Contexts of Scientific and Technological Discovery and Creation
The "criteria by which scientific discoveries are vetted and accepted" within the globally dominant structure of knowledge and its institutional expressions, of which modern science is a part, are straightforward.
This epistemic system being globally dominant, these procedures are accepted by those trained in the specialised skills in various disciplines and the laypeople who accept these conventions. The essence of the procedures are broadly uniform across disciplines, what differs is the specific interpretation of these procedures in various disciplines.
The essence of the procedures is mutual assessment by anyone with the universally acknowledged body of skills to make this assessment.
One may describe scientific and technological discovery and creation as taking place within two major contexts. These contexts are represented by the institutions that define the globally dominant structure of knowledge and those outside it.
The globally dominant structure of knowledge is defined by the metaphysical and epistemic forms that became dominant in Europe after the 17th century Scientific Revolution. This structure of knowledge is centred in understanding reality through methods that may be assessed by anyone who has developed the necessary skills.
This principle applies across all disciplines, including those that privilege subjectivity, such as the arts, in the sense that even the subjective has to be open to evaluation as to its contribution to knowledge in a particular context.
Wellek and Warren seemed to have addressed this question in some depth in relation to literature in their Theory of Literature while Hans-Georg Gadamer on aesthetics in general is described as privileging the subjective in Truth and Method, but, in relation to Gadamer's background in intellectual culture from Kant to Heidegger, I expect he will be concerned to address the idea of the subjective as a domain of knowledge both private and universal, therefore open to evaluation, to a degree.
This structure of knowledge privileges the public dissemination of information through organs that may be accessed by the public and where informed members of the public may evaluate the information provided. These disseminatory organs privilege communication in natural language as well as the artificial languages of the sciences, languages which the system's institutions are dedicated to teaching.
A discovery that understands itself as operating within this context would be presented in what is called an academic journal, a gathering place for experts in the field to discuss ideas presented by fellow experts.
Along with this process, it is also relevant to have a new process for creating something, a drug or even a mechanical object, registered with a patent office. The patent office ensures that you have sole rights to monetary gains from this process for a particular number of years, so you may reap financial rewards of your labour.
This patent office may theoretically be located anywhere in the world. The patent office also hires experts to assess the claims you make in your presentation of a new idea. Albert Einstein, one of the greatest innovators in modern thought, worked in one such office in Berne, Switzerland when he wrote his three epochal scientific papers published in 1905.
Various contributions from Nigerian institutions and commentators in the wake of a claim to an AIDS cure attributed this year to Prof. Ibeh of the University of Benin sum up the specifics of these procedures with reference to science and a focus on medicine.
NAFDAC: National Agency for Food and Drug Administration:
"There is a laid down protocol for determining efficacy and safety of new medicines and this must be strictly adhered to by all."
University of Benin:
"There are protocols and procedures. Going from stage to stage, we give it
1. clinical trials
2. which will take it to the Federal Ministry of Health to do [further] clinical trials [ and many other procedures]
3. We will equally have to take it to NAFDAC, and many other things have to be done before you come out with your claims,
4. and even take it to the World Health Organization
Specifics:
Ethics Procedures at the Initial Research Stage
Ibrahim Musa
[Such research must begin with ] Institution review board/ethical clearance committee[approval]very pertinent/cardinal in the field of Medicine; where humans are the subject of the research.
No serious journal will publish an article that has humans as subjects without getting a copy of the ethical clearance from [the] review board.
Assessment of Research Results by Experts
Abba Gumel-Professor of Mathematics
1. Academics... subject their work to the rigorous scrutiny of their peers...and, if accepted, these breakthroughs are published in top quality journals.
2. Breakthroughs in medical sciences...are published in the top medical sciences journals, such as Nature, Science, PNAS, Lancet, PloS Medicine etc.
