for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, 97% of projected oil extraction and processing is still to come. After the RSC panel reviewed reams of publicly available information on factors such as health status, air and water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, land disturbance, and energy and water consumption, it concluded that “[t]he claim by some critics of the oil sands industry that it is the most environmentally destructive project on earth is not supported by the evidence. However, for Canada and Alberta, the oil sands industry involves major environmental issues on many fronts which must be addressed as a high priority.”3p293

Otto Neurath: lenguaje, ciencia y valores. La incidencia de lo político

Neurath’s project centrally included the thesis of unified science because of its functionality for political action with the purpose of attaining a better human society. This was so, because unified science was a fundamental instrument for the unity of action which, in turn, required of a fluid communication. Finally that sort of communication depended upon a certain unity of the language of science. The outcome was Neurath’s radical anti-foundational conventionalism according to which scientists should make decisions for adopting goals, instruments for achieving them, and also for accepting/rejecting hypotheses and encyclopedias. Those decisions would necessarily involve “auxiliary motives” like utility, human happiness, improving the situation of the proletariat, among others. Therefore, there is a strong interrelation between science and politics, because the former is a fundamental instrument for successfully attaining political goals, and mainly because political motives may play a crucial role in decisions for scientific acceptance.

Clinical Meditation Teacher: A New Role for Health Professionals

The support for integrating meditation into health care and mental health has reached scientific and public acceptance. For the public to receive the benefits of the mind—body medicine of meditation, it is time for health professionals to step into the role of clinical meditation teachers. Clinical meditation refers to the ability to discern the right kinds of meditation for the right person at the right time. With the increased emphasis on preventative medicine and self-care skills to reduce health care costs, the timing is absolutely appropriate for health professionals to gain skills in this new role.

Science, Policy, and Species at Risk in Canada

The meaningful incorporation of independent scientific advice into effective public policy is a hurdle for any conservation legislation. Canada's Species at Risk Act (SARA; 2002) was designed to separate the science-based determination of a species' risk status from the decision to award it legal protection. However, thereafter, the input of independent science into policy has not been clearly identifiable. Audits of SARA have identified clear deficiencies in the protection and recovery of luted species; for example, of the 176 species legally protected in 2003, only one has a legal implementation plan for its recovery. We argue that clearly distinguishing science from policy at all relevant stages would improve the scientific integrity, transparency, accountability, and public acceptance of the legal listing and recovery implementation processes in SARA. Such delineation would also clarify exactly what trade-offs are being made between at-risk species recovery and competing policy objectives.

Understorey thinning and burning trials are needed in conservation reserves: The case of Tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala D.C.)

Summary Management interventions are needed to reverse the decline of Tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) woodland in the Yalgorup area of south‐west Western Australia where the largest intact remaining example of this ecosystem is located. Although the cause of the decline is uncertain and several factors may be involved, management action should not be withheld because the decline process is not fully understood. We contend that the reduction in fire frequency over the last 50 years has led to an increase in understorey density, particularly of Western Australian Peppermint (Agonis flexuosa), resulting in greater competition for resources, which may in turn have increased the susceptibility of healthy woodland to decline. In contrast to Tuart regeneration, which is usually tied to fire, Western Australian Peppermint can establish readily in unburnt woodland. Further, once Western Australian Peppermint seedlings develop to the lignotuberous stage, they can resprout vigorously after fire. Therefore, a combination of fire and the physical removal of understorey in sites where this species has formed extensive thickets is required to: (i) provide an opportunity for regeneration of Tuart in both healthy and declining stands; (ii) improve the chances of sustained recovery of Tuart trees in declining stands; and (iii) ensure heterogeneity in the vegetation at multiple scales, a recognized strategy for conserving biodiversity and increasing ecosystem resilience. We propose that this approach may also be relevant to other tree decline syndromes in southern Australia. However, fostering community support for active intervention using thinning and fire in conservation reserves and staging the operations within an experimental framework will be important for such action to gain both the social and scientific acceptance necessary for it to be applied widely.

