Translating biotechnology to knowledge-based innovation, peace, and development? Deploy a Science Peace Corps--an open letter to world leaders.

Scholarship knows no geographical boundaries. This science diplomacy and biotechnology journalism article introduces an original concept and policy petition to innovate the global translational science, a Science Peace Corps. Service at the new Corps could entail volunteer work for a minimum of 6 weeks, and up to a maximum of 2 years, for translational research in any region of the world to build capacity manifestly for development and peace, instead of the narrow bench-to-bedside model of life science translation. Topics for translational research are envisioned to include all fields of life sciences and medicine, as long as they are linked to potential or concrete endpoints in development, foreign policy, conflict management, post-crisis capacity building, and/or peace scholarship domains. As a new instrument in the global science and technology governance toolbox, a Science Peace Corps could work effectively, for example, towards elucidating the emerging concept of "one health"--encompassing human, environmental, plant, microbial, ecosystem, and planet health--thus serving as an innovative crosscutting pillar of 21(st) century integrative biology. An interdisciplinary program of this caliber for development would link 21(st) century life sciences to foreign policy and peace, in ways that can benefit many nations despite their ideological differences. We note that a Science Peace Corps is timely. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of the United Nations released the Fifth Assessment Report on March 31, 2014. Worrisomely, the report underscores that no person or nation will remain untouched by the climate change, highlighting the shared pressing life sciences challenges for global society. To this end, we recall that President John F. Kennedy advocated for volunteer work that has enduring, transgenerational, and global impacts. This culminated in establishment of the Peace Corps in 1961. Earlier, President Abraham Lincoln aptly observed, "nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." We therefore petition President Barack Obama, other world leaders, and international development agencies in positions of power around the globe, to consider deploying a Science Peace Corps to cultivate the essential (and presently missing) ties among life sciences, foreign policy, development, and peace agendas. A Science Peace Corps requires support by a credible and independent intergovernmental organization or development agency for funding, and arbitration in the course of volunteer work when the global versus local (glocal) value-based priorities and human rights intersect in synergy or conflict. In all, Science Peace Corps is an invitation to a new pathway for competence in 21(st) century science that is locally productive and globally competitive. It can open up scientific institutions to broader considerations and broader inputs, and thus cultivate vital translational science in a world sorely in need of solidarity and sustainable responses to the challenges of 21(st) century science and society.

Glaucomics: a call for systems diagnostics for 21(st) century ophthalmology and personalized visual health.

This article analyzes and theorizes the current knowledge silos at the intersection of omics science, ophthalmology, personalized medicine, and global visual health. Visual disorders represent one of the largest health care expenditures in the United States, costing $139 billion per year. In middle-income and industrialized countries, glaucoma is a World Health Organization priority category eye disease, known for difficulties in its early diagnosis, chronic progressive nature, and large person-to-person differences in drug efficacy and safety. A complex disease, glaucoma is best conceptualized as a syndrome displaying an ostensibly common clinical end-point, but with vastly heterogeneous molecular underpinnings and host-environment interactions. About 12% of all global blindness is attributable to glaucoma. Glaucomics is a term that we coin here so as to introduce omics science and systems diagnostics to ophthalmology, a field that can benefit enormously from personalized medicine, and which has sadly lagged behind in systems diagnostics compared to fields such as oncology. We define glaucomics as the integrated use of multi-omics and systems science approaches towards rational discovery, development, and tandem applications of diagnostics and therapeutics, for glaucoma specifically, and for personalized visual health, more broadly. We propose that glaucoma is one of the neglected lowest hanging fruits and actionable targets for omics and systems diagnostics in 21(st) century ophthalmology for the salient reasons we describe here. Additionally, we offer an analysis on two of the most pertinent neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), trachoma and river blindness, which continue to plague visual health in developing countries. We conclude with a call for research on omics applications in glaucoma and personalized visual health.

Bernard Lerer: recipient of the 2014 inaugural Werner Kalow Responsible Innovation Prize in Global Omics and Personalized Medicine (Pacific Rim Association for Clinical Pharmacogenetics).

