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Nanomedicine: a socio-technical system
Abstract
Recently, nanotechnology has put forward considerable opportunities for healthcare–including novel diagnostic and therapeutic prospects–leading to the emergence of nanomedicine. Together with such technological advancements, social science research has placed increasing attention to this emerging and complex discipline. Still missing, however, is a systematized, coherent understanding of nanomedicine as a discrete socio-technical system. By charting the extant literature and drawing on insights from science, innovation, technology, and organizational studies, we review the field of nanomedicine and pinpoint key thematic areas in which the field unfolds. Collectively, our work advances both theoretical and practical aspects as to why and how nanomedicine may be best understood as an idiosyncratic setting for the advancement of novel social science research inquiries.
... Despite that, some issues still represent an obstacle against their therapeutic applications such as poor water solubility, a limited formulation that can be administered by oral or parenteral routes, undesired organoleptic properties and instability [12]. The application of nanotechnology in therapeutic drug delivery is a well-established technology that conveys several beneficial results via reduced particle size and increased surface area which lead to improved drug absorption and bioavailability and release of functional ingredients, including propolis and ginseng [13]. ...
Background
Red ginseng and propolis are well-known antioxidants that have been related to a reduction in oxidative stress.
Objective
This study evaluated the efficiency of red ginseng and propolis, either in powder or as nano-forms against dexamethasone—induced testicular oxidative challenges in adult male albino rats.
Methods
Forty rats were divided into 8 equal groups including control negative group that was given vehicle (DMSO), control positive group that was administered dexamethasone in addition to the nano-propolis, nano-ginseng, nano-propolis + dexamethasone, nano ginseng+dexamethasone, propolis+dexamethasone and ginseng + dexamethasone groups. Serum, semen and tissue samples were obtained.
Results
Lower testosterone levels, higher levels of MDA, and lower levels of total antioxidant capacity in serum, as well as impaired semen quality and a disturbed histopathological picture of both the testis and seminal glands, were all observed as significant negative effects of dexamethasone. These findings were confirmed by lower gene expression profiles of CYP11A1, StAR, HSD-3b, Nrf-2 and ACTB-3b in testicular and seminal gland tissues. The most powerful anti-dexamethasone effects were obtained with either propolis in nanoform or conventional ginseng.
Conclusion
Propolis nano-formulation and ginseng in conventional form could be considered excellent candidates to ameliorate the oxidative stress provoked by dexamethasone, however, neither nano-ginseng nor conventional propolis showed such effects.
... This case is buttressed by innovations such as the chemotherapy drug Doxil © which has received FDA approval in the United States. Other similar nano-therapeutic innovations have been used in tackling heart disease through non-invasive procedures and full-scale cancer treatments [35]. ...
Nanotechnology is an inter-disciplinary branch of science and technology that focuses on the manipulation of matter on the nanoscale, usually between 1-100 nanometers. Nanotechnology blends various aspects of materials science, electrical/electronic engineering, biology, chemistry, physics and computer science to create a synergy of knowledge to improve modern science. The human race was hit hardly during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to the loss of millions of lives across the globe and has created long-lasting socioeconomic problems. Nanomaterials, based on their completely unique properties after fabrication have played a vital role in healthcare, especially combating the coronavirus. This has been achieved through advances in vaccines, drug delivery, diagnostics and personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. Scientists must sustain the success of nanotechnology applications in COVID management. This can be achieved by focusing on the applications of nanotechnology that can specifically combat the coronavirus.
Nanomedicine deals with the usage of nanotechnology for medical purposes. Due to their identical size to the majority of biological molecules, nanomaterials utilized in nanomedicine are advantageous for in vivo applications. The aim of applying nanotechnology in medicine is to effectively diagnose and treat diseases. Although nanomedicine remains in its early stages, many analytical tools, diagnostic devices, biosensors, drug delivery vehicles, and physical therapy applications are being developed under this branch of medicine to treat diseases. It is anticipated that a growing number of medicines will use nanotechnology in the coming years as a result of the progress in the field. However, as nanotechnology develops, it is essential to consider both benefits and limitations of the technology including its potential risks. Current problems in the development of nanomedicine involve the toxicity and environmental effects of nanoscale compounds, but as the field develops, its impact on the economy is expected to be significant in the future.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a chronic autoimmune disorder which affects the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. A variety of strategies, namely, insulin replacement therapy, engineered vaccines, immunomodulators, etc., have been explored to correct this condition. Recent studies have attributed the development of T1D to the anomalous expression of microRNAs in the pancreatic islets. Here, we describe the protocol for the development of a theranostic approach to modify the expression of aberrant miRNAs. The MRI-based nanodrug consists of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles conjugated to microRNA-targeting oligonucleotides that can promote proliferation of pancreatic beta cells in a mouse model of T1D. This theranostic approach can successfully serve as a potential therapeutic approach for the targeted treatment of T1D with minimal side effects.