Laparoendoskopische Single-Site-Cholezystektomie (LESS) bei einem 16-jährigen Mädchen: Ein Weg auch für die Kinderchirurgie?

The laparoscopic paradigm to place different ports according to ergonomic principles is presently challenged by laparoendoscopic single site surgery (LESS). Its objective is to perform a complex task with several instruments using only one access. However, this approach introduces distinct ergonomic problems and requires innovative technical solutions to allow for more complex surgical tasks. In paediatric surgery, this development has just begun. A 16-year-old girl presented with a symptomatic cholecystolithiasis. A multi-channel TriPort (Advanced Surgical Concepts) was introduced through a 20 mm umbilical incision for LESS cholecystectomy. Retraction of the gallbladder was facilitated by a straight grasper, which was inserted transabdominally. For exposition and triangulation a pre-bend dissector (5 mm, Olympus) was employed. Thus, the cystic duct and artery could be exposed, clipped (5mm) and divided. Finally, the gallbladder was dissected from its bed and extracted into a specimen bag. Operating time was 90 minutes and no intra- or postoperative complications occurred. In conclusion, a multi-channel port and angulated instruments during LESS cholecystectomy provided ergonomics close to conventional laparoscopic surgery. For smaller children though, this technology will have to be adapted to their geometry. Finally, even though LESS seems attractive, the present euphoria should not turn into scientific acceptance, until more experience is available and valid data have proven a benefit for patients of any age.

Energy efficiency in the Hellenic building sector: An assessment of the restrictions and perspectives of the market

The significance of bioclimatic architecture has become widely accepted since the 1970s and the implementation of its principles in practice is a key factor in order to achieve energy efficiency in the building sector. The way, however, from scientific acceptance to commercial utilization is not a straightforward one. This paper deals with the notion of bioclimatic architecture in buildings and investigates the aspects of this concept in Hellas. A sample of university researchers, building contractors and members of public organisations was interviewed using a standardised set of guidelines. The barriers to promoting bioclimatic design, role of the local government in the adoption process, level of environmental culture as well as perspectives of this concept in Hellas were the key areas of discussion in each of the interviews. The results from the data analysis reveal insufficient economic incentives, a lack in technical information as well as a lack in specific environmental policies that would foster the propagation of bioclimatic architecture.

The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance (review)