This article announces the recipient of the 2014 inaugural Werner Kalow Responsible Innovation Prize in Global Omics and Personalized Medicine by the Pacific Rim Association for Clinical Pharmacogenetics (PRACP): Bernard Lerer, professor of psychiatry and director of the Biological Psychiatry Laboratory, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. The Werner Kalow Responsible Innovation Prize is given to an exceptional interdisciplinary scholar who has made highly innovative and enduring contributions to global omics science and personalized medicine, with both vertical and horizontal (transdisciplinary) impacts. The prize is established in memory of a beloved colleague, mentor, and friend, the late Professor Werner Kalow, who cultivated the idea and practice of pharmacogenetics in modern therapeutics commencing in the 1950s. PRACP, the prize's sponsor, is one of the longest standing learned societies in the Asia-Pacific region, and was founded by Kalow and colleagues more than two decades ago in the then-emerging field of pharmacogenetics. In announcing this inaugural prize and its winner, we seek to highlight the works of prize winner, Professor Lerer. Additionally, we contextualize the significance of the prize by recalling the life and works of Professor Kalow and providing a brief socio-technical history of the rise of pharmacogenetics and personalized medicine as a veritable form of 21(st) century scientific practice. The article also fills a void in previous social science analyses of pharmacogenetics, by bringing to the fore the works of Kalow from 1995 to 2008, when he presciently noted the rise of yet another field of postgenomics inquiry--pharmacoepigenetics--that railed against genetic determinism and underscored the temporal and spatial plasticity of genetic components of drug response, with invention of the repeated drug administration (RDA) method that estimates the dynamic heritabilities of drug response. The prize goes a long way to cultivate transgenerational capacity and broader cognizance of the concept and practice of responsible innovation as an important criterion of 21(st) century omics science and personalized medicine. A new call is presently in place for the 2016 PRACP Werner Kalow prize. Nominations can be made in support of an exceptional individual interdisciplinary scholar, or alternatively, an entire research team, from any region in the world with a record of highly innovative contributions to global omics science and/or personalized medicine, in the spirit of responsible innovation. The application process is straightforward, requiring a signed, 1500-word nomination letter (by the applicant or sponsor) submitted not later than May 31, 2015.

Toward more transparent and reproducible omics studies through a common metadata checklist and data publications.

Biological processes are fundamentally driven by complex interactions between biomolecules. Integrated high-throughput omics studies enable multifaceted views of cells, organisms, or their communities. With the advent of new post-genomics technologies, omics studies are becoming increasingly prevalent; yet the full impact of these studies can only be realized through data harmonization, sharing, meta-analysis, and integrated research. These essential steps require consistent generation, capture, and distribution of metadata. To ensure transparency, facilitate data harmonization, and maximize reproducibility and usability of life sciences studies, we propose a simple common omics metadata checklist. The proposed checklist is built on the rich ontologies and standards already in use by the life sciences community. The checklist will serve as a common denominator to guide experimental design, capture important parameters, and be used as a standard format for stand-alone data publications. The omics metadata checklist and data publications will create efficient linkages between omics data and knowledge-based life sciences innovation and, importantly, allow for appropriate attribution to data generators and infrastructure science builders in the post-genomics era. We ask that the life sciences community test the proposed omics metadata checklist and data publications and provide feedback for their use and improvement.

Toward More Transparent and Reproducible Omics Studies Through a Common Metadata Checklist and Data Publications.

Biological processes are fundamentally driven by complex interactions between biomolecules. Integrated high-throughput omics studies enable multifaceted views of cells, organisms, or their communities. With the advent of new post-genomics technologies, omics studies are becoming increasingly prevalent; yet the full impact of these studies can only be realized through data harmonization, sharing, meta-analysis, and integrated research. These essential steps require consistent generation, capture, and distribution of metadata. To ensure transparency, facilitate data harmonization, and maximize reproducibility and usability of life sciences studies, we propose a simple common omics metadata checklist. The proposed checklist is built on the rich ontologies and standards already in use by the life sciences community. The checklist will serve as a common denominator to guide experimental design, capture important parameters, and be used as a standard format for stand-alone data publications. The omics metadata checklist and data publications will create efficient linkages between omics data and knowledge-based life sciences innovation and, importantly, allow for appropriate attribution to data generators and infrastructure science builders in the post-genomics era. We ask that the life sciences community test the proposed omics metadata checklist and data publications and provide feedback for their use and improvement.

Analysis of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene polymorphisms in cannabinoid addicts.

The gene encoding the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) has been suggested as a candidate gene for substance dependence. In this study, the possible association between Taq1A and Taq1B DRD2 polymorphisms and cannabinoid dependence was investigated. One hundred and twelve cannabinoid addicted and 130 healthy control subjects were included in this study. The Taq1A and Taq1B genotypes were determined in all subjects by polymerase chain reaction. For each polymorphism (A or B), the subjects were categorized into three groups according to their genotype, that is, the subjects with alleles A1/A1, A1/A2, A2/A2; B1/B1, B1/B2, and B2/B2. A significant association was found between Taq1A gene polymorphism and cannabinoid addicts compared to the control subjects. This finding suggests that polymorphism of the Taq1A, but not the Taq1B, may be associated with the susceptibility to cannabinoid dependence. Further clinical studies are required to be carried out for confirmation and evaluation of these findings.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion-deletion polymorphism in primary open-angle glaucoma.

