Perspective: Trump-eting how good you are

Donald Trump: "Just the best" - really?

An axiom of communication is that people tend to take others at face value. If you say you're good, people will believe you, despite evidence to the contrary. If you say you're good twenty times over, they are even more likely to believe it.

Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Check out the piece below (courtesy http://imgur.com/BYn8rVv).

 

Perspective: How to Split the Pie

Bring industry expertise to academia – this was the message [Jan Tennent] brought to Ian Frazer when he was in Melbourne recently with other members of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board for a public consultation on the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).

See full article on BioMedVic website: biomedvic.org.au/how-to-split-the-pie/

Perspective: Interpreting trial results - the P value continuum

xkcd: P-values

A recently published NEJM review article by Stuart Pocock and Gregg Stone reflects on how to interpret the primary outcome of a trial. Quote excerpted below:

"A well-designed trial derives its credibility from the inclusion of a prespecified, a priori hypothesis that helps its authors avoid making potentially false positive claims on the basis of an exploratory analysis of the data. Nevertheless, an unreasonable yet widespread practice is the labeling of all randomized trials as either positive or negative on the basis of whether the P value for the primary outcome is less than 0.05. This view is overly simplistic. P values should be interpreted as a continuum wherein the smaller the P value, the greater the strength of the evidence for a real treatment effect."

Reference: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1510064

Perspective: Higher education is key to economic development (but it's not as simple as you think)

Authors of a recent research study argue that we need to look at geography, skills and local companies to accelerate development. Higher education is key to economic development, but the way the two relate is complex, say the researchers.

“Of course investing in education leads to improved incomes, but that’s just too simple a model to account for real development in the real world,” said Dr. Simon McGrath, Professor of International Education and Development at the University of Nottingham and one of the authors of the study, which is published in the International Journal of Educational Development.

https://www.elsevier.com/atlas/story/people/higher-education-is-key-to-economic-development

Perspective: Where science and prejudice collide

Video: Brian Cox and Malcolm Roberts spar over
climate change (ABC News)

When a trained sceptic - a scientist - and a 'conviction' politician duke it out in an adversarial arena such as ABCTV's "Q&A" - it's both fun and painful to watch. Try tempting a tram off its tracks.

See entire thread at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-16/professor-brian-cox-vs.-senator-malcolm-roberts/7746576

Perspective: Immigration’s vaccination paradox

Vaccination coverage incomplete under
Australian government policies.
Image: Microgen istockphoto

More than 800,000 temporary migrants are working in Australia, yet the assumption that everyone living here is a permanent resident or a citizen has created dangerous blind spots with respect to free administration of vaccines. 457 temporary visa holders are excluded under Commonwealth policies, but the Victorian state government is nonetheless doing an important public health service by providing free vaccination for all children under the age of 10, regardless of their status. Peter Mares explains.

http://insidestory.org.au/immigrations-vaccination-paradox

Perspective: St Vincent’s scandal: what’s the protocol for chemotherapy and are low doses less effective?

St Vincent’s scandal: what’s the protocol for chemotherapy and are low doses less effective?

Ian Haines posits in his 'The Conversation' essay that there is actually no existing evidence to show that a flat dose of 100mg of carboplatin provides inferior outcomes in chemotherapy.

 

Ian Haines is Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, AMREP Department of Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne & Senior Medical Oncologist and Palliative Care Physician, Melbourne Oncology Group, Cabrini Haematology and Oncology Centre, Wattletree Road, Malvern, Monash University
Reference: theconversation.com/st-vincents-scandal-whats-the-protocol-for-chemotherapy-and-are-low-doses-less-effective-63445

Perspective: Taking the long view: universities and their unique research role

Associate Professor Michael Biercuk writes in his Conversation article on the goal and function of universities to undertake research for long term public good:

" 

Businesses today are, by and large, focused on the short-term, and therefore are largely unable to consider investing in projects that might take a decade or more to realise a commercial outcome. They exist to generate profits for their leaders and shareholders, which requires constant revenue and profit growth today.