This article explores how technological risks and uncertainty carried by the international trade of biotechnology are regulated under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and have been governed by the WTO's judicial bodies. The article shows that the judicial evaluation of biotechnology risks is mostly justified in scientific terms and is still anchored to a quantitative approach. This, in turn, prevents WTO decisionmakers from performing a broader analysis of the societal purposes and impacts of technological innovations and, accordingly, their potential contributions to or disadvantages for the public interest. Given that, the present article investigates whether reliability can be claimed for WTO biotechnology decisions. In approaching this task, it elucidates the complex interplay between law, risks and science, and offers suggestions to enhance the reliability of biotechnology legal decisions and address the uncertainty surrounding the international trade of biotechnology.
The situation of the COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that we permanently need high-value flexible solutions to urgent clinical needs including simplified diagnostic technologies suitable for use in the field and for delivering targeted therapeutics. From our perspective nanotechnology is revealed as a vital resource for this, as a generic platform of technical solutions to tackle complex medical challenges. It is towards this perspective and focusing on nanomedicine that we take issue with Prof Park's recent editorial published in the Journal of Controlled Release. Prof. Park argued that in the last 15 years nanomedicine failed to deliver the promised innovative clinical solutions to the patients (Park, K. The beginning of the end of the nanomedicine hype. Journal of Controlled Release, 2019; 305, 221–222 [1]. We, the ETPN (European Technology Platform on Nanomedicine) [2], respectfully disagree. In fact, the more than 50 formulations currently in the market, and the recent approval of 3 key nanomedicine products (e. g. Onpattro, Hensify and Vyxeos), have demonstrated that the nanomedicine field is concretely able to design products that overcome critical barriers in conventional medicine in a unique manner, but also to deliver within the cells new drug-free therapeutic effects by using pure physical modes of action, and therefore make a difference in patients lives. Furthermore, the >400 nanomedicine formulations currently in clinical trials are expecting to bring novel clinical solutions (e.g. platforms for nucleic acid delivery), alone or in combination with other key enabling technologies to the market, including biotechnologies, microfluidics, advanced materials, biomaterials, smart systems, photonics, robotics, textiles, Big Data and ICT (information & communication technologies) more generally. However, we agree with Prof. Park that “ it is time to examine the sources of difficulty in clinical translation of nanomedicine and move forward “. But for reaching this goal, the investments to support clinical translation of promising nanomedicine formulations should increase, not decrease. As recently encouraged by EMA in its roadmap to 2025, we should create more unity through a common knowledge hub linking academia, industry, healthcare providers and hopefully policy makers to reduce the current fragmentation of the standardization and regulatory body landscape. We should also promote a strategy of cross-technology innovation, support nanomedicine development as a high value and low-cost solution to answer unmet medical needs and help the most promising innovative projects of the field to get better and faster to the clinic. This global vision is the one that the ETPN chose to encourage for the last fifteen years. All actions should be taken with a clear clinical view in mind, “ without any fanfare”, to focus “on what matters in real life”, which is the patient and his/her quality of life.
This ETPN overview of achievements in nanomedicine serves to reinforce our drive towards further expanding and growing the maturity of nanomedicine for global healthcare, accelerating the pace of transformation of its great potential into tangible medical breakthroughs.
Imaging plays a key role in the preclinical evaluation of nanomedicine-based drug delivery systems and it has provided important insights into their mechanism of action and therapeutic effect. Its role in supporting the clinical development of nanomedicine products, however, has been less explored. In this review, we summarize clinical studies in which imaging has provided valuable information on the pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and target site accumulation of nanomedicine-based drug delivery systems. Importantly, these studies provide convincing evidence on the uptake of nanomedicines in tumors, confirming that the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect is a real phenomenon in patients, albeit with fairly high levels of inter- and intraindividual variability. It is gradually becoming clear that imaging is critically important to help address this high heterogeneity. In support of this notion, a decent correlation between nanomedicine uptake in tumors and antitumor efficacy has recently been obtained in two independent studies in patients, exemplifying that image-guided drug delivery can help to pave the way towards individualized and improved nanomedicine therapies.
