Create a translational medicine knowledge repository - Research downsizing, mergers and increased outsourcing have reduced the depth of in-house translational medicine expertise and institutional memory at many pharmaceutical and biotech companies: how will they avoid relearning old lessons?

Pharmaceutical industry consolidation and overall research downsizing threatens the ability of companies to benefit from their previous investments in translational research as key leaders with the most knowledge of the successful use of biomarkers and translational pharmacology models are laid off or accept their severance packages. Two recently published books may help to preserve this type of knowledge but much of this type of information is not in the public domain. Here we propose the creation of a translational medicine knowledge repository where companies can submit their translational research data and access similar data from other companies in a precompetitive environment. This searchable repository would become an invaluable resource for translational scientists and drug developers that could speed and reduce the cost of new drug development

AAAS joins the Translational Medicine family

The AAAS has announced the launch of Science Translational Medicine. This is further and critical recognition of this discipline and we are deeply gratified that translational medicine has risen to the level of recognition by one of the world's most prestigious scientific organizations. We believe that Science Translational Medicine will provide another valuable venue for the rapid and broad dissemination of important articles in the field and contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of translational medicine overall

Comparative Network Analysis of Preterm vs. Full-Term Infant-Mother Interactions

Several studies have reported that interactions of mothers with preterm infants show differential characteristics compared to that of mothers with full-term infants. Interaction of preterm dyads is often reported as less harmonious. However, observations and explanations concerning the underlying mechanisms are inconsistent. In this work 30 preterm and 42 full-term mother-infant dyads were observed at one year of age. Free play interactions were videotaped and coded using a micro-analytic coding system. The video records were coded at one second resolution and studied by a novel approach using network analysis tools. The advantage of our approach is that it reveals the patterns of behavioral transitions in the interactions. We found that the most frequent behavioral transitions are the same in the two groups. However, we have identified several high and lower frequency transitions which occur significantly more often in the preterm or full-term group. Our analysis also suggests that the variability of behavioral transitions is significantly higher in the preterm group. This higher variability is mostly resulted from the diversity of transitions involving non-harmonious behaviors. We have identified a maladaptive pattern in the maternal behavior in the preterm group, involving intrusiveness and disengagement. Application of the approach reported in this paper to longitudinal data could elucidate whether these maladaptive maternal behavioral changes place the infant at risk for later emotional, cognitive and behavioral disturbance

Translational Medicine is developing in China: A new venue for collaboration

Translational Medicine is an emerging area comprising multidisciplinary Research from basic sciences to medical applications well summarized by the Bench-to-Beside concept; this entails close collaboration between clinicians and basic scientists across institutes. We further clarified that Translational Medicine should be regarded as a two-way road: Bench-to-Bedside and Bedside-to-Bench, to complement testing of novel therapeutic strategies in humans with feedback understanding of how they respond to them. It is, therefore, critical and important to define and promote Translational Medicine among clinicians, basic Researchers, biotechnologists, politicians, ethicists, sociologists, investors and coordinate these efforts among different Countries, fostering aspects germane only to this type of Research such as, as recently discussed, biotechnology entrepreneurship. Translational Medicine as an inter-disciplinary science is developing rapidly and widely and, in this article, we will place a special emphasis on China

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Altered Risk of Lung Cancer in a Population-Based Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been consistently associated with increased risk of lung cancer. However, previous studies have had limited ability to determine whether the association is due to smoking. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The Environment And Genetics in Lung cancer Etiology (EAGLE) population-based case-control study recruited 2100 cases and 2120 controls, of whom 1934 cases and 2108 controls reported about diagnosis of chronic bronchitis, emphysema, COPD (chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema), or asthma more than 1 year before enrollment. We estimated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regression. After adjustment for smoking, other previous lung diseases, and study design variables, lung cancer risk was elevated among individuals with a history of chronic bronchitis (OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.5-2.5), emphysema (OR = 1.9, 95% CI = 1.4-2.8), or COPD (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 2.0-3.1). Among current smokers, association between chronic bronchitis and lung cancer was strongest among lighter smokers. Asthma was associated with a decreased risk of lung cancer in males (OR = 0.48, 95% CI = 0.30-0.78). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that the associations of personal history of chronic bronchitis, emphysema, and COPD with increased risk of lung cancer are not entirely due to smoking. Inflammatory processes may both contribute to COPD and be important for lung carcinogenesis

Environmental Factors Controlling the Distribution of Symbiodinium Harboured by the Coral Acropora millepora on the Great Barrier Reef

Background: The Symbiodinium community associated with scleractinian corals is widely considered to be shaped by seawater temperature, as the coral's upper temperature tolerance is largely contingent on the Symbiodinium types harboured. Few studies have challenged this paradigm as knowledge of other environmental drivers on the distribution of Symbiodinium is limited. Here, we examine the influence of a range of environmental variables on the distribution of Symbiodinium associated with Acropora millepora collected from 47 coral reefs spanning 1,400 km on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia

What's next in translational medicine?

Translational medicine is the integrated application of innovative pharmacology tools, biomarkers, clinical methods, clinical technologies and study designs to improve disease understanding, confidence in human drug targets and increase confidence in drug candidates, understand the therapeutic index in humans, enhance cost-effective decision making in exploratory development and increase phase 11 success. Translational research is one of the most important activities of translational medicine as it supports predictions about probable drug activities across species and is especially important when compounds with unprecedented drug targets are brought to humans for the first time. Translational research has the potential to deliver many practical benefits for patients and justify the extensive investments placed by the private and public sector in biomedical research. Translational research encompasses a complexity of scientific, financial, ethical, regulatory, legislative and practical hurdles that need to be addressed at several levels to make the process efficient. Several have resisted the idea of supporting translational research because of its high costs and the fear that it may re-direct funds from other biomedical disciplines. Resistance also comes from those more familiar with traditional clinical research methods. In this review, we argue that translational research should be seen as enabled by ongoing efforts in basic and clinical research and not competing with them. Translational research provides the knowledge necessary to draw important conclusions from clinical testing regarding disease and the viability of novel drug mechanisms. Advancing translational research requires education and new sources of funding. This could be achieved through public and congressional education by a joint coalition of patients' advocacy groups, academia, drug regulatory agencies and industry