Pharmacogenetics is the study of the role that inheritance plays in individual variation to drug response. Understanding the influence of heritability on an individual’s drug metabolism offers the potential to identify which drug, and at what dose, is likely to be safest and most effective for a particular individual, which helps medical practitioners improve patient outcomes as well as reduce adverse drug events (ADEs).
Currently, the majority of medicines are taken in dosages determined by patient age (pediatric versus adult), weight, and other clinical factors. In many instances, these criteria are proving to be inadequate to ensure that a medicine will be safe and effective for a particular individual. Pharmacogenetics promises to take the guesswork out of prescribing safe and effective drugs. However, the use of pharmacogenetics in both clinical research and medical practice poses various ethical concerns. While these concerns are common to the fields of both genetics and genomics, they are nonetheless also relevant to pharmacogenetics. Some of the major issues are discussed here.
]]>Non-defense programs, including agencies that support science, will be cut by about 9 percent over the next seven months. Defense funding will be cut by 13 percent in the remainder of fiscal year 2013. An additional $700 billion in sequestration cuts will occur over the next decade unless current law is changed.
]]>Genetic technologies provide a new arena for tensions between our cherished ideals of liberty, order, justice, and fairness. Newspapers report the wonders such genetic knowledge can bring, but less often the threats for which these “advances” are also responsible. In reality, the ability to identify people and determine elements of their genetic profiles has significant downsides.
The dominant ideology in Western society holds that the only problems caused by technologies are either unintended side effects or abuses. However, technologies are not designed to benefit all segments of society equally. Because of their size, scale, and requirements for capital investments and knowledge, modern technologies can allow already-powerful groups to consolidate their powers.
]]>We know the human body comprises many cell types (e.g., blood cells, skin cells, cervical cells), but we often forget to appreciate that all of these different cell types arose from a single cell—the fertilized egg. A host of sequential, awe-inspiring events occur between the fertilization of an egg and the formation of a new individual:
In addition to embryonic stem cells, stem cells also exist in adults (adult stem cells) that allow specific tissues to regenerate throughout an individual’s life. They also have the ability to self-renew and can give rise to a subset of differentiated cells depending upon the nature of the adult stem cell. Such adult stem cells and lineage-specific progenitor cells (with limited self-renewal ability) have long been known to exist in organs that continually regenerate, such as skin and blood. Some adult stem cells are active all the time (e.g., blood), and some only respond to injury (e.g., hair follicle stem cells) or physiological clues such as hormones (e.g., mammary stem cells).
More recently, however, stem cells have been identified in organs previously thought not to have regenerative capability, including reproductive organs. Female infants were previously thought to be born with a finite number of eggs, but a recent report identified egg stem cells in human ovarian tissue that can form egg cells, called oocytes, in the laboratory.1 Many tissues in the adult body (e.g., neural, muscle, and fat tissues) now appear to contain stem/progenitor cells.
]]>Unless lawmakers take action, the policies encompassed in the fiscal cliff will automatically go into effect this January. Included are tax increases and federal budget cuts. Federal science programs would be subject to at least an 8 percent reduction in funding next year—a $12 billion cut. Although these policies will help to reduce the deficit, they could also harm the nation’s fragile economic recovery.
Museum Specimens in the Service of Science: USGS and Smithsonian Partner to Advance Science
Bees are Not Optional: To Know How Bees Fare, You Must Know Who They Are
Little Frog Faces Big Challenges: Herpetology Collection is Repository for Data on Rare Frog
Fact Sheets on Scientific Collections
Scientific collections are an important part of our nation’s scientific enterprise, supporting scientific research, human health, public education, and the conservation of biodiversity. It is essential that scientific collections receive sustained and growing funding in order to preserve and protect the valuable scientific resources they contain.
Please use the fact sheets below whenever you are educating others about the value of scientific collections.
 Education |
 Research |
 Biodiversity |
 Funding |
Dear Dr. Machlis,
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the National Park Service's (NPS) draft scientific integrity policy. The policy proposed by NPS upholds the ideals set forth in the directive issued by Secretary Salazar. Although much of the policy is commendable, several areas should be strengthened to ensure the greatest public trust in NPS science.
The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is a nonprofit scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to and use information that will guide them in making informed decisions about matters that require biological knowledge. Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, AIBS has nearly 160 member organizations and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with a Public Policy Office in Washington, DC.
Applicability to Employees
We strongly support the agency's decision to apply the policy to all NPS employees and appointees who engage in, supervise, manage, or influence scientific activities; communicate scientific information; or use such information to make decisions. We commend NPS for applying the policy to volunteers, contractors, partners, permittees, and others who develop or apply scientific results.
Universal coverage is essential to guaranteeing that the policy is effective. It is vital that decision makers are subject to the policy, otherwise the potential exists for senior NPS officials to misrepresent, alter, or suppress scientific information. The inclusion of communications staff is key to sustaining public trust in NPS and the information the agency communicates to the public and policymakers.