3. [After] preclinical studies getting published for the scientific community to scrutunised the findings...a drug goes in to clinical trials
Patenting
Ado Abubakar sums up the initial stages and points to the subject of patents
1.It will be good to know the IRB processes [Institution review board/ethical clearance committee] and approval followed
2.What is the reproducibility of their work
3. When are they or have they started the process/ of patency?
Joseph Igietseme-Professor of Medicine
1. ...initial experimental results will enable a scientist or inventor to file a patent; and the filler can broaden the scope of the results as much as allowed by the patent filling office.
2. What most scientists do is to file a patent and later publish the results; that secures the patent such that nobody else can file patent ownership when the results are published or publicized.
Folorunso Oludayo Fasina, Veterinary Science academic
1. You submit your material for a patent and you send an accompanied document for publication in a reputable journal, whichever comes first, the other work is still protected.
2. ....once the claim has been submitted by you and is under investigation, nobody will be permitted to submit same until your work is proved or thrown out. Once you have the patent...you are in millions (or billions in the case of HIV) because you've got 10 full years to make money unabated. All pharmaceutical companies will be courting you.
Stevek
[A] Patent....means that anyone that uses the knowledge after the patent is in place must do so with the permission of the patent holder - usually by paying the patent holder - or face a lawsuit for damages.
For drugs or medications, the patented drug is under the brand of the patent holder and no one else can manufacture it under a brand other than the patent holder's without permission or authorization by the patent holder. The drugs or medications revert to 'generic' after the patent period has expired. After this time, the drugs or medication can be manufactured under any brand without permission or authorization.
Patent registration is [much] different [from] making a new song and publishing it to claim ownership.
The requirement for patent granting include uniqueness (the product has never, formally, existed prior) and validation (the product is real, proof of doing what it claims to do and is different from other products that do the same thing, and proof of transparent reproducibility).
Summation
Segun Olude
Science wants to measure and test, apply and repeat in a consistent manner, even if there are side effects and contraindications.
I think it all centres around measurable, repeatable, portable results...[proof] that any claim is repeatable, and medications can be administered in measurable doses
Lets address medicine specifically. If there is an outbreak of influenza, Western science is able to administer exactly the same medicine and dosage to thousands of people at the same time..., they can administer specifically designed solutions that can be repeated over and over [thereby developing] solutions that can help millions of people at once.
Philosophy of Science
The subject of criteria for acceptance of scientific achievement and the implications of this is perennially explored in the philosophy of science, as represented, for example by the the work of Karl Popper, exemplified by The Logic of Scientific Discovery, by Paul Feyerabend in Against Method, by Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions and more recent work, such as that of Tian Yu Cao, exemplified by Conceptual Developments of Twentieth Century Field Theories ( a superb introduction accessible to the layperson) and his contributions to Conceptual Foundations of Quantum Field Theory ( characteristically lucid and yet conceptually and yet poetically rigorous introduction and first chapter) and possibly James Gleick's Chaos.
Sources
Nigeria: NAFDAC Probes Uniben Professor's HIV/Aids Cure Claims
Nigeria's University of Benin disowns professor claiming AIDS cure
The message lists of the Nigerian centred listerves
| NaijaObserver, NaijaPolitics, NIgerianWorldForum, talkhard, nigerianid, edo-nationality, afenmai@yahoogroups.com, nigerianbiomedicalandlifescientists, Raariga under various threads beginning with the thread "UNIBEN Prof announces alleged cure for HIV/AIDS" of January 8, 2012 at thenigerianbiomedicalandlifescientists yahoo group
Thanks
Toyin |
"it would be nice to know the criteria by which scientific discoveries are vetted and accepted. i know how we do so in my field, african literary studies and cinema studies; and i am sure scientists have standards for publication of results, but don't have a clue what they are. my impression is that our list is comprised of social scientists and humanities people. if there are scientists out there, they can inform us." kenDear Professor Harrow,I was about to ask my friends at NIH and the US patent office (yes, ultra-right conservative Ikhide has friends in the right places) to give me something to comply with your request and then Esu elegbara the wise made me stop in my foolish tracks. And I realized that this was perhaps a trick question whose response already has a response written thusly:"thanks ikhide for the prompt response, I appreciate this. who can read this and not realize that this insistence on unreasonable standards by the racist white man is racially biased against poor african nations whose only crime is that they are too poor to have standards? as my good friend mbembe would say, who cares about standards, a snake is dead, who cares who killed it? imperialism kills the poor!"Agbaza! Laff wan reduce my subsidy! (LWRMS). Abeg I nor fit shout! *cycles away slowly*- Ikhide [But of course]Stalk my blog at http://www.xokigbo.com/Follow me on Twitter: @ikhideJoin me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ikhideFrom: kenneth harrow <harrow@msu.edu>