Universities, by contrast, exist only to engage in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. Relating to research, successful university programs therefore bring three main differentiating value propositions:

• the ability to work on problems for the public good, with little or no commercial gain, but potentially large social value
• consideration of problems that might be of great commercial value in the long-term, but require dedicated research on timescales that are unacceptable to commercial entities
• investment in critical capital-intensive infrastructure needed especially for technical fields. "

theconversation.com/taking-the-long-view-universities-and-their-unique-research-role-36647

Perspectives: CSIRO second guesses the future for industry-science collaborations

Healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector "at a glance" p.41

CSIRO's Australia 2030 report presents four plausible and divergent scenarios, each based on different combinations of social, economic, environmental and technological drivers. Each is purposely extreme in an attempt to provide a sharp contrast between different potential futures and more clearly illustrate the trade-offs involved.

The medical industry section outlines various possibilities for technological 'enablers' in the fields of surgery, health services, prevention and lifestyle intervention and targeted drug design.

Reference: www.csiro.au/en/Do-business/Futures/Reports/Australia-2030

Perspectives: How much do you know about infectious disease issues? Take the Burnet quiz and find out

Take the quiz

How much do you know about infectious disease issues? Find out with the 'Which Deadly Disease?' quiz to learn more about some of the diseases that threaten millions of people around the world today.

Will you take the quiz too? Click here to start it now: https://which-deadly-disease.com/burnet-quiz?utm_source=svtqpgemlsh

It's been put together by researchers at Burnet Institute who have made exciting discoveries that could ease the suffering caused by diseases such as malaria, TB and hepatitis C.

It's quick and easy to complete, and it's full of fascinating and surprising facts about the world's deadliest diseases. 

[CCS blog editor Julia Veitch's self-congratulatory note: I got 12/12! Comes from working here at AMREP]

Perspective: Helen Razer on Belle Gibson, the media and other snake oil salesmen

Helen Razer

Helen Razer in The Daily Review, 9 May 2016: "To paraphrase something Winston Churchill once paraphrased: science is the worst way to explain the physical universe, except for every other way we’ve ever tried." Helen Razer describes how the media love simple heroes and villains, and sacrifice scientific understanding in the process. Belle Gibson, disgraced lifestyle entrepreneur, is case-in-point here with being first hero, then villain. The media fail to grasp at all times the scientific process to evaluate her claims and their discrediting.
See full story: dailyreview.com.au/razer-belle-gibson/41987/ (10 min read)

Perspective: Medical research key part of a healthy Australian economy

The federal budget 2016-17 announced on 3 May 2016 confirms continued building of the Medical Research Future Fund, says the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI).
See full article or excerpt below.

Perspectives: 'Anti-immunisation movie Vaxxed is a platform for its maker, not its message'

Sarah Gill writes a critique of the new film 'Vaxxed' by Andrew Wakefield (of MMR-autism notoriety). She says, "Don't be fooled – Wakefield's story is not the tale of a man wronged by powerful corporations or the medical establishment, which, in fact, closed ranks to protect him. It's the story of a physician who set out to cast doubt on vaccine safety before he'd even gathered the evidence, and he did so not for the public good, but for private gain."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/comment/antiimmunisation-movie-vaxxed-is-a-platform-for-its-maker-not-its-message-20160425-goetem.html

Perspective: Do doctors give weight to evidence in clinical decision-making?

Doctors may deny that they unconsciously bias the results of
studies, but the evidence shows they do. pixdeluxe/iStockphoto

Working out whether a treatment works, and for how many people, is trickier than it sounds, writes Frank Bowden.

Here’s how you should go about doing it. Link to full story

Perspective: Stay current with animal-based biomedical research issues

Parkinson's model mice exercising motor skills of balance and
coordination

Animal models continue to provide the best insights into the physiology of health and disease. There are a number of UK and US based organisations dedicated to providing correct information about animal-based research. Australia's closest equivalent is ANZCAART. 

@The_EARA

Website: eara.eu/en/ 

European Animal Research Association (EARA) communicates reliable information about the importance of the humane use of animals in biomedical research. They contributed to the recent debate over the recent, and unsuccessful, private member's bill put by Senator Rhiannon to ban the importing of non-human primates to Australia for medical research.

