“The recently announced Science Foundation Ireland funding of almost €10 million for the Regenerative Medicine Institute (Remedi) at NUI Galway could pave the way for clinical trials of new therapies and treatments for diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus and osteoarthritis …” (more)
[Irish Times, 26 November]
“Research jointly led by Trinity College Dublin has opened the way to much more effective vaccinations against pneumonia and meningitis. The international team of scientists identified a trigger that causes a powerful immune response to protect against disease …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 12 November]
“Funding was announced this week to speed up the development of medical treatments based on adult stem-cell research …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 11 November]
“Ireland is not spending enough on medical research and lags behind other OECD countries in terms of investment in the area, the Government has been told. Studies have shown that investment in medical research has a key role in delivering a better healthcare system and contributes to wider economic gain …” (more)
[Aoife Connors, Irish Medical Times, 2 November]
“Medical journals seeking to expose the financial ties of their authors ought to look in the mirror, the authors of a new study contend. They find that industry-funded clinical trials boost the prestige of medical journals, which also stand to profit from selling reprints of such papers …” (more)
[Ewen Callaway, Nature, 26 October]
“Fears rise that the State payment to co-fund ‘vital’ medical research will be slashed. More than two dozen of Ireland’s leading medical charities have called on the Government not to cut a state grant of €1m that is spent on research into medical conditions …” (more)
[Ronan McGreevy, Irish Times, 26 October]
“Social scientists & certainly economists tend to look up to medical research, partly because it’s where the money is, and also because one of its key methods, the randomized control trial, is seen by many as providing a ‘gold standard’ when it comes to measuring treatment effects …” (more)
[Kevin Denny, Geary Behavioural Economics Blog, 19 October]
“Researchers at UCC have successfully developed DNA vaccines that can target prostate cancer, it was revealed today. Researchers at the Cork Cancer Research Centre at UCC have been working on DNA vaccines to activate the immune system against the cancer, and their successful work in the laboratory will now proceed to human clinical trials …” (more)
[Irish Times, 5 February]
“Madam, – I read with disappointment the criticism by Dr Dolores Dooley (a philosopher) of Prof William Reville’s (a biochemist) views of the science of embryo research (January 28th). The truth of Prof Reville’s assertion that ethically uncontroversial adult stem-cell research has paid back handsomely is to be seen daily in our hospitals; despite more than a decade of research, embryonic stem-cell research has not led to any therapy …” (more)
[Paul McSweeney, Irish Times, 29 January]
“The Irish Supreme Court recently judged that frozen human embryos are not among the ‘unborn’ referred to in the Constitution, which binds the State to protect and defend the right to life of the unborn. The judges also called on the Oireachtas to introduce legislation to regulate assisted human reproduction and the Minister for Health, Mary Harney, has promised to introduce a Bill later this year …” (more)
[William Reville, Irish Times, 21 January]
“I would like draw medical research scientists, in particular, to a just published report (January 2010) by the ‘The Academy of Medical Sciences (UK)’ entitled ‘Reaping the Rewards : a Vision for UK Medical Science’. The document running to about 50 pages demonstrates how medical research from basic to clinical can and does lead to benefits, not only to the patient, but also to the biomedical industry in the UK …” (more)
[Thomas Cotter, Irishscience, 17 January]
“It has published papers on everything from ejaculation as a treatment for nasal congestion to why modern scientists are so dull, but the future of Medical Hypotheses is hanging in the balance after a host of complaints from high-profile researchers. The irreverent publication is the only Elsevier journal not to subject its submissions to peer review …” (more)
[Zoë Corbyn, Times Higher Education, 14 January]
“Dr Panayiotis Zavos is recognised worldwide as a leading researcher and authority in the areas of male reproductive physiology, gamete physiology, male infertility and other assistive reproductive technologies. Zavos’ team was the first to create human cloned embryos for reproductive purposes. In this interview, he discusses the controversial issue of cloning humans …” (more)
[John Richard Schrock, University World News, 17 January]
“NUI Galway researchers have deemed chronic pain a ‘silent epidemic’ in Ireland, having found that one in three people suffer from the condition. The finding is part of the preliminary results of the PRIME Study (Prevalence, Impact and Cost of Chronic Pain in Ireland), being led by NUI Galway, which is the first large scale project to examine the problem of chronic pain in the country …” (more)
[Irish Digest, 6 January]
“The Supreme Court has criticised as ‘disturbing’ the state’s continuing failure to enact laws to regulate fertility treatment …” (more)
[Vivion Kilfeather, Irish Examiner, 16 December]
“Scientists in Dublin have found a new ‘off switch’ for the immune system, a discovery that could help lead to new treatments for diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers at Trinity College Dublin made the discovery and yesterday published their findings in the leading journal, Nature Immunology …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 8 December]
“Scientists at Trinity College Dublin have made an important discovery which reveals a complex process that controls the inflammatory response during infection. A molecule called MicroRNA-21 releases a key anti-inflammatory protein called Interleukin-10, thereby regulating inflammation triggered by bacterial infection …” (more)
[TCD Communications Office, 7 December]
“What is written in your genes may well dictate whether you develop kidney failure caused by diabetes. An international team hopes to read the genetic code and reveal who is at greatest risk of the disease. University College Dublin (UCD) is to play a key part in a €7 million study that will involve scientists North and South and also teams in the US. Announced this month, the Irish effort will be led by UCD’s Prof Catherine Godson …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 12 November]
“Cork has the potential to have the same reputation as a producer of medicine as Switzerland does for watches. This is according to one of the leading figures in the pharmaceutical industry who said Ireland needs to reach a stage where firms want to bring a molecule to here and Ireland says: ‘Leave the rest to us, we will develop it and supply it to the world’ …” (more)
[Niamh Hennessy, Irish Examiner, 7 November]
“Debunking false medical claims, educating the public and lobbying government will be key aims of a new body launching today, the Irish Stem Cell Foundation. A group of Irish doctors and scientists has established the foundation and opened a website, http://www.irishstemcellfoundation.org, that goes live today. ‘We are an independent, not-for-profit organisation. We want to give the facts as scientific facts’, stated co-founder Dr Stephen Sullivan …” (more)
[Dick Ahlstrom, Irish Times, 23 October]
Ninth Level Ireland 