To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com
Sent: Saturday, January 12, 2013 9:04 AM
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - 'How we developed new cancer drug' - Professor Wole Soboyejo (President, AUST)
it would be nice to know the criteria by which scientific discoveries are vetted and accepted. i know how we do so in my field, african literary studies and cinema studies; and i am sure scientists have standards for publication of results, but don't have a clue what they are. my impression is that our list is comprised of social scientists and humanities people. if there are scientists out there, they can inform us. ken-- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "USA-Africa Dialogue Series" moderated by Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin. For current archives, visit http://groups.google.com/group/USAAfricaDialogue For previous archives, visit http://www.utexas.edu/conferences/africa/ads/index.html To post to this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to USAAfricaDialogue- unsubscribe@googlegroups.comOn 1/11/13 10:19 PM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU wrote:
I posted Segun Dawodu's sceptical response to show one view.
On second thought, I hereby note it is very, very, important we applaud these research efforts from scholars in struggling countries like Nigeria.
The very fact of conducting research, and ambitious research of global ramifications as that on AIDS at the University of Benin and this on cancer at the African University of Science and Technology , indicates a culture of marked and possibly great creativity which will have various mutiplier effects whether or not the end goals are reached.
If they are reached,Nigerian enters the world map of scientific achievement.
These efforts demonstrate that we are on the world map of scientific endeavour even if it is not so reported by media outside Nigeria.
thankstoyin
--On Sat, Jan 12, 2013 at 3:11 AM, OLUWATOYIN ADEPOJU <tvade3@gmail.com> wrote:
I will take it that Wole was wrongly quoted.
Segun--On Sat, Jan 12, 2013 at 1:17 AM, Mobolaji Aluko <alukome@gmail.com> wrote:
GUARDIAN
'How we developed new cancer drug'
The African University of Science and Technology (AUST) is the first of the Nelson Mandela Institutions (NMIs), established in Abuja, in 2007 as a centre of excellence in science and technology with a focus on African development. The university is making history with some of its research results. Top on the list is its Bio-electro-mechanical systems (BioMEMS) for the localized treatment of breast and prostate cancer. In this interview with The Guardian, the President of the University, Professor Wole Soboyejo, a Professor of Materials Science from Princeton University in the United States of America explains how the new localised cancer treatment works, while also listing other feats the university has accomplished. He spoke with the duo of MOHAMMED ABUBABAR and EMEKA ANUFORO in Abuja. Excerpts.THE idea of setting up the University was to advance research for development on the continent. How far have you gone with accomplishing some of those mandates; what milestones do you have to celebrate so far?In terms of advancing research, we have two key thrusts. One is to do research that can impact African development, research that addresses our needs in terms of health, in terms of water, energy and infrastructure. And within that structure, we have targeted a number of our projects where we have groups of people that are working on funded programmes, mostly funded by the World Bank STEP-B programme, and also by the African Development Bank and some of our industry stakeholders. In the area of technology for human health, our focus has been on developing nanotechnology platforms for detecting and treating cancer. Cancer is the second biggest killer of people in our society. At the moment it kills 22 per cent of all people and by the year 2030, it will kill 33 per cent of all people. This is the silent killer. It is much bigger than TB, Malaria and HIV all put together.The issues there are early detection. We don't have good methods for detecting cancer early in our society. The second issue is reducing the severity of the treatment that people get in the form of chemotherapy. What we did was that we took some researches that have started when I was at Princeton University with the support of various funding agencies and domiciled the research here in Africa.We have identified a new drug that you can synthesize; actually we use bacteria synthesis to make the drug. We have tested that drug and compared its efficacy against that of the standard drug that is known as Taxol, which is used typically in the treatment of cancer. Taxol was a drug that was developed a number of years ago. It is the most commonly used drug for chemotherapy. Now, there are two unique aspects. Beyond having a new drug, the other aspect is using nano-particles to deliver the drug. So, we have actually synthesized those nano-particles