Last week’s front-page Washington Poststory detailing a long-suppressed Nigerian government report on Pfizer’s botched 1996 experiment on Nigerian children shines much needed light on a dark corner of globalization: the drug industry’s human experiments overseas. But those who are now calling for stricter regulations on the practice aren’t goingnearly far enough.
According to the May 7 [...]
Tina Rosenberg’s long opinion piece in today’s New York Times brings much needed attention to the plight of “poor people’s diseases,” from sleeping sickness to tuberculosis (“The Scandal of ‘Poor People’s Diseases,’” New York Times, March 29, 2006). But her argument about malaria—that more DDT would vanquish the disease—is all wrong.
The basic gist of the [...]
Something went horribly wrong in an early experimental trial of a German start-up drug company’s new cancer-and-arthritis med. Sometime last week, the drug—TGN 1412—was given to 6 healthy volunteers in a routine Phase 1 trial, designed to test the drug’s safety. Today, all six of those volunteers are laid up in intensive care wards in [...]
March 8, 2006
A cartoon man looks through his binoculars at a mist-covered mountaintop in the distance, but the peak is obscured by clouds. “Peak oil?” intones the caption. “Contrary to the theory, oil production shows no sign of a peak.”
Good news from ExxonMobil, as featured in this prominent ad in the New York Times last [...]
March 6, 2006
Before you add “The Constant Gardener” to your Netflix queue–Rachel Weisz won an Oscar for her role in the film last night, please note: the issues are real, but much of the movie is pure fantasy. No activist challenging the unethical practices of Big Pharma has it this good—or this bad.
The film revolves [...]
February 28, 2006
Leave it to a twelve-year-old to come up with this cheeky experiment: comparing the levels of bacteria in ice cubes from fast food restaurants…to the water in their toilet bowls. And her result? The toilet bowl water was cleaner. See the story here.
This science fair experiment is currently making the rounds on Jay [...]
August 17, 2006
Exposing prisoners to experimental drugs would be allowed only after the completion of early toxicity testing. This will hardly restrain drugmakers because they don’t need prisoners for early toxicity testing anyway. Students and homeless people line up in droves for the $200 daily fee, plus room and board, on offer at the industry [...]
February 17, 2006
News flash: “Too much contemplation gets in the way of good decision-making”! (Greg Miller, Science, February 17,2006). “Thinking too hard about complex decisions…may lead to worse choices”! (Newsday, February 17, 2006). “New advice for anyone who is struggling to make a difficult decision: Stop thinking about it”! (Boston Globe, February 17, 2006) Dimwits everywhere [...]
January 16, 2006
As the Times series has amply shown, our health suffers when we rely on fast foods and sugary drinks to sustain ourselves. But in places where malnourishment and poverty are rampant, the ramifications are even more profound.
In Western countries the transition from hardscrabble malnourishment to today’s drive-through, fast-food cornucopia occurred over centuries, with [...]
Proving pesticides are safe by testing them on humans is harder than proving them safe by testing on animals, so the new standards are actually higher, not lower–i.e. more likely to protect public health! so long as pesticides are being used, i think it is good that the EPA is requiring human testing. why should [...]
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Sonia Shah