Cancer continues to be one of the most difficult global healthcare problems. Although there is a large library of drugs that can be used in cancer treatment, the problem is selectively killing all the cancer cells while reducing collateral toxicity to healthy cells. There are several biological barriers to effective drug delivery in cancer such as renal, hepatic, or immune clearance. Nanoparticles loaded with drugs can be designed to overcome these biological barriers to improve efficacy while reducing morbidity. Nanomedicine has ushered in a new era for drug delivery by improving the therapeutic indices of the active pharmaceutical ingredients engineered within nanoparticles. First generation nanomedicines have received widespread clinical approval over the past two decades, from Doxil® (liposomal doxorubicin) in 1995 to Onivyde® (liposomal irinotecan) in 2015. This review highlights the biological barriers to effective drug delivery in cancer, emphasizing the need for nanoparticles for improving therapeutic outcomes. A summary of different nanoparticles used for drug delivery applications in cancer are presented. The review summarizes recent successes in cancer nanomedicine in the clinic. The clinical trials of Onivyde leading to its approval in 2015 by the Food and Drug Adminstration are highlighted as a case study in the recent clinical success of nanomedicine against cancer. Next generation nanomedicines need to be better targeted to specifically destroy cancerous tissue, but face several obstacles in their clinical development, including identification of appropriate biomarkers to target, scale-up of synthesis, and reproducible characterization. These hurdles need to be overcome through multidisciplinary collaborations across academia, pharmaceutical industry, and regulatory agencies in order to achieve the goal of eradicating cancer. This review discusses the current use of clinically approved nanomedicines, the investigation of nanomedicines in clinical trials, and the challenges that may hinder development of the nanomedicines for cancer treatment.
Regenerative medicine (RM) is championed as a potential source of curative treatments for a variety of illnesses, and as a generator of economic wealth and prosperity. Alongside this optimism, however, is a sense of concern that the translation of basic science into useful RM therapies will be laboriously slow due to a range of challenges relating to live tissue handling and manufacturing, regulation, reimbursement and commissioning, and clinical adoption. This paper explores the attempts of stakeholders to overcome these innovation challenges and thus facilitate the emergence of useful RM therapies. The paper uses the notion of innovation niches as an analytical frame. Innovation niches are collectively constructed socio-technical spaces in which a novel technology can be tested and further developed, with the intention of enabling wider adoption. Drawing on primary and secondary data, we explore the motivation for, and the attempted construction of, niches in three domains which are central to the adoption of innovative technologies: the regulatory, the health economic, and the clinical. We illustrate that these niches are collectively constructed via both formal and informal initiatives, and we argue that they reflect wider socio-political trends in the social management of biomedical novelty.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses have become increasingly important in health care. Clinicians read them to keep up to date with their field [1],[2], and they are often used as a starting point for developing clinical practice guidelines. Granting agencies may require a systematic review to ensure there is justification for further research [3], and some health care journals are moving in this direction [4]. As with all research, the value of a systematic review depends on what was done, what was found, and the clarity of reporting. As with other publications, the reporting quality of systematic reviews varies, limiting readers' ability to assess the strengths and weaknesses of those reviews.
Several early studies evaluated the quality of review reports. In 1987, Mulrow examined 50 review articles published in four leading medical journals in 1985 and 1986 and found that none met all eight explicit scientific criteria, such as a quality assessment of included studies [5]. In 1987, Sacks and colleagues [6] evaluated the adequacy of reporting of 83 meta-analyses on 23 characteristics in six domains. Reporting was generally poor; between one and 14 characteristics were adequately reported (mean = 7.7; standard deviation = 2.7). A 1996 update of this study found little improvement [7].
In 1996, to address the suboptimal reporting of meta-analyses, an international group developed a guidance called the QUOROM Statement (QUality Of Reporting Of Meta-analyses), which focused on the reporting of meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials [8]. In this article, we summarize a revision of these guidelines, renamed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses), which have been updated to address several conceptual and practical advances in the science of systematic reviews (Box 1).