Reviewed by: The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance David V. Black (bio) The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance. By Eric R. Scerri. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Pp. ix+346. $35.00. The history of chemistry is a complex tapestry of ideas, insights, discoveries, personalities, and mistaken paths. Many historians take the horizontal approach of examining the life and work of one researcher such as Lavoisier or Boyle. While good for showing personalities and controversies involving [End Page 287] individuals, it provides only a snapshot of a particular time period and often neglects the larger philosophical questions and concepts of chemistry. In The Periodic Table: Its Story and Its Significance, Eric Scerri takes a vertical thread of the periodic law and follows its history over the last 200 years, discussing its fundamental scientific and philosophical underpinnings and showing the relationship of ideas and discoveries from multiple researchers and its impact on chemistry as a discipline. By doing so he is able to reveal the contributions of scientists who are often passed over. Through this interplay of ideas, Scerri shows that much of the history of the periodic system has been a gradual progression of concepts brought about by scholarly debate and encounters with more than a few blind alleys. For example, Proust's law (that all atoms are made from hydrogen) was supported by many chemists, based on the frequent integer values of atomic weights as they were known at the time. However, the stubborn exceptions, such as chlorine, led other scientists to disagree and spurred experiments to develop more accurate values for atomic weights. This culminated in the acceptance of Cannizzaro's values at the Karlsruhe Conference of 1860, a crucial step in Mendeleyev's development of the periodic law. Scerri therefore refutes the Kuhnian model that the periodic system developed through sudden revolutionary insights, instead showing that it involved a slow and gradual series of evolutionary steps. He demonstrates that Mendeleyev's table didn't come out of nowhere, but built on the theories and mistakes of other researchers including Leopold Gmelin, Alexan-dre de Chancourtois, Alexander Newlands, and William Odling. Scerri then examines Mendeleyev's ideas and how he published and championed his table and fought for its scientific acceptance. When his predictions for the existence of gallium, germanium, and scandium were vindicated, his model became the chief organizing principle for all of chemistry. Scerri also shows how knowledge of the atomic nucleus and electron orbital structure and the final triumph of quantum mechanics have helped reveal the causes for the underlying structure of the periodic table, although he points out how experimental data on elemental properties cannot yet be deduced solely from the quantum mechanical model. In his final chapter on astrophysics and nucleosynthesis, Scerri discusses how the relative abundances of elemental isotopes observed in the universe have acted to establish or dismiss theories of cosmology, thereby demonstrating the usefulness of the periodic system in fields outside of chemistry. He also analyzes some of the puzzling patterns found in the periodic table that have not yet been successfully explained, such as the fact that certain trends in properties are shared between elements that do not lie in the same family or period. These include the diagonal similarities between lithium and magnesium, beryllium and aluminum, and boron and silicon as well as the even more mysterious "knight's move" similarities between [End Page 288] zinc and tin, cadmium and lead, and so on. He also looks at further anomalies in the behavior of elements, polyatomic ions, and atomic super-clusters. Scerri suggests that perhaps our traditional two-dimensional periodic table needs a third dimension to account for these effects. He concludes that a continuum of periodic tables, from purely theoretical to practical, may be needed, such as a left-step format table, which does a better job of representing electron configurations than our traditional medium-long format table. This may not be a popular recommendation, but Scerri backs up his claim with sound reasoning. Altogether, Scerri has written a detailed and fascinating account of the history and implications of the periodic table, a book of great worth to scholars and historians of...

Impact of yoga on chronic pain—A review

Purpose Mind–Body therapies are considered as adjunctive treatments to help ameliorate or at least cope with chronic pain conditions. Despite a lack of scientific acceptance, these approaches are of interest to patients which widely use relaxation techniques, biofeedback, imagery, hypnosis, etc. We intended to analyze the scientific literature with respect to the impact of yoga on chronic pain conditions. Methods In January 2009 we searched the databases Medline, Pubmed and CAMbase. The search terms were >yoga pain Results We found 15 studies which addressed the impact of yoga on chronic pain conditions. The studies enrolled patients with chronic low back pain ( n =6), headache/migraine ( n =2), various other chronic pain conditions ( n =6), and one experimental study with healthy individuals. Fourteen studies addressed pain perception or disability, 6 mood states (anxiety/depression) and distress, and one study health-related quality of life. Nine studies were randomized, 2 controlled, and 3 had a single arm design; one study was an experimental study with yoga trained and non-trained individuals. The number of patients in the randomized or controlled studies ranged from 15 to 101. The randomized and controlled studies described positive effects in terms of decreased pain frequency and intensity, decreased anxiety/depression, and improvement of fatigue- and health-related quality of life. Conclusions There is reasonable evidence that yoga practices may have positive effects on pain perception and mood states. The overall positive findings in the identified studies indicate that yoga may enhance patients’ self-efficacy, inner balance, adjustment and coping abilities. Nevertheless, there are several research questions, which have to be addressed in future studies, i.e., adequate control interventions; patients’ positive expectations; patients’ ability and will to change behavior, etc. Several of the unspecific effects of distinct mind–body therapies are nevertheless critical aspects (i.e., expectancy, sense of control, mindfulness, etc.) which cannot be ignored as they contribute to the intended treatment effect. Mind–body interventions such as yoga may become important adjunctive interventions in the multi-modal treatment of patients with chronic pain conditions as they foster self-control and self-management.

