中国深圳大学 » Technology

British Ethics Group Calls for Regulations on Testing Sold Directly to Consumers

SZU — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 03:13:02 +0000

Tests often provide medically meaningless data according to ethics group

With medical technology becoming more and more advanced, we have numerous new medical tests that doctors can use to check for various disease conditions. Some of the new genetic tests can be used to determine the chance a patient might have of developing a serious disease like cancer or diabetes at some point in their lives.

The interesting part about many of these genetic tests is that there is a market for direct sales of genetic testing to people that have no symptoms or reason to worry they might develop a certain disease. A new report by a British medical ethics groups has asked that private DNA testing be accredited and have to live up to certain standards to protect consumers.

The group maintains that many of these genetic tests provide “medically and therapeutically meaningless” results and that these false results could lead the person paying for the tests to pay for further testing that isn’t needed and to needlessly worry about their medical condition. The group, called the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, maintains that the results of many genetic tests are “unclear, unreliable, or inaccurate.” In addition to regulating genetic testing, the group also wants regulations placed on body scanning services using MRI and CT scans.

Christopher Hood, one of the authors of the report publishes by the ethics group said, “The internet is now often the first port of call for people to find out more about their health. People need to know where they can get accurate health information, how to buy medicines online safely and how any personal information about their health posted online might be used.”

The genetic tests are generally conducted using a DNA sample derived from saliva. Google-backed a company providing these direct to consumer genetic testing in Europe back in 2008. The company is called 23andMe. The genetic tests the company sold cost $999 when it launched and claimed to read over 600,000 genetic points on the donor’s genetic makeup looking for potential issues.

Speaking directly about the use of CT and MRI scans, another of the report authors named Nikolas Rose said, “The reliability of these tests is questionable. And even if the tests were reliable, the increases in risk over that in the general population that are given to you by these tests are usually minimal, and in almost all circumstances they have no clinical relevance.”

The group maintains that when a full body scan is conducted of a person with no real reason other than to satisfy curiosity, the amount of radiation the user is exposed to is more harmful than most disease conditions that the test may potentially discover. The tests also often uncover anomalies that are meaningless and cause needless worry for the patient.

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

SZU — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 09:21:25 +0000

KAIST or the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, is located in Daedeok Science Town, Daejeon, South Korea. KAIST was established by Korean government in 1971 as the nation’s first research oriented science and engineering institution. KAIST is the nation’s the most prestigious science and technology institution and is considered to be the MIT of South Korea. The QS-The Times World University Rankings in the year of 2009 placed KAIST 69th in overall ranking and 21st in technology & IT subject field in the world.

Institutions
KAIST was founded with government funding and was initially staffed with a number of Korean engineering and science talents educated in the United States. From the onset, the emphasis has been in theoretical as well as applied research. KAIST continues to be Korea’s foremost center of strategic R&D projects. The University helped pioneer the establishment of competitive research oriented graduate school programs in Korea.

The University’s some 540 faculty conducts research in cooperation with academics and industries all over the world. KAIST offers grants and fellowships to international students.

The President of KAIST, Nam Pyo Suh, is an authority in axiomatic design technology. Soon-Heung Chang, a nuclear scientist, serves as Provost and Ji-won Yang, a chemical engineer, as Vice President for external affairs.

The University has for many decades, recruited faculty from overseas. The current KAIST President Nam Pyo Suh taught for many years at MIT. His predecessor, Robert Laughlin, a Nobel Prize laureate and a physics professor from Stanford University, was the first foreigner to head a Korean university. Professor Emeritus Cho Jang Hee, was a dual professor at both Columbia, New York, and KAIST, and played major role in the development of the PET scanning technology.

The vast majority of professors come from US higher education institutions. The school engages in many international programs with leading European and Asian universities. The university is a member of LAOTSE, an international network of universities in Europe and Asia. It is also a member of the Association of East Asian Research Universities.

KAIST
Established February 16, 1971
Type Government-run
President Nam-Pyo Suh
Faculty 526 (as of September, 2009)
Staff 322 (as of January, 2008)
Students 8,929 (as of September, 2009)
Undergraduates 3,839 (as of September, 2009)
Postgraduates 2,213 (as of September, 2009)
Doctoral students 2,877 (as of September, 2009)
Location Yuseong, Daejeon, South Korea
Campus Urban
1,432,882m² (Daedeok Campus)
413,346 m² (Seoul Campus)
Affiliations AEARU, LAOTSE, AOTULE
Website http://www.kaist.edu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

SZU — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:42:01 +0000

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological research. MIT is one of two private land-grant universities and is also a sea-grant and space-grant university.

Founded by William Barton Rogers in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, the university adopted the German university model and emphasized laboratory instruction from an early date.Its current 168-acre (68.0 ha) campus opened in 1916 and extends over 1 mile (1.6 km) along the northern bank of the Charles River basin.MIT researchers were involved in efforts to develop computers, radar, and inertial guidance in connection with defense research during World War II and the Cold War. In the past 60 years, MIT’s educational programs have expanded beyond the physical sciences and engineering into social sciences like economics, philosophy, linguistics, political science, and management.

MIT enrolled 4,172 undergraduates, 6,048 postgraduate students, and employed 1,008 faculty members in the 2007/08 school year. Its endowment and annual research expenditures are among the largest of any American university. 73 Nobel Laureates, 47 National Medal of Science recipients, and 31 MacArthur Fellows are currently or have previously been affiliated with the university.

The Engineers sponsor 33 sports, most of which compete in the NCAA Division III’s New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference; the Division I rowing programs compete as part of the EARC and EAWRC. While students’ irreverence is widely acknowledged due to the traditions of constructing elaborate pranks and engaging in esoteric activities, the aggregated revenues of companies founded by MIT affiliates would make it the seventeenth largest economy in the world.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Motto: Mens et Manus
Motto in English: Mind and Hand
Established: 1861 (opened 1865)
Type: Private
Endowment: US $10.068 billion
Chancellor: Phillip Clay
President: Susan Hockfield
Provost: L. Rafael Reif
Faculty: 1,008
Students: 10,220
Undergraduates: 4,172
Postgraduates: 6,048
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Campus: Urban, 168 acres (68.0 ha)
Nobel Laureates: 73
Colors: Cardinal Red and Steel Gray
Mascot: Beaver
Athletics: Division III (except for Rowing)
33 varsity teams
Affiliations: NEASC, AAU, COFHE, NASULGC
Website: web.mit.edu

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

SZU — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Founded by William Barton Rogers in 1861 in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, the university adopted the German university model and emphasized laboratory instruction from an early date. Its current 168-acre (68.0 ha) campus opened in 1916 and extends over 1 mile (1.6 km) along the northern bank of the Charles River basin. MIT researchers were involved in efforts to develop computers, radar, and inertial guidance in connection with defense research during World War II and the Cold War. In the past 60 years, MIT’s educational programs have expanded beyond the physical sciences and engineering into social sciences like economics, philosophy, linguistics, political science, and management.