SMC Heads-Up:GM Pine attack, issues for new scientists and Chinese medicines analysed
Issue 177 - April
13 - 19
Prospects for
emerging
researchers
The New
Zealand Association of Scientists will hold its annual
conference on Monday in a forum that will focus on emerging
scientists and the opportunities that exist for them as they
embark on their careers.The conference will
feature senior scientists, policy makers and science funding
administrators and be addressed by David Carter, Minister
for Primary Industries and of Local Government and David
Shearer, leader of the Labour Party, and spokesperson for
Science and Innovation.
In a scene-setting piece outlining some of the issues the conference will explore, NZAS president Professor Shaun Hendy writes that the way science is practiced is changing and that New Zealand has to adapt quickly.
"Big scientific problems require big teams these days and our current institutional arrangements, with their high transaction costs and researcher-scale accountabilities, are ill-suited to meet such challenges. Putting together large, multi-institutional teams to tackle complex problems remains depressingly difficult in the New Zealand environment".
Hendy, who has researched how innovation ecosystems work and measured the benefits that come from research-based collaborations, said post-doctoral fellowships were a crucial part of a scientist's training.
"New Zealand is always going to be a small player on the global science and technology scene, yet we make ourselves even smaller by taking a fragmented, opaque and often haphazard approach to doing science."
The Minister of Science and Innovation, Steven Joyce yesterday announced changes to the Rutherford Discovery Fellowships as a result of consultation with the science sector. Joyce is travelling and will be unable to attend the NZAS conference.
The SMC will be gathering commentary and recording podcasts during the conference which will be available on our website.
On the science radar...
Giraffes' old coats, bee-mite battles, a martian monolith, oil-cleaning water, and the lady in red?
GM pine
trials vandalised in Rotorua
Police are investigating a break-in at
a radiata pine field trial facility in Rotorua after
hundreds of genetically-modified year-old trees were slashed and uprooted over
Easter.
Jon Hickford
The
intruders were clever - they not only cut through perimeter
fences but tunneled under a monitored security fence to get
to the trees, which were planted about a year ago. Scion,
the Crown research institute undertaking the trial, reckons
the damage amounts to around $400,000.
It will put back
the research - which involves two trials testing herbicide
resistance and methods of growing denser woods - by one to
two years, but Scion has vowed to carry on the research.
Nevertheless, the successful attack is a blow to the already
depleted research into genetically modified organisms
underway in New Zealand.
Some scientists now fear that
our ability to undertake GM research is so depleted due to
the well-orchestrated attacks against it and the fear and
doubt this has raised in the public consciousness, that we
risk losing our edge in agricultural science.
Associate Professor, Jon Hickford, who is President of the New Zealand Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, told the Science Media Centre:
"While we might think we can bury our heads in the sand and not be involved in GM research, this is unlikely to convince anyone outside of NZ.
"It will quite obviously further damage the morale of scientists, who as a professional group are demonstrably poorly paid and who suffer poor job security as well."
Attacks on GM field trial facilities have sporadically disrupted research over the years:
1999: Activist group "Wild Greens" uproot a genetically modified trial potato crop at Lincoln
2002: Three years of research in GM potatoes ruined when a Crop & Food trial is destroyed by activists.
The Environmental Protection Agency last month called for submissions on GM trial applications. A group including University of Auckland, Massey University, the University of Otago, Lincoln University, Scion Research, AgResearch, ViaLactia Biosciences New Zealand, Plant & Food Research, and Canterbury University made two applications to use genetically modified Arabidopsis thaliana - (thale cress), in containment.
The EPA noted: "The group propose all GM Arabidopsis research at these research organisations will comply with a standardised set of controls to ensure the plant remains securely contained, aligning international best practice procedures in New Zealand laboratories".
'Dangers' in Chinese medicine - study
A DNA
analysis of several traditional Chinese medicine products
has revealed illegal and potentially toxic ingredients.
Researchers detected genetic material from the Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) and the saiga antelope (Saiga tatarica) which are classified by the IUCN Red List as 'vulnerable' and 'critically endangered' respectively. Products derived from these animals are illegal to trade according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) legislation.
The analysis also detected DNA from illegal and potentially toxic plants (Ephedra and Asarum).
"TCMs have a long cultural history, but today consumers need to be aware of the legal and health safety issues before adopting them as a treatment option," Dr Mike Bunce, research leader and Murdoch University Australian Research Council Future Fellow, said.
The findings come as the parliament Health Select Committee is considering the Natural Health Products bill, which aims to tighten regulations around the manufacture, sale and labeling of natural health products in New Zealand.
