By studying these heterogeneous ‘scientific cultures’, we can locate innovative parameters of collective action to move pharmacogenomics to practice (personalized therapeutics). To this end, we reconceptualize knowledge-based innovation as a complex ecosystem comprising ‘actors’ and ‘narrators’. For robust knowledge translation, we require a nested post-genomics technology governance system composed of first-order narrators (for example, social scientists, philosophers, bioethicists)

situated at arm’s length from innovation actors (for example, pharmacogenomics scientists). Yet, second-order narrators (for example, an independent and possibly crowd-funded think-tank of citizen scholars, 3-Methyladenine cost marginalized groups and knowledge end-users) are crucial to prevent first-order narrators from gaining excessive power that can be misused in the course of steering innovations. To operate such ‘self-calibrating’ and nested innovation ecosystems, we introduce the concept of ‘wiki-governance’ to enable mutual and iterative learning among innovation actors and first- and

second-order narrators.”
“A number of observational studies (largely case-control) conducted over the last two decades suggest an association between use of talc selleckchem powders on the female perineum and increased risk of ovarian cancer. A subset of these reports shows a roughly 30-60% increased risk of ovarian cancer associated with perineal talc exposure. A number of researchers partly base their conclusions of an association on the ‘ … chemical relationship between talc and asbestos’, the latter substance being a known human carcinogen. Although separating causal

from noncausal explanations for an observed statistical association is a difficult process, there currently exist commonly accepted guidelines by which such inferences can be made. These scientific approaches include consideration of the strength of the association, the consistency of the finding across studies, and existence of a biological explanation of the observed phenomenon, among others. When applied to the context GSK3326595 of a proposed talc/ovarian cancer association, we conclude that the weak statistical associations observed in a number of epidemiological studies do not support a causal association. European Journal of Cancer Prevention 20:501-507 (C) 2011 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.”
“Background: The potential of iron to generate reactive oxygen species has motivated a long-standing interest in whether excess iron is causally linked to atherosclerotic heart disease. Circulating catalytic iron (free iron) is that which is not bound to transferrin or ferritin and is available to generate reactive oxygen species that may have deleterious vascular effects. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that increased levels of catalytic iron would be associated with increased cardiovascular events.