here in Abuja. These nano-particles have sizes and shapes that are small enough so that when you inject them into the body, they go through the blood vessels, through the capillaries and attach specifically to the tumour site. We have also done a work to look at the effects of concentration on the killing of cancer cells and we have shown that those drugs are effective.So, the next step that we are now preparing to do is to do the experiment on smaller animals in a bioethical way. We have basically appointed a bioethics committee and we are now getting the necessary approvals such that we can show that the drugs shrink the cancer cells and compare that shrinkage to that of the standard cancer drug Taxol. Essentially, we are excited because we have something concrete that we can show in that area.A complimentary part of this is that we have also designed and made the second generation of the device such that when the cancer is discovered and cut out, it can finish up any remaining cancer cells. You know you are never sure if you have taken out all the cancer cells, like breast cancer. What we have done is that we have developed this device that is almost like a sponge that you soak in the drug and then when you leave it at body temperature, that drug such sips out, it diffuses out and then kills any remaining cells that are cancerous in that domain in a way that minimizes the risks of missing some tumour cells.What makes the device a landmark?What is exciting about it is that that second generation device has been made here. Even more exciting is that we have some works where we have embedded sensors that would allow us to monitor the release of the drug, and control the release without the candidate having to go through a challenging sort of operations to achieve this. So, in that area, we have been very focused, and thanks to the STEP-B programme, we are now at the point where we are beginning to sort of do the animal testing. Within another year or two, that puts us in the domain where we can do human trials, so that we can deliver on real devices. This is the key thing.At the lower level, we have started some work with some people in computer imaging, computer vision, and one of the big issues, especially for women, is this idea of cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is increasingly becoming a leading cause of death in women. It is often caused by infection by the human papilomavirus.If men are promiscuous, they kill women because, essentially, if you come into contact with women with the human papilomavirus, when you interact with your wife or your spouse, you transmit it, and eventually that becomes cervical cancer. One of the big challenges we have in our society is that we don't have check-ups. In societies where they have checkups, the incidences have gone down. When I first came into contact with this problem, it turned out that there is something called colposcope. It costs about 30, 000 US Dollars, but it is actually a digital camera with image analysis software. We have shrunk something that costs $30, 000 to something that would cost at the most, $200-$300. When you just take that image, and you process that image using digital image processing, you can highlight the contours of the cervical cancer lesions and in that way, essentially, for the cost of a digital camera; you can detect cervical cancer at a stage where you can treat it.In what way are you going to reduce the cost of such an expensive device?We are working with one of our professors here in computer science, who is an expert in computer vision to create the algorithms. When those algorithms are created in Germany, they sell the programmes to us for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Our idea is to create the algorithms here and make these accessible for people doing detection and screening. The second issue for our women is screening. For the project that we are doing in that area, we are working with a doctor, a computer scientist and a designer to do that as our next step. Now, when you look at just those two areas, the nano-particle technology and that simple technology, if we, as a continent can implement that, we can reverse the cost of cervical cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Those are clear deliverables. But the earlier version that I developed in Princeton is now being tested in India and it is actually successful. What we are doing now is that we are doing comparative testing with the existing system, and with the new system. Essentially, here, we are trying to develop the algorithms. Those are deliverables in health.What are the other research products that the university has come up with?In the areas of water, we have been working on these ceramic water filters for filtering water. Those filters can take out all the microbes in water. That can be contaminated water from a well, a borehole, or a stream, or a river. You may ask what the big deal is. It turns out that this water is a big deal for our people. There was a time when we could drink the water from our tap. When I was a boy, we used to drink the water from out taps. No problem! Today, if you drink the water from our taps, you will certainly get sick. The question is what is the technology to use? We have developed the technology where you can use clay and sawdust. By burning them and mixing them at certain proportions you can make a porous filter that can take out all the microbes in the water. We have