1.The role attributed to geography and the possibility of a valid intervention by geographers in the process of social transformation depend on one another and result from the manner in which we conceptualize the discipline and its object.If this conceptualization is not embracing of all forms of relation with its milieu, the interventions of geographers will only be partial or functional, and their effectiveness will be increasingly limited in time.It is true that, in common language and in the understanding of other specialists, such as politicians and administrators, geography is frequently considered to be a discipline that is preoccupied with locations. Moreover, a good many geographers work within this vision.Nevertheless, the list of relations that occur between humankind 3 and its milieushows that the long-accepted position of geography as a discipline of locations is limiting and, for this reason, insufficient. But this is not the only focus that simplifies and distorts the significance of the discipline of geography.
2.It was for this reason that we proposed to consider geographic space not as synonymous with territory, but as used territory 4 ; the used territory is both the result of the historical process and the material and social basis of new human actions. This point of view allows a wide-ranging consideration of the totality of the causes and effects of socio-territorial processes.
The emergence of scientific disciplines, as well as the policies aimed to steer them, have geographical implications. This becomes visible in areas such as genomics and related fields. In this paper, the relation between scientific evolution, political decisions and geographical configuration is studied. The recent formation of bioinformatics in Brazil is focused on. The study involves an analysis of data collected on the website of CNPq, a funding agency attached to the Ministry of Science and Technology. Furthermore, I conducted fieldwork in four cities, interviewing 15 bioinformaticians. In the history of Brazilian bioinformatics, three periods can be identified. In the first period (1900-1996), bioinformatics was actually absent, but biology research groups were formed which would subsequently explore bioinformatics. The second period (1997-2006) was marked by the emergence of the discipline and geographical concentration of major research groups in the southern part of Brazil. A third period can be pointed to (2007-2014), in which political choices have turned geographical diffusion and institutional equality into a national target. As a consequence of the recent shifts, genomics and bioinformatics researchers have been involved in a debate, some defending the existence of few specialized research and sequencing platforms, whereas others welcoming the constitution of a scientific scenario based on decentralized platforms. I defend an intermediate solution, whereby some places would be selected to be genomics hubs. This would fit the regional diversity of this vast country, in addition to tackling the scientific weaknesses of the northern area.
Point-of-care (POC) manufacture can be defined as the production of therapies in clinical settings or units close to hospitals and patients. This approach is becoming increasingly viable due to the emergence of flexible manufacturing technologies. Expecting an increase in this kind of production, the UK's regulatory agency, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is proposing a regulatory framework specifically designed for POC manufacture. To discuss the challenges of POC manufacture and the MHRA's proposal, the EPSRC Future Targeted Healthcare Manufacturing Hub (FTHMH) organized a workshop drawing insights from specialists in cell and gene therapy manufacture. Through presentations and discussion roundtables, the workshop highlighted the challenges for the UK and other countries implementing POC manufacture. The workshop attendees stressed four main issues: quality control; standardization and equipment use; availability of qualified personnel; and the challenges to be met by hospitals participating in POC manufacture systems. This commentary provides a summary of the points discussed in this workshop.
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