Box 1: Conceptual Issues in the Evolution from QUOROM to PRISMA
Completing a Systematic Review Is an Iterative Process
The conduct of a systematic review depends heavily on the scope and quality of included studies: thus systematic reviewers may need to modify their original review protocol during its conduct. Any systematic review reporting guideline should recommend that such changes can be reported and explained without suggesting that they are inappropriate. The PRISMA Statement (Items 5, 11, 16, and 23) acknowledges this iterative process. Aside from Cochrane reviews, all of which should have a protocol, only about 10% of systematic reviewers report working from a protocol [22]. Without a protocol that is publicly accessible, it is difficult to judge between appropriate and inappropriate modifications.
Nanotechnology, which involves manipulation of matter on a 'nano' scale, is considered to be a key enabling technology. Medical applications of nanotechnology (commonly known as nanomedicine) are expected to significantly improve disease diagnostic and therapeutic modalities and subsequently reduce health care costs. However, there is no consensus on the definition of nanotechnology or nanomedicine, and this stems from the underlying debate on defining 'nano'. This paper aims to present the diversity in the definition of nanomedicine and its impact on the translation of basic science research in nanotechnology into clinical applications. We present the insights obtained from exploratory qualitative interviews with 46 stakeholders involved in translational nanomedicine from Europe and North America. The definition of nanomedicine has implications for many aspects of translational research including: fund allocation, patents, drug regulatory review processes and approvals, ethical review processes, clinical trials and public acceptance. Given the interdisciplinary nature of the field and common interest in developing effective clinical applications, it is important to have honest and transparent communication about nanomedicine, its benefits and potential harm. A clear and consistent definition of nanomedicine would significantly facilitate trust among various stakeholders including the general public while minimizing the risk of miscommunication and undue fear of nanotechnology and nanomedicine.
Input from scientific experts and lay audiences plays an important role in the realization of scientific advances and scientific
policymaking. This study examines factors influencing expert and public attitudes toward the regulation of academic and commercial
nanotechnology. Compared to scientific experts, lay publics are more likely to support the regulation of academic nanotechnology,
with value predispositions playing a critical role in impacting such opinions. Among lay audiences, liberals and respondents
reporting higher levels of religiosity were more likely to support regulation of both academic and commercial nanotechnology
research, while those who paid greater attention to the media were more supportive of regulations for commercial research.
Across the two groups, perceptions of risks relative to benefits consistently predicted attitudes toward regulation. Importantly,
scientists rely less upon their value predispositions when forming regulatory attitudes, instead basing such attitudes on
perceptions of regulatory impacts on scientific progress. The regulatory implications of these findings are discussed.
In the introduction we explain why the relation between the Object and the Subject is a crucial problem of philosophy. The key point in understanding the Object-Subject relation is the vision on Reality that humans shared in different periods of the historical time. We next describe some historical aspects concerning the transdisciplinary concept of “level of Reality”, namely in relation with the work of John of the Ladder (c. 525–606), Nicolai Hartmann (1882-1950) and especially Werner Heisenberg (1901-1976). We finally analyze a unified theory of levels of Reality – the transdisciplinary approach, with its three axioms: levels of Reality, logic of included middle and complexity. We describe an important consequence of the transdisciplinary approach: the existence of a zone of non-resistance, which plays the role of a third between the Subject and the Object. This Hidden Third is an interaction term which allows the unification of the transdisciplinary Subject and the transdisciplinary Object while preserving their difference.
The number of studies that have been published on the topic of nanosafety speaks for itself. We have seen an almost exponential rise over the past 15 years or so in the number of articles on nanotoxicology. Although only a couple of hundred papers had appeared on the topic of "Nanomaterials: environmental and health effects" before 2000, this number has exploded to over 10 000 since 2001. Most of these studies, however, do not offer any kind of clear statement on the safety of nanomaterials. On the contrary, most of them are either self-contradictory or arrive at completely erroneous conclusions. Three years ago in this Journal we underscored the deficiencies in the way these studies were designed and pointed out the sources of error in the methods used. Now, on the basis of a comprehensive review of the literature and with the help of selected toxicological end points, we attempt to indicate where the significant weaknesses of these studies lie and what we must improve in the future.
