Possible scientific fraud questions prompt debate over which federal office(s) should investigate
Article Abstract:
Within a few weeks after the 1986 publication of a scientific report in the journal Cell, a young scientist working in the laboratory of one of the article's authors became concerned that the findings might not have been backed by sound research evidence. The scientist, Dr. Margaret O'Toole, reported these concerns to higher-level scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where Dr. Thereza Imanishi-Kari (the sixth author of the paper and in whose lab Dr. O'Toole worked) and Dr. David Baltimore (Nobel laureate, co-author of the article and current president of Rockefeller University) worked at the time. Since O'Toole's initial charges, several investigations of the matter have been carried out, by MIT, Tufts University (where Imanishi-Kari is now employed), the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, and the Office of Scientific Integrity (OSI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A draft report from the NIH was recently leaked to the press. Dr. Baltimore has moved from a position of aggressive defense of Imanishi-Kari to one where he has requested the other authors to retract the Cell paper. Since the NIH report, popular opinion now has it that O'Toole and the Congressional committee have been vindicated. However, the five-member NIH panel was not unanimous in its findings, and the draft report has not yet been released to the scientific community. The OSI, created in 1989 to investigate charges of misconduct, conducted the second investigation into the case. OSI has completed 110 case investigations since its inception and has found evidence of misconduct in 16. The question of how scientific integrity should be monitored is complex, and the creation of OSI has been opposed by some scientists. Currently two federal offices deal with scientific integrity (the other is at the Department of Health and Human Services); a more preferable arrangement would be to concentrate this function in one office. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1991
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Rotavirus vaccine a boon to children
Article Abstract:
The FDA is considering approving the first vaccine against rotavirus. This virus is the most common cause of diarrhea and vomiting in babies and young children. It causes over 870,000 deaths a year, mostly in developing countries. Annual health care costs for the 3 million US cases total about $600 million. In 1974, researchers discovered a similar virus that infects mice, cows and monkeys. One group used the monkey virus to create a vaccine that should protect against all four known strains of the human virus. If approved, it will be marketed in the US as RotaShield.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 1998
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Genetically Modified Crops Feed Ongoing Controversy
Article Abstract:
Supporters of genetically modified (GM) food crops are planning an educational campaign to convince Americans that GM foods are safe. One congressman has introduced legislation requiring that GM products be labeled as such and the European Union has approved legislation requiring its 15 member countries to begin labeling foods that have GM ingredients. Supporters believe people are overreacting and that there is no scientific evidence that GM foods are dangerous. They say many plants and animals have been selectively bred and GM crops would be no different.
Publication Name: JAMA, The Journal of the American Medical Association
Subject: Health
ISSN: 0098-7484
Year: 2000
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