now tasted it at a level where you can introduce this to individual homes.Most recently, we have also integrated the filters into a small community based filter where you can provide enough water for a small community. In fact, our next step is to introduce it to our AUST community. So, we have a small treatment plant that we have developed in the lab, we have tasted the behaviour of that plant; we can basically produce up to a few hundred litres a day, which is more than enough drinking water, and it can purify surface borne or underground water to a level where you can feel safe drinking it. That is a second thing that we have been working on that we are now getting ready to transmission.A third area that we have worked on is in the area of solar technology. In the area of solar technology, we have a two-prong strategy. One looks at existing solar technology and how you can adopt it to work for our own people. The other one looks at how we can develop the solar technology that our people can use in the future. In the area of the solar technology and how you can adapt it to our own needs, we have worked on some solar lantern strategy that is affordable for anybody in our society that essentially uses a small solar panel and can provide 12 hours of light and the students have demonstrated it at a cost that you will say is not more than a 20 -30 dollars per unit.It is surprisingly simple, but it is something that is scalable and applicable to most people in a rural setting, and even in a rural-urban setting. And looking to the future, we have also, with the support of the STEP-B programme, been working on developing the light and solar panel of tomorrow. So, you know, for example, today that the light that we use are based on LED, the Low Energy system, that gives you basically for a third of the power, the same light as an incandescent. What we are working on is an organic LED. And one of our students, a guy by the name of Vitalis, has developed a method that makes an organic –inorganic LED that requires less power to turn it on.Can you list other achievements of the university?In the area of computer science, we have in this institution, students that are becoming experts at developing IT based solutions for telecommunications and also IT based solutions for facilitating learning. We also have one of our students who have also won an international price for mathematics at an international conference, which shows you that the system is beginning to work in terms of the quality of the research.I must not forget the Petroleum Engineering people. The petroleum engineering within the last few years has become the key to showing that our local content in terms of educating people at high enough level, that the industry people want them can work. We now have a programme, because we have a programme that is accepted all over the world, to work in major oil companies. So all the major oil companies are hiring our students and paying them as experts. Given the right environment, our young people are productive.What is the level of support that you get for your work?We do need help. We have been talking to people in the World Bank who have helped us tremendously. But it would be helpful if our government could come in. In fact, we are in discussions with the Minister of Science and Technology in an initiative that would bring some government money in. We are also in discussion with a number of companies. But this is an area where we need commitment.How do you rate the level of funding for the science sector from African countries, especially Nigeria where so much talk has been on about using science for development?There is really no allocation to science and technology that can fund innovation in Nigeria. The Science, Technology and Innovation Policy is really a good one that could help in defining some goals, but I think that we need to collect all these funds that we have created in different ways and bring them together into an effective science fund. We also need to fund a few centres of excellence, not just with infrastructure, but with the ability to do science and have clear deliverables. I think that one role that AUST can play is to create an environment of what I call "can do science."In a lot of places, we buy equipment to do science. We give excuses for not doing science. But at least, in this small environment, if you come here, you can eat, drink, eat science and sleep science and we need to create that across Africa, across our continent. The science fund is a must. I think that rather than having 10 different funds collecting tax money in different ways, let's assimilate all of these into one fund, where if you have a good idea, you go there and you get it done.
Next > Author of this article: MOHAMMED ABUBABAR and EMEKA ANUFORO--
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CompcrosComparative Cognitive Processes and Systems"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"-- CompcrosComparative Cognitive Processes and Systems"Exploring Every Corner of the Cosmos in Search of Knowledge"
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-- kenneth w. harrow faculty excellence advocate distinguished professor of english michigan state university department of english 619 red cedar road room C-614 wells hall east lansing, mi 48824 ph. 517 803 8839 harrow@msu.edu--
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Compcros
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