Ruth Levine of Global Health Policy offers the AIDS-Malaria link as a reason disease-by-disease thinking isn’t the way to go. Richard Littlemore at DeSmogBlog reports on which US publishers don’t think their audiences can handle George Monbiot’s book “Heat: How to Stop the Planet from Burning.” Dave Munger at Cognitive Daily describes research into improving […]
Could anyone besides the Economist dare to think it could overturn three of green shoppersâ sacred labels in a mere three pages? Its 12/7/06 article âVoting with Your Trolleyâ tries to debunk organic, Fair Trade, and local foods all at once. I didnât find it very convincing.
Scientific Integrity & Ethics
Look out kid, theyâre keepinâ it all hid: deceit in the epidemiology establishment
By Dick Clapp On December 1, NPRâs Living on Earth aired a segment on conflicts of interest in medical research. Host Bruce Gellerman interviewed Dr. Lennart Hardell, lead author of a recent article on conflicts of interest in cancer research published in the American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Catherine DeAngelis, editor-in-chief of the Journal of […]
by PotomacFeverish In the first of what may be numerous resignations, Scott Gottlieb, MD has announced that he will leave his post as Deputy Commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration. He has been at the center of the political science practiced at the FDA as noted by Time last year: Nowhere in the federal […]
By David Michaels This morningâs AP wire brings news of yet another E. Coli outbreak, this one resulting in 14 hospitalizations (so far) among customers of a âTaco Johnâsâ restaurant in Cedar Falls, Iowa. This follows the Taco Bell E. Coli outbreak, with more than 60 cases in 5 states. Which followed the spinach E. […]
Health and environmental bloggers have covered a wide array of topics this week. Some highlights: Steve at Omni Brain (don’t click the link while eating) displays graphic warnings from Belgian and Thai cigarette packs Merrill Goozner at GoonzNews posts an excerpt from his just-published article (cover story of The Scientist, for those with subscriptions) on […]
Earlier this year, President Bush nominated Susan E. Dudley of the Mercatus Center to replace John Graham, PhD, as the head the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). The office oversees all of the Administrationâs regulatory policies, including public health and environmental rules, and is often the last major hurdle faced by agencies like […]
By David Michaels According to a report in the Wall Street Journal published last December (by Peter Waldman, 12/23/05), product defense experts at ChemRisk pulled off a particularly audacious scam on behalf of Pacific Gas and Electric, the California utility that was being sued for contaminating drinking water with hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen. ChemRiskâs scientists […]
Scientific Integrity & Ethics
Daubert: The Most Influential Supreme Court Decision You’ve Never Heard Of
By David Michaels In 1993, the US Supreme Court ruled in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. that judges must act as âgatekeepersâ in the courtroom, determining if the scientific evidence introduced is relevant and reliable. The Daubert decision has had tremedous impact on how science is used (and misused) in courts. That judges are […]
by Revere and cross-posted at Effect Measure We are asking the scienceblogging community once again to rally on behalf of our colleagues on trial for their lives in Libya. They have been accused of infecting over 400 children with HIV (see previous posts, here, here, here, here, here and here). When last we made an […]