@SpeakofResearch 

Website: speakingofresearch.com

Speaking of Research aims to explain the important role of animals in research. For example, see their article on animal rights pseudoscience: https://speakingofresearch.com/extremism-undone/bad-science/

Perspectives: Australia’s STEM Workforce report

A new report by the Office of the Chief Scientist (Alan Finkel) provides the first detailed analysis of Australia’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) trained workforce.
“Studying STEM opens up countless job options and this report shows that Australians are taking diverse career paths.”
See more:
www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2016/03/report-australias-stem-workforce/

See also the Government's plans and funding to encourage collaboration on innovation between industry and researchers, to create further opportunities in the STEM area:

• www.innovation.gov.au/page/new-research-funding-arrangements-universities
• www.innovation.gov.au/page/innovation-connections

Perspectives: Call due 26 Feb 2016 for Submissions to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Prohibition of Live Imports of Primates for Research)

We need monkeys for life saving research to be done.
The Australian capacity to undertake this research is
under threat from a proposed legislative amendment.
Today is the last day you can put in a submission.

.

Now is the time as researchers who use animals in research to make a statement about the significance of animals in research. Animal rights groups generously fill with misinformation the vacuum provided by the normally reticent research community, and are doing their best with Parliamentarians.  They've successfully influenced Senator Rhiannon to make a proposal to prohibit importing non human primates for research. If this amendment is passed, it will mean the inbreeding of Australia's existing research colonies of primates, and ultimately render them useless. It also means that the animal rights groups will use this success for them to lobby more and harder for further erosion of Australia's capacity to conduct medical research using animals.

There is a call for submissions to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Prohibition of Live Imports of Primates for Research). A senate committee will meet on 1 March to go through the submissions, so today (26 Feb) is the last day you can put your submission in.

See

• Outline of the proposed amendment and all the necessary links to further information, the current submissions and how to make your submission. (Ignore the 18 Jan due date there): www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/EPBC_Live_Primates_Bill
• A/Prof James Bourne's 5 Feb video presentation to the Senate committee 
• An excellent University of Edinburgh web page, "Animal Research" for proactive education of the community about their use of animals in research. They are on the front foot!
• 16 Feb 2016 AusSMC Briefing: Do we need to use animals in research? Speakers: Doug Hilton, James Bourne, Malcolm France. Link

Perspective: What will personalised medicine be worth by 2020?

New research indicates that the core personalized medicine market will be worth over $149 billion by 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.74%.

"The total personalised targeted therapeutic market, for all indications, will grow at a CAGR of 6.47% over the next five years. Strong vertical growth in the companion diagnostic segment however will see a CAGR of 23.71% to 2020, mainly coming from oncology, cardiovascular and infectious disease (HIV/HCV) tests. Advancing technologies within the liquid biopsy market is also driving the market and will see strategic growth over the next five years with a CAGR of 20.6%. The two segments of the liquid biopsy market are tumor cell enrichment products and tumor cell detection technologies."

Reference

Perspective: Animal research in the Senate spotlight

Associate Professor James Bourne is a Monash researcher working with non human primates. He made an excellent presentation defending the use of NHPs to the recent Senate committee hearing on a proposed amendment by Senator Rhiannon, to ban the import of NHPs for medical research. This has profound implications for NHP research, and more generally, for all animal researchers to be upfront and informative to the tax paying public about the animal based work and its necessity for understanding how our bodies do and don't work.

See the submissions page for details of the issue and no.12 submission for James Bourne's written submission to the committee. You can follow James Bourne on Twitter at https://twitter.com/neurdboy.

Perspectives on Women in Science

A recent publication in Baker IDI's Perspectives has focused on Women In Science. The article by A/Professor Rebecca Ritchie and Professor Bronwyn Kingwell was also published on Women’s Agenda last month.

A/Prof Rebecca Ritchie (left) and
Professor Bronwyn Kingwell (right)

"It is widely agreed that there is a great deal more work to be done to improve the representation of women at senior levels in Australian medical research. In this edition of Perspectives, we focus on gender inequality in the Australian science sector and explore how individuals and organisations are taking steps to effect change."

This publication is digital-only and is available via the Baker IDI website.