PURPOSE: To investigate the hypothesis that primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) is associated with a common insertion-deletion (I/D) polymorphism in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene. METHODS: ACE I/D polymorphism was investigated in a control group of healthy subjects (n = 101) and in a group of patients diagnosed with POAG (n = 104). Polymerase chain reaction detection of I/D polymorphism was used to determine the presence of the two ACE alleles in the groups. RESULTS: Neither the I/D genotype distributions nor the allele frequencies differed significantly between POAG and control subjects (DD genotype 34.6 vs. 39.6%; ID genotype 53.9 vs. 40.6%; II genotype 11.5 vs. 19.8%, p = 0.1; D allele 61.5 vs. 60%; I allele 38.5 vs. 40%, p = 0.8). CONCLUSION: We could not identify a possible association of the I/D polymorphism in the ACE gene with POAG, however further studies with larger patient numbers in different populations are required to clarify the role of ACE gene in susceptibility to POAG.

Association between angiotensin converting enzyme gene polymorphism and coronary artery disease in individuals of the South-Eastern Anatolian population.

OBJECTIVE: The deletion (D) allele of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene has been proposed as a genetic marker of the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). In this study we aimed to determine the relevance of ACE gene polymorphism for coronary artery disease in the South-Eastern Anatolian population. METHODS: Angiotensin converting enzyme genotypes were determined in 133 CAD patients who underwent coronary angiography. Severity of CAD was subgrouped according to the number of stenotic vessels on coronary angiography. The control group was selected from 154 healthy volunteers. Angiotensin converting enzyme genotypes were determined by agarose gel sizing after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. RESULTS: Frequency of ACE DD genotype did not differ between patients with CAD and control subjects. However the ACE II genotype in CAD group was significantly less frequent than in control group (p=0.02). The relative risks were 0.9 (95% CI=0.56-1.43) for the DD genotypes, and 2.2 (95% CI=1.09 - 4.11) for the II genotype. In the 2-vessel CAD subgroups, the II genotypes were significantly different from control group. CONCLUSION: Our study did not confirm the possibility that the ACE DD genotypes may be associated with predisposition to CAD in this certain population but there is a relationship between the least frequencies of the II genotype and CAD. The II genotype seems to be an independent protective factor for CAD in the South-Eastern Anatolian population.

T102C polymorphisms at the 5-HT2A receptor gene in Turkish schizophrenia patients: a possible association with prognosis.

BACKGROUND: Serotonergic system abnormalities have been implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. The 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphism has long been implicated to play a role in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. AIM: In this study, we assessed the relationship of schizophrenia and its subgroups with 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphism, and attempted to evaluate a possible correlation between the severity and prognosis of the illness and 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphism. METHOD: Our study comprised 141 unrelated subjects who strictly met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia, and 79 healthy unrelated controls, all of Turkish origin. A clinical evaluation of all patients was accomplished applying the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) test. The analysis of 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphism was performed using the polymerase chain reaction technique. RESULTS: Regarding 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphisms, no statistically significant difference was found between schizophrenic patients and control subjects (p > 0.05). There was no significant difference between the average of BPRS points of the patients and 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphisms (p > 0.05). Although there was no correlation between the duration of illness and polymorphism (p > 0.05), the frequency of hospitalization was found to be higher in the patients with T/C and T/T genotypes compared with the patients with C/C genotype (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the T102C polymorphisms of the 5-HT2A receptor gene does not play a substantial role in schizophrenia nor help evaluate susceptibility to schizophrenia. Since the 5-HT2A receptor gene polymorphism is associated with the frequency of hospitalization of the patients, it may be an indicator of prognosis in schizophrenia or help differentiate the patients who are somewhat refractory to antipsychotic treatment.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism and coronary heart disease in Turkish type 2 diabetic patients.

OBJECTIVE: It has been suggested that the insertion (I)/deletion (D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) may be associated with atherosclerosis. The aim of the study was to examine the association between ACE gene polymorphism and coronary heart disease in Turkish type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 152 (97 female, 55 male) type 2 diabetic patients were included into the study. All patients underwent myocardial perfusion scintigraphic examination and forty-five of them with a perfusion defect underwent coronary angiography.Thirty-eight patients with a coronary stenosis of more than 50% on coronary angiography were considered as having coronary heart disease. The I/D polymorphism was determined by polymerase chain reaction. There was no statistically significant difference in genotypic and allelic frequencies of the ACE I/D polymorphism among patients with and without coronary heart disease (DD:ID:II (%), 32:58:11 and 39:44:17, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: ACE gene polymorphism is not a significant parameter to determine coronary heart disease in Turkish type 2 diabetic patients.