Abstract
Social network theory and analytic tools have been increasingly used to examine the interaction between science and technology. Recently, researchers have paid attention to the role of publishing inventors, that is, individuals bridging the collaborative networks between authors (co-authorship network) and inventors (co-invention network). Building on this research, we study how publishing inventors’ structural position in the joint co-authorship and co-invention network affects the quality of the inventions to which they contribute. Specifically, we identify publishing inventors who play a pivotal role in holding the two networks together: their removal not only increases the network fragmentation but also disconnects the joint co-authorship and co-invention network. We define these publishing inventors as cutpoints and find them to contribute to inventions of greater quality. We situate the analysis within the context of the emerging field of nanotechnology. The theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed.
This thematic special issue of the Journal of Biomedical Nanotechnology focused on the “Reviews in Nanomedicine, Drug Delivery and Vaccine Development” contains 30 state-of-the-art review articles covering recent advances, trends and future directions emphasized on nanoparticle-based new strategies for diagnosis and cancer phototherapies, nanomedicine, nucleic acid-based nanocarriers, gene and drug delivery systems, tuberculosis mucosal and H5N1 influenza vaccines, drug-loaded electrospun polymer nanofibers, microneedle technology for insulin delivery for the treatment of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, RNA-based therapies, nanotoxicity and biosafety of nanomaterials to environment and human health.
The application of nanotechnology in areas of drug delivery and therapy (ie, nanotherapeutics) is envisioned to have a great impact on public health. The ability of nanotherapeutics to provide targeted drug delivery, improve drug solubility, extend drug half-life, improve a drug’s therapeutic index, and reduce a drug’s immunogenicity has resulted in the potential to revolutionize the treatment of many diseases. In this paper, we review the liposome-, nanocrystal-, virosome-, polymer therapeutic-, nanoemulsion-, and nanoparticle-based approaches to nanotherapeutics, which represent the most successful and commercialized categories within the field of nanomedicine. We discuss the regulatory pathway and initiatives endeavoring to ensure the safe and timely clinical translation of emerging nanotherapeutics and realization of health care benefits. Emerging trends are expected to confirm that this nano-concept can exert a macro-impact on patient benefits, treatment options, and the EU economy.
In this paper, we present a study of Science and Technology Studies (STS) perspectives on public engagement, specifically focusing on the gap between theory and practice. In aiming to develop a conceptual map of this gap, we identify five top topics of tension. These are related to the general questions of: “Why should we do public engagement?,” “Who should be involved?,” “How should it be organised?,” “When should it be done?” and “Where should it be grounded?” We employ nanotechnology as a paradigmatic case to help us explore these tensions. In practice, the choices one makes in relation to one topic of tension may influence the choices available for others. Enhanced awareness of the presence of these tensions, as well as their interconnections, can help build reflexive capacity and make visible the various alternative routes available for STS practitioners working in the “age of engagement.”
Using a keyword mining approach, this paper explores the interdisciplinary and
integrative dynamics in five nano research fields. We argue that the general trend of
integration in nano research fields is converging in the long run, although the degree of this
convergence depends greatly on the indicators one chooses. Our results show that nano
technologies applied in the five studied nano fields become more diverse over time. One
field learns more and more related technologies from others. The publication and citation
analysis also proves that nano technology has developed to a relatively mature stage and
has become a standardized and codified technology
Nanomedicine is a new field of research and industrial development which aims to use nano-objects for therapeutic purposes. Through miniaturisation, labs-on-chips can improve the performance of medical analysis and diagnosis, while biosensors become less invasive, hence better tolerated or implanted. With the development of nanoscale contrast agents, clinical imaging benefits from better resolution. In the field of therapy, nanocarriers can transport medicines right up to the sick tissue within the organism, while metal nanoparticles can be used for localised destruction of tumours. The possibility of combining diagnosis and therapy by means of these nano-objects (theranostics) also offers hope of improving medical practice generally. Likewise, the controlled combination of stem cells and biomaterials should lead to a new form of regenerative medicine, able to regenerate and repair damaged or destroyed tissue in vivo. This chapter deals precisely with these developments made possible by nanomedicine, discussing the relevant ethical problems which arise also for conventional medicine. It ends with a discussion of the industrial prospects, describing some of the many clinical trials now under way and the promise of innovative drugs for the benefit of the patient.
