Drug debate expands

Article Abstract:

A commercial import ban by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on RU-486 (the abortifacient, or abortion-inducing drug, developed in France) is preventing its use for other conditions it might cure, according to some researchers and congressmen. The drug could offer hope for patients with breast cancer, Cushing's syndrome (an endocrine disorder), and, possibly, high blood pressure and AIDS. Ron Wyden, chairman of the subcommittee on regulation of the House of Representatives Small Business Committee, charged that Roussel-Uclaf, the drug's manufacturer, has restricted supplies of RU-486 as a concession to anti-abortion forces. The FDA, however, says its ban was never intended to hinder research. A spokesman for Roussel-Uclaf maintains the company will supply the drug for research purposes (as long as the research does not include abortion), and that refusals to supply it have been the result of unsatisfactory research protocols that were submitted. Ariel Mouttet, marketing director for RU-486, stated that research on the drug as an abortifacient will not proceed in the US. She also gives little credence to claims that it might be effective against breast cancer or, especially, AIDS. Of considerable importance to Roussel-Uclaf is the pending approval by the World Health Organization of RU-486, for which the support of the US is essential. Britain is to decide whether to allow the drug as an abortifacient early in 1991. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Marketing, Political activity, Political aspects, Science and technology policy, United States. Food and Drug Administration, Abortifacients, Mifepristone, Wyden, Ron, Roussel Uclaf S.A.

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Researchers irradiated

Article Abstract:

Two scientists and two technicians received a low dose of radiation in August 1990 by inadvertently exposing themselves to a neutron beam at Institute Laue Langevin, a physics institute in Grenoble. While the radiation exposure is said not to be serious, it does raise serious questions about how such an incident could occur. The beam generated by the instrument in question is not powerful, but a similar transgression with another instrument might have had much more serious consequences. A series of red and green lights are supposed to warn scientists when the beam is on, and when it is safe to enter certain areas. Furthermore, a series of infrared beams are designed to be tripped and to signal an alarm if an investigator enters into an unsafe area when the instrument is in operation. Although the investigation is not yet complete, there is some suggestion that the various safety devices gave contradictory information at the time of the incident. Ironically, the Institute Laue Langevin is widely regarded as having an excellent safety record in a field where many institutes employ no safety warning systems or devices whatsoever. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Health aspects, Safety and security measures, Prevention, Radiation, Accidents, Physics, Radiation injuries, editorial

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The end of the old model Universe

Article Abstract:

Ideas developed in the 1980s about the shape and history of the Universe are already being abandoned, and cosmologists are now beginning to consider whether the Universe could be pervaded by some form of vacuum energy. It is now clear that the standard cold dark matter model does not fully explain the Universe. The revival in classical cosmology has given some valuable indications about how this model should be changed to align it with the Universe cosmologists now see.

Models, Cosmology

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