Reduction of use of animals in regulatory genotoxicity testing: Identification and implementation opportunities—Report from an ECVAM workshop

In vivo genetic toxicology tests measure direct DNA damage or the formation of gene or chromosomal mutations, and are used to predict the mutagenic and carcinogenic potential of compounds for regulatory purposes and/or to follow-up positive results from in vitro testing. These tests are widely used and consume large numbers of animals, with a foreseeable marked increase as a result of the EU chemicals legislation (REACH), which may require follow-up of any positive outcome in the in vitro standard battery with appropriate in vivo tests, regardless of the tonnage level of the chemical. A 2-day workshop with genotoxicity experts from academia, regulatory agencies and industry was hosted by the European Centre for the Validation of Alternative Methods (ECVAM) in Ranco, Italy from 24 to 25 June 2008. The objectives of the workshop were to discuss how to reduce the number of animals in standard genotoxicity tests, whether the application of smarter test strategies can lead to lower animal numbers, and how the possibilities for reduction can be promoted and implemented. The workshop agreed that there are many reduction options available that are scientifically credible and therefore ready for use. Most of these are compliant with regulatory guidelines, i.e. the use of one sex only, one administration and two sampling times versus two or three administrations and one sampling time for micronucleus (MN), chromosomal aberration (CA) and Comet assays; and the integration of the MN endpoint into repeat-dose toxicity studies. The omission of a concurrent positive control in routine CA and MN tests has been proven to be scientifically acceptable, although the OECD guidelines still require this; also the combination of acute MN and Comet assay studies are compliant with guidelines, except for sampling times. Based on the data presented at the workshop, the participants concluded that these options have not been sufficiently utilized to date. Key factors for this seem to be the uncertainty regarding regulatory compliance/acceptance, lack of awareness, and an in many cases unjustified uncertainty regarding the scientific acceptance of reduction options. The workshop therefore encourages the use and promotion of these options as well as the dissemination of data related to reduction opportunities by the scientific community in order to boost the acceptance level of these approaches. Furthermore, experimental proof is needed and under way to demonstrate the credibility of additional options for reduction of the number of animals, such as the integration of the Comet assay into repeat-dose toxicity studies.

Psychological Profiling: Investigative Implications from Crime Scene Analysis

Psychological profiling-often referred to as behavioral, criminal or investigative profiling-began informally in the late 1940s when members of law enforcement were unable to make an arrest involving serial crime. This presentation describes the six stages of profiling, as well as other important aspects such as victim and offender characteristics, escalation, time and location factors, modus operandi and signature, and staging. The organized vs. disorganized dichotomy is discussed as well as how personality is an intervening variable and how crime scene analysis reveals aspects of personality. But for profiling to gain general scientific acceptability, a higher level of empirical validation and general scientific acceptance of this technique will be necessary.

Coal seam gas in Australia's progression to a low carbon economy

The previous decade has witnessed an unprecedented increase in societal appreciation for the existence of climate change and its associated impacts. One need only look to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for evidence—between 1990 and 2007, scientific acceptance of the anthropogenic nature of climate change has risen from merely perhaps in 1990 to a certainty of 90% in 2007. As governments look to create imposts on the very emissions causing climate change, be it through emissions trading schemes (ETS) or through carbon taxes, an equally stark appreciation has occurred in relation to the need to switch to low emissions fuel source in the absence of carbon capture and storage. In contrast to the introduction of the EU ETS, fuel switching in Australia will be more problematic—now Australia sources only a small fraction of its energy supply from renewable energy sources and it will take some time for this to change. What is therefore needed, is a transition fuel—a fuel that will provide Australia with a stepping stone to a sustainable future while at the same time ensuring the security of our energy supply. Coal seam gas (CSG) could play an important part in this progression. Its role is not, however, without its complexities. In a world of daily regulatory and market developments, the CSG industry will need to incorporate both Australian and international climate change issues into its development plans - its physical, reputational, regulatory and market risks and opportunities. This extended abstract will examine the links between these exposures and the future growth potential of the industry.