Fullerenes are carbon spheres presently being pursued globally for a wide range of applications in nanomedicine. These molecules have unique electronic properties that make them attractive candidates for diagnostic, therapeutic and theranostic applications. Herein, the latest research is discussed on developing fullerene-based therapeutics as antioxidants for inflammatory diseases, their potential as antiviral/bacterial agents, utility as a drug delivery device and the promise of endohedral fullerenes as new MRI contrast agents. The recent discovery that certain fullerene derivatives can stabilize immune effector cells to prevent or inhibit the release of proinflammatory mediators makes them potential candidates for several diseases such as asthma, arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Gadolinium-containing endohedral fullerenes are being pursued as diagnostic MRI contrast agents for several diseases. Finally, a new class of fullerene-based theranostics has been developed, which combine therapeutic and diagnostic capabilities to specifically detect and kill cancer cells.
Our research examines how parties challenging established social systems collaborate with defenders of those systems to achieve mutual goals. With field interviews and observations from four community projects in the open-source movement, we examine how these projects collaborated with firms defending proprietary approaches to software development. Drawing on social movement and organizational theory, we explain how challenging parties not only mobilize to achieve their goals but how they are able to transform contestation into collaboration. Open-source projects and firms held divergent interests but discovered areas of convergent interest and were able to adapt their organizing practices to collaborate through the creation of a boundary organization. By showing how boundary organizations help challengers and defenders manage four critical domains of organizing practices—governance, membership, ownership, and control over production—we provide analytic levers for determining when boundary organizations work. At the same time, we reveal the subsequent triadic role structure that unfolded among communities, the boundary organizations they designed, and firms.
Since the end of World War II, biology and medicine have merged in remarkably productive ways. In this book Peter Keating and Alberto Cambrosio analyze the transformation of medicine into biomedicine and its consequences, ranging from the recasting of hospital architecture to the redefinition of the human body, disease, and therapeutic practices. To describe this new alignment between the normal and the pathological, the authors introduce the notion of the biomedical platform. Defined as a specific configuration of instruments, individuals, and programs, biomedical platforms generate routines, entities, and activities, held together by standard reagents and protocols. Biological entities such as cell surface markers, oncogenes, and DNA profiles now exist as both normal biological components of the organism and as pathological signs—that is, as biomedical substances. The notion of a biomedical platform allows researchers interested in the development of contemporary medicine to describe events and processes overlooked by other approaches.
The authors focus on a specific biomedical platform known as immunophenotyping. They describe its emergence as an experimental system with roots in biology (immunology) and pathology (oncology). They recount how this experimental system was transformed into a biomedical platform initially for the diagnosis of leukemia and subsequently for other diseases such as AIDS. Through this case study, they show that a biomedical platform is the bench upon which conventions concerning the biological or normal are connected with conventions concerning the medical or pathological. They observe that new platforms are often aligned with existing ones and integrated into an expanding set of clinical-biological strategies.
Interorganizational Networks A New Institution A Typology of Cooperative Interorganizational Relationships and Networks What is Coordination? Environmental Determinants of Network Systems External Control and Technology Structural Properties Centrality, Size, Complexity, Differentiation, and Connectedness Conflict and Interorganizational Effectiveness The Failure of Evolution Theoretical Implications, Practical Recommendations, and Global Applications
Nanomedicine is one of the most dynamic, lucrative and productive contemporary research streams; it is playing an intimate role in the progression of modern medicine through the development of new and highly innovative treatments as well as improving and enhancing established techniques. But what is nanomedicine and why the pomp and ceremony? This chapter aims to dissect nanomedicine with the intention of both defining it as a field and demonstrating its worthiness to receive the title of ‘revolutionary interdiscipline’. With this in mind, the field is introduced as combination of three distinct subsections: nanobiotechnology, nanotechnology and nanobiomimetics, and also through the two main synthetic approaches, top-down and bottom-up, both of which are pivotal in separating the enhancement of existing technology from the development of revolutionary new technology.
The precautionary principle was first spelled out, at the EC level, in the field of environmental protection by the Maastricht Treaty. The ECJ dealt with some issues relating to a precautionary approach since 1994, in particular after the BSE cases.
