Hidden Concepts in the History and Philosophy of Origins-of-Life Studies: a Workshop Report.

In this review, we describe some of the central philosophical issues facing origins-of-life research and provide a targeted history of the developments that have led to the multidisciplinary field of origins-of-life studies. We outline these issues and developments to guide researchers and students from all fields. With respect to philosophy, we provide brief summaries of debates with respect to (1) definitions (or theories) of life, what life is and how research should be conducted in the absence of an accepted theory of life, (2) the distinctions between synthetic, historical, and universal projects in origins-of-life studies, issues with strategies for inferring the origins of life, such as (3) the nature of the first living entities (the "bottom up" approach) and (4) how to infer the nature of the last universal common ancestor (the "top down" approach), and (5) the status of origins of life as a science. Each of these debates influences the others. Although there are clusters of researchers that agree on some answers to these issues, each of these debates is still open. With respect to history, we outline several independent paths that have led to some of the approaches now prevalent in origins-of-life studies. These include one path from early views of life through the scientific revolutions brought about by Linnaeus (von Linn.), Wöhler, Miller, and others. In this approach, new theories, tools, and evidence guide new thoughts about the nature of life and its origin. We also describe another family of paths motivated by a" circularity" approach to life, which is guided by such thinkers as Maturana & Varela, Gánti, Rosen, and others. These views echo ideas developed by Kant and Aristotle, though they do so using modern science in ways that produce exciting avenues of investigation. By exploring the history of these ideas, we can see how many of the issues that currently interest us have been guided by the contexts in which the ideas were developed. The disciplinary backgrounds of each of these scholars has influenced the questions they sought to answer, the experiments they envisioned, and the kinds of data they collected. We conclude by encouraging scientists and scholars in the humanities and social sciences to explore ways in which they can interact to provide a deeper understanding of the conceptual assumptions, structure, and history of origins-of-life research. This may be useful to help frame future research agendas and bring awareness to the multifaceted issues facing this challenging scientific question.

A Comparative Framework for Studying the Histories of the Humanities and Science.

While the humanities and the sciences have a closely connected history, there are no general histories that bring the two fields together on an equal footing. This paper argues that there is a level at which some humanistic and scientific disciplines can be brought under a common denominator and compared. This is at the level of underlying methods, especially at the level of formalisms and rule systems used by different disciplines. The essay formally compares linguistics and computer science by noting that the same grammar formalism was used in the 1950s for describing both human and. programming languages. Additionally, it examines the influence of philology on molecular biology, and vice versa, by recognizing that the tree-formalism and rule system used for text reconstruction was also employed in DNA genetics. It also shows that rule systems for source criticism in history are used in forensic science, evidence-based medicine, and jurisprudence. This paper thus opens up a new comparative approach within which the histories of the humanities and the sciences can be examined on a common level.

Some Trends in Chem(o)informatics.

This introductory chapter gives a brief overview of the history of cheminformatics, and then summarizes some recent trends in computing, cultures, open systems, chemical structure representation, docking, de novo design, fragment-based drug design, molecular similarity, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR), metabolite prediction, the use of phamacophores in drug discovery, data reduction and visualization, and text mining. The aim is to set the scene for the more detailed exposition of these topics in the later chapters.

Informatics and public health at CDC.

Since CDC acquired its first mainframe computer in 1964, the use of information technology in public health practice has grown steadily and, during the past 2 decades, dramatically. Public health informatics (PHI) arrived on the scene during the 1990s after medical informatics (intersecting information technology, medicine, and health care) and bioinformatics (intersecting mathematics, statistics, computer science, and molecular biology). Similarly, PHI merged the disciplines of information science and computer science to public health practice, research, and learning. Using strategies and standards, practitioners employ PHI tools and training to maximize health impacts at local, state, and national levels. They develop and deploy information technology solutions that provide accurate, timely, and secure information to guide public health action.

The School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria: towards an intergrative model for health informatics education and research.

OBJECTIVES: There is an increasing need for well qualified health informatics practitioners and for educational programs that produce them. Since 1981, the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria has delivered a range of educational programs in health informatics. The School's objective has been to produce graduates who can assume a range of roles in health informatics, including managers, developers, researchers and evaluators of health care systems. METHODS: The approach taken by the School has been to provide an integrated 'holistic' approach to health informatics education that balances both theory and practice. The curriculum has emphasized interdisciplinary skills and has been based on a process of consultation with key stakeholders in both industry and academia. In addition, several new distance collaborative models for health informatics education (including a distributed MSc degree program) have been recently initiated through the University of Victoria with collaborating Canadian universities. RESULTS: To date, graduates of the programs offered have become highly sought after, with the demand for graduates of the programs continually exceeding the number of graduates. The core undergraduate curriculum has recently been undergone refinement to include training in new emerging areas of health informatics. In addition, a distributed MSc program has been successfully initiated by the School, currently with 23 students participating from dispersed geographical locations across Canada. CONCLUSIONS: The School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria has been involved in providing unique interdisciplinary education in health informatics for over twenty years. The School continues to maintain its emphasis on integrated education, refining its curriculum and moving into new areas such as distance education and cross-Canadian collaborations.

Oral history and health informatics: mutual support.

Oral history is 'the interviewing of eyewitness participants in the events of the past for the purposes of historical reconstruction'. It can make a specific and important contribution to the study of health informatics by adding valuable information to the existing record. At the same time the technology of informatics could facilitate in general the acquisition, storage and retrieval of oral history interviews for research.

Psicologia clínica e informática: por que essa inusitada aproximação? / Clinical psychology and computer sciences: what led to such an unexpected encounter?

Este artigo tem como objetivo principal discutir - a partir de alguns marcos importantes da história da informática nos Estados Unidos e no Brasil- a razão pela qual a psicologia clínica passou a se interessar pelas novas tecnologias digitas e, em particular, pela Internet. Argumentamos que o homem contemporâneo, na medida em que se tornou um usuário de computadores e absorveu a Internet nas mias variadas áreas de sua vida, praticamente intimou a psicologia clínica a investigar os impactos subjetivos das novas tecnologias digitais. Apontamos, ainda, que esse recente interesse pelo que acontece ao homem contemporâneo em função de sua exposição às novas tecnologias digitais aproximou a psicologia clínica da informática e pode vir a gerar uma proveitosa parceria interdisciplinar.