The approval on Wednesday by the Italian Chamber of Deputies of the amendments to directive 2010/63/EU - referred to as Article 13 - was a very sad day for science in Italy (and there have been far to many of these lately). While some of the provisions in Article 13 are quite innocuous, even rather pointless … Continue reading A bad week for medical research in Italy – but science is fighting back!
Author: Editor
You can fool some of the MPs all of the time…
The British Parliament, for all its efficacy at passing thousands of pieces of legislation each year and civilising debate, nevertheless still contains one strange confection – the Early Day Motion (EDM). The name makes it sound as if these statements, which Members of Parliament can put their names to in support, lie at the foothills … Continue reading You can fool some of the MPs all of the time…
Solving the Brain: Animal research at the frontiers of Neuroscience
Regular readers of this blog will be familiar with the important role played by animal research in neuroscience, a post we published to mark Brain Awareness Week earlier this year covered but a tiny fraction of the work being done around the world. Meanwhile some neuroscientists have been thinking big...very big...with the launch of the … Continue reading Solving the Brain: Animal research at the frontiers of Neuroscience
Italian Gene Therapy Success – Thanks to Animal Research
Italian scientists announced yesterday that they had successfully treated the deadly genetic disorders metachromatic leukodystrophy and Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome in a small clinical trial, marking and another major landmark in the developing field of gene therapy. As you might expect the breakthrough has received widespread media coverage, including CBS, the BBC and the Italian edition of the Huffington Post. While … Continue reading Italian Gene Therapy Success – Thanks to Animal Research
To engineer a new heart, first you take a pig…
This week the prestigious science journal Nature carries two fascinating reports on the progress being made in the exciting field of tissue engineering that we recommend to our readers - both are open access so you don't need a subscription to Nature to read them. The first is a feature article by Brenden Maher entitled "Tissue … Continue reading To engineer a new heart, first you take a pig…
Animal research helps to halve deaths from coronary heart disease
Today the BBC reports that the number of deaths from coronary heart disease (CHD) – the narrowing or blockage of the coronary arteries that causes angina and triggers heart attacks - in Europe halved during the 30 years from 1980 to 2009. This is a major medical achievement, and one to which animal research has … Continue reading Animal research helps to halve deaths from coronary heart disease
The Day Italy United for Science – 8 June 2013
It seemed like a crazy plan when we first heard about it from our friends in Pro-Test Italia at the end of April, to organize a day of events in cities across Italy to campaign for correct scientific information, and to do so in less than 6 weeks...and with a starting budget of precisely nothing. … Continue reading The Day Italy United for Science – 8 June 2013
Animal research leads to promising results for first clinical trial of stem cell therapy for stroke
The BBC reported yesterday that a small trial of a stem cell therapy developed by the biotech firm Reneuron has produced promising results, with 5 of the 9 patients enrolled in the trial showing unexpected improvements. The improvements were unexpected because the trial was intended to assess the safety of the technique, and the scientists … Continue reading Animal research leads to promising results for first clinical trial of stem cell therapy for stroke
Speaking of Research 