* Correspondence: [email protected] Department of Philosophy and Science Studies, Faculty of Science, Institute for Science, Innovation and Society (ISIS), Radboud University Nijmegen (the Netherlands), p.p. box 9010 6500 GL, Nijmegen, the Netherlands Aims and scope of the thematic series Life sciences and emerging technologies raise a plethora of issues. Besides practical, bioethical and p...

The boundaries and contours of design sciences continue to undergo definition and refinement. In many ways, the sciences of design defy disciplinary characterization. They demand multiple epistemologies, theoretical orientations (e.g. construction, analysis or intervention) and value considerations. As our understanding of this emerging field of study grows, we become aware that the sciences of...

1884 www.thelancet.com Vol 380 December 1, 2012 Popular and scientifi c representations of research into emerging infectious disease often focus on the pathogen itself—its molecular machinery, processes of reassortment and mutation, and how these factors indicate risk for human-to-human transmission. How ever, social and ecological processes that facilitate infection also deserve close attentio...

Recent studies within neuroscience and cognitive psychology have explored the place of conscious willing in the generation of purposive action. Some have argued that certain findings indicate that the commonsensical view that we control many of our actions through conscious willing is largely or wholly illusory. I rebut such arguments, contending that they typically rest on a conflation of dist...

Computing systems are rapidly changing with multicore, graphics processing units (GPUs), clusters, volunteer systems, clouds, and grids offering a confusing dazzling array of opportunities. New programming paradigms such as Google MapReduce and many-task computing have joined the traditional repertoire of workflow and parallel computing for the highest performance systems. Meanwhile, the life s...

This symposium brings together researchers at the frontier of an emerging subcommunity of the learning sciences that looks toward developing methodologies and infrastructures with the potential to lead towards an integrated agenda of global research in the learning sciences, spanning both the developed and the developing world, in both formal and informal learning environments. It explores how ...

An appreciation of the potential applications of molecular biology is of growing importance in many areas of life sciences, including marine biology. During the past two decades, the development of sophisticated molecular technologies and instruments for biomedical research has resulted in significant advances in the biological sciences. However, the value of molecular techniques for addressing...

were all enhanced over the conference versions and separately reviewed. I would like to thank Ian Foster and Geoffrey Fox for their help putting this special issue together.