Professor Shaun Holt, Victoria University of Wellington,
and member of interim expert committee for the Natural
Health Product Regulation Bill, highlighted three main
problems with TCMs:
• a lack of clinical data on safety
and efficacy
• concerns about product quality and
contamination
• the inclusion of ingredients from
endangered animal species
"I have no doubt that future
research will demonstrate the efficacy and safety of some
products, and that quality control will improve to
acceptable levels," Prof Holt said.
"But currently, I personally would not use or recommend any TCM biological product for the reasons outlined above."
Further information and commentary can be found here.
Quoted:beehive.govt.nz
"If you have useful innovation, you will have a ready market, you will be able to access capital, you will be able to hire the skilled people, you will be able to use resources more efficiently, and you will be able to afford to access the infrastructure to support you.
"If we want faster economic growth for our country then innovation is essential."
-- Hon Steven Joyce, Minister of Science and Innovation
New
from the SMC
Experts
Respond: Chinese Medicines: Indonesian
Quake: Dental x-rays:
In the
news:
Rex machinas: A senior Indian Congress leader who was wheelchair bound for 8 years is back on his feet thanks to Rex Bionics, an innovative New Zealand mobility solutions company.
Ripped knickers, forensic insights: New research from the University of Otago examines how underwear fabric tears under experimental conditions, aiming to provide forensic data for sexual assault cases.
SKA Split?:
Political pressure may lead to the much sought-after Square
Kilometer Array project being split between Africa and
Australasia, rather than being based in either one or the
other as originally
discussed.
Reflections:
NZAS on emerging scientists: New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) president Professor Shaun Hendy.addresses the question of whether emerging scientists still have a future in New Zealand.
Sciblogs highlights
Some of the highlights from this week's posts:
Nope, we are not going to hell in a
handcart- Futurist and author Mark Stevenson has been in
Wellington, espousing "unashamed optimism about the future,"
reports Peter Kerr.
sticK
The shape wind to come- Bryan Walker
gets to grips with a new report from NZ Wind Energy
Association (NZWEA), setting out their vision for the coming
years
Hot Topic
Tearing knickers and why it needs to be
done- Despite all we know about forensics, we need to
looking for more clues says Anna Sandiford.
Forensic
Scientist
NZ ETS to be watered down (again), but
emissions news good - Gareth Renowden analyses the
latest announcements regarding the NZ Emissions Trading
Scheme.
Hot Topic
Research
highlights
Please note: hyperlinks point, where possible, to the relevant abstract or paper.
Ladybirds may combat invasive pest:
NZ scientists say that growers may be able to
combat a relatively-new pest insect incursion -- invasive
tomato-potato psyllids (TPP) -- by using a natural enemy
already established here... ladybirds. Lincoln researchers
say two Australian ladybirds which have naturalised here may
be able to make a meal of the pests, reducing the reliance
of growers on frequent applications of insecticides with
highly variable results. TB model
offers solutions for deer farmers: 12 APR: Want to look bigger? Get a
gun: 11 APR: Escaping
salmon benefit ecosystems: Re-programming drug memories:
Biological Control
Preventive Veterinary
Medicine
PLoS ONE
PLoS Biology
Fragile X
syndrome reversed in mice: A new compound reverses
many of the major symptoms associated with Fragile X
syndrome (FXS), that causes inherited intellectual
disability and autism. Inhibiting a receptor for an
excitatory neurotransmitter, glutamate, may mitigate major
symptoms, according to mouse studies. Around 1000 New
Zealanders are affected by FXS and 8000 New Zealanders are
thought to be carriers.
Neuron
Science
Policy updates
Some of the policy highlights
from this week:
New Marsden conveners:
Science and Innovation Minister Steven Joyce today announced the appointment of three new
convenors to the Marsden Fund Council: Dr Ian Ferguson
(Cellular, Molecular and Physiological Biology Panel),
Professor Jari Kaipio (Mathematical and Information Sciences
Panel) and Professor Robert Hannah (Humanities Panel). Dr
Grant Scobie returns for a second term (Economics and Human
and Behavioural Sciences Panel).
Pharma spending up: Health Minister Tony Ryall says despite tight times, spending on pharmaceuticals increased by $180 million over the last three years. "This is a significant investment giving more New Zealanders access to subsidised medicines." Mr Ryall said.
Upcoming sci-tech events
• Implementing lessons learnt - The 2012
Annual General Meeting of the New Zealand Society for
Earthquake Engineering - April 13-15,
Christchurch.
• New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS)
2012 conference - April 16, Wellington.
• Pacific Edge - HRC Pacific Health
Research Fono 2012 - April 18-19, Auckland.
• Blue Energy: from International Vision to
Reality - Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association
(AWATEA)'s annual conference - April 19-20, Wellington.
For these and more upcoming events, and
more details about them, visit the SMC's Events Calendar.
ENDS