Sociologists have long believed that psychology alone can't explain what happens when people work together in complex modern societies. In contrast, most psychologists and economists believe that we can explain much about social life with an accurate theory of how individuals make choices and act on them. R. Keith Sawyer argues, however, that societies are complex dynamical systems, and that the best way to resolve these debates is by developing the concept of emergence, paying attention to multiple levels of analysis--individuals, interactions, and groups--with a dynamic focus on how social group phenomena emerge from communication processes among individual members.
Such diverse thinkers as Lao-Tze, Confucius, and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have all pointed out that we need to be able to tell the difference between real and assumed knowledge. The systematic review is a scientific tool that can help with this difficult task. It can help, for example, with appraising, summarising, and communicating the results and implications of otherwise unmanageable quantities of data. This book, written by two highly-respected social scientists, provides an overview of systematic literature review methods: Outlining the rationale and methods of systematic reviews; Giving worked examples from social science and other fields; Applying the practice to all social science disciplines; It requires no previous knowledge, but takes the reader through the process stage by stage; Drawing on examples from such diverse fields as psychology, criminology, education, transport, social welfare, public health, and housing and urban policy, among others. Including detailed sections on assessing the quality of both quantitative, and qualitative research; searching for evidence in the social sciences; meta-analytic and other methods of evidence synthesis; publication bias; heterogeneity; and approaches to dissemination.
As interest grows in the design, construction, and operation of nanofacilities for R&D and manufacturing, IEST addresses the question: What does it take to do nanotech work?
We situate the Special Research Forum on Organizational Ecology in the program of ecological research on organizations. We begin with a broad description of organizational ecology's theoretical and empirical development based on the contents of prior collections of work in the field. We then highlight key issues facing ecological research, outline how the articles in this special research forum are linked by common threads, and discuss their contributions. We close with suggested directions for future research.
Nanomedicines are highly complex products and are the result of difficult to control manufacturing processes. Nonbiological complex drugs and their biological counterparts can comprise nanoparticles and therefore show nanomedicine characteristics. They consist of not fully known nonhomomolecular structures, and can therefore not be characterized by physicochemical means only. Also, intended copies of nanomedicines (follow-on similars) may have clinically meaningful differences, creating the regulatory challenge of how to grant a high degree of assurance for patients' benefit and safety. As an example, the current regulatory approach for marketing authorization of intended copies of nonbiological complex drugs appears inappropriate; also, a valid strategy incorporating the complexity of such systems is undefined. To demonstrate sufficient similarity and comparability, a stepwise quality, nonclinical and clinical approach is necessary to obtain market authorization for follow-on products as therapeutic alternatives, substitution and/or interchangeable products. To fill the regulatory gap, harmonized and science-based standards are needed.
Introduction - the systems approach to understanding technological change, Jane Ummerton. Part 1 Combining old and new technologies to reshape systems: recombining large technical systems - the case of European organ transplantation, Ingo Braun and Bernward Joerges changing embedded systems - the economics and politics of innovation in American railroad signalling, 1876-1914, Steven W. Usselman integrating supple technologies into utility power systems - possibilities for reconfiguration, Alexandra Suchard the normal accident of July 1914, Arden Bucholz. Part 2 Crossing borders reconfigures systems: transformation through integration - the unification of German telecommunications, Tobias Robischon multinationals in transition - global technical integration and the role of corporate telecommunication networks, Volker Schneider the Australian electric power industry and the politics of radical reconfiguration, Stephen M. Salsbury economics of changing grid systems - competition in the electricity supply industry, Olivier Coutard. Part 3 Confronting incompatibilities between changing systems and their cultures: the Internet challenge - conflict and compromise in computer networking, Jane Abbate broken plowshare - system failure and the nuclear power industry, Gene I. Rochlin. Part 4 Controlling the car - will the system change?: car traffic at the crossroads - new technologies for cars, traffic systems and their interaction, Reiner Grundmann rethinking road traffic as social interaction, Oskar Juhlin. Part 5 The logic of systemic technology: four notes on systemic technology, Svante Beckman. Part 6 Concluding comments: conclusion, Jane Summerton.
