News by Subject Policy & Ethics

The current issue of Technology and Innovation has articles on the 2015 Patents for Humanity Awards, asbestos exposure during outdoor recreational activities, the phenomenon of academic serial inventors, and a special section on regulatory science with articles on organic vs. conventional foods and the critical role of review criteria in peer review.

Binghamton University computer science assistant professor Timothy Miller, Aaron Carpenter and graduate student Philip Dexterm, along with co-author Jeff Bush, have developed Nyami, a synthesizable graphics processor unit (GPU) architectural model for general-purpose and graphics-specific workloads. This marks the first time a team has taken an open-source GPU design and run a series of experiments on it to see how different hardware and software configurations would affect the circuit's performance.

The creators of commercially sold counseling programs increasingly profit from public health services across the world. However, a new study on the evidence basis for some of the market leaders reveals that serious conflicts of interest across the majority of the research go habitually undisclosed.

To describe the nuanced relationship between companies and their channel partners, the authors explored the dynamics of various incentive and partner programs -- channels that produce roughly two-thirds of the total sales of the largest manufacturers in the IT sector.

An RNA editing technique called 'exon skipping' has shown preliminary success in treating a rare and severe form of muscular dystrophy that currently has no treatment. The discovery stems from the persistence of a father, whose two sons were diagnosed with a rare and severe form of muscular dystrophy, and his search for and partnership with the genetic scientist -- Dr. Elizabeth McNally -- who studies the disease. The therapy is being developed with the goal of clinical trials.

Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, has announced that its Reviewer Recognition platform has launched a new functionality which enables reviewers to list their entire review history, including their reviews for non-Elsevier journals, in one place online. It also allows them to share their Reviewer Page publicly -- increasing visibility and recognition of their work.

The current double issue of Technology and Innovation has a special section devoted to the subject of water and the challenges related to its conservation, including a guest editorial by NAI Fellows Vimal Chaitanya and Frederic Zenhausern and articles on landscape irrigation and materials technology. The general section includes articles in the areas of patents and licensing, telesurgery technology, regulatory science, and an additional manuscript discussing chemistry pioneer Jonas Kamlet.

Medicaid is expected to save billions of dollars a year as patents for several blockbuster antipsychotic medications expire and use of generic versions increases, according to new research. The savings may provide relief from the high medication costs and allow policymakers to lift restrictions on patients' access.