The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, under Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, initiated the ‘Women in Research and Innovation’ campaign in order to encourage more women to choose research as a career.
Rumors about imminent results on the Higgs boson from the LHC experiments are appearing in blogs, social media and newspapers all over the world. Meanwhile, thousands of physicists are carefully analyzing the data, looking not only for the Higgs but for many other new phenomena.
Cannabinoid Drugs and Medical Cannabis
On 2 May, the Regional Council of Tuscany approved by majority vote a law that will make it easier for residents to use cannabinoid drugs as opioid adjuvants in pain therapy and palliative treatment of chronic debilitating conditions (AIDS, anorexia, cachexia, etc.) . To this end, hospitals and local health authorities will ensure the import of cannabinoid drugs, which will be administered under the supervision and at the expense of the regional health system.
Natural evolution of avian H5N1 influenza viruses could allow them to acquire human-to-human airborne transmissibility. These are the conclusions of a paper published on Science, written by Professor Derek Smith and Doctor Colin Russell, from the University of Cambridge.
Researchers working at universities or in independent research centers cannot by themselves change the fate of the sick. They can identify crucial mechanisms underlying a disease and find out how to correct them; they can test their intuitions in vitro and in animal models, they can even perform the first stage of a clinical trial, if they find the appropriate funding, but, especially when it comes to innovative therapies, they will never be able to bring the treatments to all those who need them.
Innovation is often associated with the idea of a new technology with challenging revolutionary responsibilities. The incredible mutation in the last ten years in the scenario regarding communication tools has without a doubt offered a vast choice of revolutionary, seasonal fetishes. Revolutionary however could primarily be the way in which we rethink of reality. These global digitalization years have largely established a break with the past, in this sense.
After 20 years there will be a re-edition of the World Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development) in Rio de Janeiro from June 20 to June 22. Sustainability, environment and green economy will be discussed...and above all a new treaty will be discussed (The Future we want) of which a first draft is already circulating (download the document).