Understanding the knowledge-diffusion networks of patent inventors can help governments and businesses effectively use their investment to stimulate commercial science and technology development. Such inventor networks are usually large and complex. This study proposes a multidimensional network analysis framework that utilizes Exponential Random Graph Models (ERGMs) to simultaneously model knowledge-sharing and knowledge-transfer processes, examine their interactions, and evaluate the impacts of network structures and public funding on knowledge-diffusion networks. Experiments are conducted on a longitudinal data set that covers 2 decades (1991–2010) of nanotechnology-related US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) patents. The results show that knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer are closely interrelated. High degree centrality or boundary inventors play significant roles in the network, and National Science Foundation (NSF) public funding positively affects knowledge sharing despite its small fraction in overall funding and upstream research topics.
In this article we argue that nanotechnology represents an extraordinary opportunity to build in a robust role for the social sciences in a technology that remains at an early, and hence undetermined, stage of development. We examine policy dynamics in both the United States and United Kingdom aimed at both opening up, and closing down, the role of the social sciences in nanotechnologies. We then set out a prospective agenda for the social sciences and its potential in the future shaping of nanotechnology research and innovation processes. The emergent, undetermined nature of nanotechnologies calls for an open, experimental, and interdisciplinary model of social science research.
This study examines the role of professional associations in a changing, highly institutionalized organizational field and suggests that they play a significant role in legitimating change. A model of institutional change is outlined, of which a key stage is "theorization," the process whereby organizational failings are conceptualized and linked to potential solutions. Regulatory agencies, such as professional associations, play an important role in theorizing change, endorsing local innovations and shaping their diffusion.
Nanotechnology is the first major worldwide research initiative of the 21st century. Nanotechnologies are applied to cross industrial problems and are a general purpose technology that acts as both a basis for technology solutions or at the convergence of other enabling technologies, like biotechnologies, computational sciences, physical sciences, communication technologies, cognitive sciences, social psychology and other social sciences. Nanotechnologies are pervasive solution vectors in our economic environment. It is necessary to develop new methods to assess nanotechnologies development to better understand nanotechnology based innovation. As general purpose and enabling technologies, nanotechnologies reveal commercialization processes, from start-ups to large firms in collaboration with public sector research, and which lead to changing patterns of industrial organization which influence public policy initiatives to foster their development.
In this study, I examine whether Americans’ emotions and opinions about nanotechnology are influenced by how the issue is framed. Using data collected from an experiment embedded within a national survey, I find consistent framing effects even though the magnitudes of respondents’ opinion changes are not especially large. Frames about specific risks and benefits of nanotechnology are more influential than frames based on general beliefs about the merits of science, and framing nanotechnology as beneficial is only somewhat less powerful than framing it as risky. I conclude by discussing the implications of these framing effects for future mass opinions about nanotechnology.
This article measures the impact of public grants, private contracts and collaboration on the scientific production of Canadian nanotechnology academics. The paper estimates a time-related model of the impact of academic research financing and network structure on the research output of individual academics measured by the number of papers. Results suggest that the effect of individual public funding follows a J-shaped curve. Although contracts have no effects, the impact of patenting follows an inverted-U shaped curve. In addition, a strong central position in the past collaborative network has a positive effect on research output.
Over the past two decades or so, historians of science have lamented the limitations of internalist history and celebrated the rise of contextual history. Historians of technology, however, have not accepted the location, by historians of science, of technology within the context of science. Historians of technology see an interaction, rather than contextual dependency. A few historians and sociologists of science and technology are now suggesting `networks' and `systems' as the preferred version of the interactive approach, with the interaction occurring not simply between science and technology, but also among a host of actors and institutions. Networks and systems eliminate many categories in favour of a `seamless web', which may lead to a new appreciation of the complex narrative style.
It is often argued that ANT fails to offer a satisfactory theory of the actor which is allegedly endowed either with limitless power, or deprived of any room for manoeuvre at all. The aim of this paper is to show that the absence of a theory of the actor, when combined with the role attributed to non-humans in the description of action, is precisely one of the strengths of ANT that it is most important to preserve. This is because this combination makes it possible to explain the existence and the working of economic markets. Any particular market is the consequence of operations of disentanglement, framing, internalization and externalization. ANT makes it possible to explain these operations and the emergence of calculating agents. Homo economicus is neither a pure invention, nor an impoverished vision of a real person. It indeed exists, but is the consequence of a process in which economic science places an active role. The conclusion is that ANT has passed one of the most demanding tests: that of the market.