Foundations of Scientific Integrity
In its December 2010 memorandum on scientific integrity, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) outlined several foundational principles that should be included in each agency's respective scientific integrity policy. As currently written, neither the NPS policy nor Interior's Departmental Manual explicitly states the Department's commitment to several of these principles. NPS should rectify this by incorporating the following principles into its final scientific integrity policy.
]]>The AIBS is a nonprofit scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to and use information that will guide them in making informed decisions about matters that require biological knowledge. Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, AIBS has nearly 160 member organizations and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with a Public Policy Office in Washington, DC.
U.S. Geological Survey
The USGS provides unbiased, independent research, data, and assessments that are needed by public and private sector decision-makers. Data generated by the USGS save taxpayers money by reducing economic losses from natural disasters, allowing more effective management of water and natural resources, and providing essential geospatial information that is needed for commercial activity and natural resource management. The data collected by the USGS are not available from other sources and our nation cannot afford to sacrifice this information.
The Ecosystems activity within USGS underpins the agency's other science mission areas by providing information needed for understanding the impacts of water use, energy exploration and production, and natural hazards on natural systems. The USGS conducts research on and monitoring of fish, wildlife, and vegetation - data that informs management decisions by other Interior bureaus regarding protected species and land use. USGS science is also used to control invasive species and wildlife diseases that can cause billions of dollars in economic losses. Collectively, the knowledge generated by these USGS programs is used by federal and state natural resource managers to maintain healthy and diverse ecosystems while balancing the needs of public use.
]]>Senator Sean Burrage 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd., Rm. 522 Oklahoma City, OK 73105
Dear Senators Bingman and Burrage:
On behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), I write to urge your active opposition to final passage of HB 1551, the “Scientific Education and Academic Freedom Act.” This legislation is bad for science and bad for science education and should not be enacted into law.
Scientists in Oklahoma are deeply concerned about this legislation and the negative message it sends to the rest of the country. The best and brightest scientists, whether working for a university, teaching in a K-12 classroom, or working for a private sector company, want to work in an environment that appreciates the nature of science, not one that periodically redefines science in service to political agendas.
]]>The AIBS is a nonprofit scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to and use information that will guide them in making informed decisions about matters that require biological knowledge. Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, AIBS has nearly 160 member organizations and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with a Public Policy Office in Washington, DC.
The NSF is an important engine that helps power our nation’s economic growth. Through its competitive, peer-reviewed research grants, NSF is leading the development of new knowledge that will help to solve the most challenging problems facing society, and will lead to new scientific discoveries, patents, and jobs. The agency’s education and training programs are helping to ensure that the next generation has the scientific, technical, and mathematical skills employers are seeking. Investments in research equipment and facilities enable the country to continue to innovate and compete globally. These efforts, however, require a sustained and predictable federal investment. Unpredictable swings in federal funding can disrupt research programs, create uncertainty in the research community, and stall the development of the next great idea.
]]>The Honorable Ron Ramsey
1 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243
The Honorable Beth Harwell
301 6th Avenue North
Suite 19 Legislative Plaza
Nashville, TN 37243
Dear Governor Haslam, Speaker Ramsey, and Speaker Harwell:
On behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), I write to respectfully urge your opposition to House Bill 368 and Senate Bill 893. These measures are bad for science, science education, and the future economic health and well being of Tennessee.
The AIBS is a professional society. Our approximately 160 member organizations represent the breadth of the biological sciences and have a combined membership of nearly 250,000 scientists and science educators.
]]>Minority Leader B. Patrick Bauer
Democratic Leader
Indiana House of Representatives
200 W. Washington St.
Indianapolis, Indiana 46204-2786
Re: Opposition to SB 89
Dear Speaker Bosma and Minority Leader Bauer:
I write to respectfully urge your opposition to Indiana Senate Bill 89 (SB 89). This legislation, which was approved by the Indiana State Senate on January 31, 2012, would permit the introduction of religious belief systems into your state's science curriculum. If enacted, this legislation would be a disservice to religion, science, and education.
There are many religious traditions that offer explanations for the origin of life. These are, however, not scientific constructs and do not belong in a science classroom.
]]>Jeffery: Scientists study all kinds of organisms in evolutionary developmental biology, but when I started working in the evo-devo field, I decided that in order to understand how development evolved, we would have to look at two closely related species that have diverged recently [developed in separate directions] or to look at the same species in the process of divergence. I looked around for models, and I found several of them. One of them happened to be in caves, and the species is called Astyanax mexicanus, the blind Mexican cavefish. This cave organism is one of the few in which the acknowledged ancestor is still present on the surface, and the descendent organism is still present in the caves. They are the same species but they are in the process of divergence. These species can breed with one another, which allows for the genetic study of interesting traits. This combination of special circumstances fits my criteria for ideal development models. We could determine what the ancestral situation looked like by studying today’s surface fish and examine what the derived species looked like by studying present cavefish.
Jeffery: Well, actually, we can study this very nicely in caves, particularly in Mexico. Cavefish populations were founded independently of one another and at different times. Which means we have some populations to study that are relatively young, that were founded recently, in addition to some that were founded early on in their evolutionary history. We can look at both the early and the late populations, and we can get an idea of what happened almost immediately when some fish moved from the surface to live in caves.
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