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A review was carried out of the ‘information landscape’ within the pharmaceuticals‐based molecular biology community, which examined the research problems requiring biological‐sequence data, important sources of information, methods of access, information‐seeking behaviour of end users and the role of libraries and information centres. This work concentrated on the practical aspects of how biological sequence information is managed and used in a research setting and was carried out as part of the MSc in Information Science at the City University. Fifteen questionnaires were sent to information scientists in the UK pharmaceutical industry and a user study was carried out amongst scientists at Celltech. Most of the important primary data are available freely or cheaply via the Internet and molecular biologists were found to be self‐reliant in their use of these resources. Currency of information was found to be very important in the research process and the issue of Internet security was taken very seriously. Most questionnaire respondents saw a productive role in the future for information workers in the field of molecular biology, citing end‐user training and data integration as possible roles, although the degree of involvement will depend on the particular mix of skills and experience that exist within an information department.

The use of sequence and structure databanks is examined in relation to their application in some of the main branches of protein studies. Also the question of availability is addressed by means of presenting some information on current sequence and structure databanks. Increasingly research in molecular science requires joint access to both sequence and structure databases, and the reasons for this development, together with some of the methods for integrated access, are analysed.

This paper is the result of the research I undertook at Lancaster University with a Marie Curie Fellowship during the academic years 2000‐2002. The objective of this research was to study the limits and the challenges of the analogy between molecular geneticists’ work and hackers’ activities. By focusing on this analogy I aim to explore the different ethical and philosophical issues surrounding new genetics and its IPR regulations. The paper firstly will show the philosophical background lying behind the proposed analogy and analyses the sense in which we can talk of geneticists as “hackers.” It will provide grounds for the analogy by exploring some of the techniques used by geneticists; in particular it will focus on the so‐called Shotgun method for genomic sequencing. After having provided reasons for the proposed analogy I will claim that the open source philosophy used in the computer field would be a good way to regulate research in the genetics and in pharmaceutical field too. The open source philosophy would provide fair distribution of research opportunities around the globe with the shift from patenting to copyright in sensitive fields such as genetics.

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the need in biotechnology to integrate a variety of knowledge bases to build the intellectual asset base of the commercial entity operating in the biotechnology industry.

The paper is based upon a single case study of a young biotechnology company, itself relying on the knowledge and expertise of four directors. To analyze the responses of the four directors to a single lead question, designed to prompt the respondents to articulate the intellectual capital they offer to the firm, this study employs a novel text analytical tool known as Perspective Text Analysis (Pertex).

The results show the disparate nature of the individual knowledge sets in contributing to the interdisciplinary base of the firm. The combined analysis illustrates the importance of collective intellectual capital through “sustainable collaboration.”

This study employs a novel analytical tool to undertake an analysis of both individual intellectual capital and collective interdisciplinary contribution using data from a single question. Pertex is a valuable tool in analyzing the intentionality of a respondent by cutting through to the true essence of their response.

Examines the tenth published year of the ITCRR. Runs the whole gamut of textile innovation, research and testing, some of which investigates hitherto untouched aspects. Subjects discussed include cotton fabric processing, asbestos substitutes, textile adjuncts to cardiovascular surgery, wet textile processes, hand evaluation, nanotechnology, thermoplastic composites, robotic ironing, protective clothing (agricultural and industrial), ecological aspects of fibre properties – to name but a few! There would appear to be no limit to the future potential for textile applications.

The aim of this paper is to present results of a foresight study on identifying priorities for health-related research and development (R&D) in Russia for the period until 2030.

Research priorities were identified through consistent integrated expert analysis and evaluation of the subject area, i.e. biomedical research preceding development of medical technologies.

Key global and national trends in the biomedical R&D sector and related areas (medicine and health) were identified. According to the experts, the following markets have the best prospects for Russia: regenerative medicine, biodegradable and other biocompatible materials, diagnostic systems, implants, surgical equipment, targeted delivery systems and non-invasive visualisation systems. Entering these markets requires providing support to R&D in the following areas: promising drug candidates, molecular diagnostics, molecular profiling and mechanisms of human diseases, cell technologies (therapies), new materials (biomimetics and other), bioelectronic, bioimaging and biosensors and human genome databases.

Regularly updating research priorities is a necessary prerequisite of successful science and technology development of countries, innovative companies and academic institutions. Allocation of (always limited) financial resources on the basis of such priority-setting exercises’ results is evidence of adherence to scientific planning principles. Combined with monitoring and evaluation tools, priority setting for biomedical R&D must become an integral component of Russia’s innovation policy.

This is a first-ever presentation of Russian experience in setting research priorities for the health-related sphere. Global and national contexts for development of biomedical R&D are described; markets and research areas with the biggest potential for Russian companies are identified.

Drawing upon Alfred Sohn-Rethel's work, we argue that, just as capitalism produces abstract labor, it coproduces both abstract mind and abstract life. Abstract mind is the split between mind and nature and between subject/observer and observed object that characterizes scientific epistemology. Abstract mind reflects an abstracted objectified world of nature as a means to be exploited. Biological life is rendered as abstract life by capitalist exploitation and by the reification and technologization of organisms by contemporary technoscience. What Alberto Toscano has called “the culture of abstraction” imposes market rationality onto nature and the living world, disrupting biotic communities and transforming organisms into what Finn Bowring calls “functional bio-machines.”

The purpose of this paper aims to assess the intake of dietary selenium among Jordanian adults in Madaba Governorate.

The authors conducted a cross-sectional study in Madaba Governorate. Convenience sampling was done at Madaba Governorate for this study. The subjects comprised 500 subjects (325 women and 175 men) aged from 18 to 60 years. A 24-h recall (24-HR) and Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) were used to estimate the selenium intake in the studied population.

Mean of dietary selenium was more than the recommended amount by at least 2.5-fold in both methods FFQ and 24-HR (p = 0.004), while no significant difference was observed in selenium consumption per day for women and men respectively using FFQ. The results indicated that selenium consumption is higher than the RDA among Madaba population. A moderate correlation was found between both methods for all subjects, women and men, respectively (p < 0.05).

The authors conclude that the selenium intake in Jordanian population is significantly above the RDA. However, future studies are required to correlate this high intake with health benefits and exclude toxic effects of Selenium.

Epidemiology is often described as “the basic science of public health” (Savitz, Poole & Miller, 1999; Syme & Yen, 2000). This description suggests both a close association with public health practice, and the separation of “pure” scientific knowledge from its application in the messy social world. Although the attainability of absolute objectivity is rarely claimed, epidemiologists are routinely encouraged to “persist in their efforts to substitute evidence for faith in scientific reasoning” (Stolley, 1985, p. 38) and reminded that “public health decision makers gain little from impassioned scholars who go beyond advancing and explaining the science to promoting a specific public health agenda” (Savitz et al., 1999, p. 1160). Epidemiology produces authoritative data that are transformed into evidence which informs public health. Those data are authoritative because epidemiology is regarded as a neutral scientific enterprise. Because its claims are grounded in science, epidemiological knowledge is deemed to have “a special technical status and hence is not contestable in the same way as are say, religion or ethics” (Lock, 1988, p. 6). Despite the veneer of universality afforded by its scientific pedigree, epidemiology is not a static or monolithic discipline. Epidemiological truth claims are embodied in several shifting paradigms that span the life of the discipline. Public health knowledges and practices, competing claims internal and external to epidemiology, and structural conditions (such as current political economies, material technologies, and institutions) provide important contexts in which certain kinds of epidemiological knowledge are more likely to emerge.