The internet 2006

Extract

Each year Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology (DMCN) invites the President Elect of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (AAPCDM) to compose a guest editorial. As we mark the 60th anniversary of the Academy, I welcome the opportunity to make a few observations on the emergence of the internet as a medium that, within the space of two decades, has had an increasing influence upon both medical research and its dissemination throughout the world. Although the Academy's founding fathers certainly recognized that communication was the key to future progress, it is unlikely that they could have imagined what was ahead in terms of instantaneous information exchange or how that capability would promote collaboration at great distances, speed up the decoding of the human genome, and empower patients with information that previously had largely been the province of academia. This September, portions of our annual meeting will be webcast from Boston to 10 locations in four different countries around the world. Individuals who cannot attend the meeting in person will have an opportunity to view the lectures, and then, in special sessions, to engage in real-time exchanges with many of the presenters. In addition, the AACPDM now presents a monthly 1-hour webcast for entitled members concentrating on timely subjects by world-renowned authorities.