News & Comment

 In October, Jeremy Farrar took the helm of the UK-based Wellcome Trust, the second largest nongovernmental funder of biomedical research in the world. The Wellcome Trust, with its £16 billion endowment, is far more than just an enabler of biomedical research. It is also a key player in wider science policy debates. Farrar sat down with Daniel Cressey to discuss his Trust issues.

The important gains in supporting local biomedical science made by South Africa's Medical Research Council in recent years may be lost unless the country continues to fund and grow this important institution.

The European Medicines Agency requires that drug developers submit a 'pediatric investigational plan' to ensure that there is adequate information about how children fare on experimental medication for many indications before they go to market. But this requirement places an undue constraint on the makers of new hemophilia drugs and threatens to create an unreasonable delay in access to these therapies among adults with this disorder in the EU.

After decades of decline, South Africa's Medical Research Council has undergone a dramatic turnaround in recent years, with a more than 50% increase in government funding. But as the leader credited with this turnaround prepares to step down at the end of next month, onlookers worry about what lies ahead for the institute. Linda Nordling reports.

Metabolic regulators that permit adaptation to changes in caloric intake have been shown to be needed to protect from age-related disorders. Sirtuins play a crucial part in this program, impinging on not only aging but also other diseases. New findings are uncovering the multifaceted activity of sirtuins in living organisms and their effects on healthspan. In 'Bedside to Bench', Leonard Guarente discusses how different sirtuins are hindering cancer metabolism through suppression of the Warburg effect. The apparent antitumor effects of several sirtuins through their regulation of different metabolic pathways suggest therapeutic approaches to induce sirtuin function or that of downstream targets may block cancer growth. In 'Bench to Bedside', Eric Verdin peruses a few studies in different animal models showing that increased amounts of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), a cofactor of sirtuins, may have a positive effect in longevity and span of healthy life, or healthspan, by increasing sirtuin enzymatic activity. Whether harnessing NAD therapeutically is a potential way to extend lifespan and ameliorate diseases is still open to debate.

The problem of inequity in international research is perpetuated by policies that enable scientists to conduct research in lower-resourced areas of the world without partnering with local researchers. The World Health Organization (WHO) needs to lead in solving this problem by working with research institutions, journal editors and funding agencies to document the degree of inequity and to impose penalties for failures to collaborate.