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Animal
and Human Physiology - A step towards an Integrative Physiology
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"Animal and human physiology - A step towards integrative
physiology"
Report on Science
and Technology n°2
Février 2000 - 45,00 €
Report in French excepted Summary
and Recommendations
Français
François Gros, Secrétaire perpétuel de l'Académie des sciences
We must today, however, recognise that there is a certain degree of disinterest both among young students and their academic staff, doubtless for reasons which stem from the spectacular developments in molecular biology, genetics (and more recently genomics; cf. the Académie's report "Development and applications of genomics", ed. TEC et DOC, 1999). The disinterest seems to be affecting mainly the field of physiology of major functions, more so than cellular physiology and neuro-physiology.
We agree to see physiology, both at the whole body level and down to cellular level, as a major field since it deals with the integration processes of living bodies into the environment. Moreover, there are strong currents among proponents of genomics that hold that without a powerful rehabilitation of physiology (so-called integrative physiology) the changeover to functional and comparative analysis of genomes will suffer serious set-backs. The study of how medicinal drugs act and, in more general terms, that of human pathology, will progress with difficulty if no new impetus provided to physiopathology.
This report attempts to provide a status view of various aspects of this major field - after taking into its stride the developments, history and main concepts that run from Claude Bernard's work to today - : physiology of our main functions, physiology of developmental and ageing processes, ecophysiology, physiopathology, etc. The report also touches on some logistic aspects of the question ; animal experiments, artificial organs, instrumentation, modelling . The report closes with an overview of the teaching of physiology in France.
It contains a series of recommendations related to the recruitment of research scientists, physicians and veterinary doctors in the public research establishments and university laboratories, in the mixed teaching and research doctoral departments, and at the same time the report insists on infrastructure and equipment necessities.
Problems specific to physiology in the plant reign will be dealt with in a separate report.
Ed.Tec & Doc (www.lavoisier.fr)
French
Academy of Sciences - 23, quai de Conti - 75006 PARIS - FRANCE - Tel.:
33+ (0)1.44.41.43.67 - Fax : 33+ (0)1.44.41.43.63
- Copyright - [ Updated on 28/10/09 ]
- Copyright - [ Updated on 28/10/09 ]
