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39. General Issues about Scientific Research

Date	Source	Title	Summary	Other Categories
07.26.2001	Nature	Scientists fear new guidelines will stifle basic research	JAPAN--Science-policy guidelines issued on 11 July [2001] by the Council for Science and Technology Policy have upset scientists because they strongly emphasize the economic value of research and development, don't provide strong enough support for basic scientific research.	16. Economics and Biotechnology
07.12.2001	Washington Post	Human Embryos Created at U.S. Clinic Solely for Research	American scientists have defiantly stepped onto a brand new ethical ledge, creating more than 100 human embryos for the sole purpose of using them in a medical experiment. In Canada, draft legislation now before a federal standing committee would prohibit anyone in this country from creating human embryos that would be destroyed for research.	4. Ethical and Social Concerning Arising out of Biotechnology
04.06.2001	Globe and Mail	We must set genetic limits	Alone among G7 nations, Canada has no regulatory framework for research into the human genome, warns Preston Manning, Opposition critic for science and technology.	32. Genome Project and Genomics
03.30.2001	BBC News	An oath for scientists?	British scientist Sir John Sulston has called for a scientific equivalent of the Hippocratic oath. Any scientist who signed up to the code would have to promise, among other things, "to cause no harm and to be wholly truthful in their public pronouncements".	4. Ethical and Social Concerns Arising out of Biotechnology
03.02.2001	BBC News	'Ethnic divide' over gene research	Attitudes to genetic research can be affected by an individual's age, sex and ethnic origin, according to an opinion poll conducted the British government's Human Genetics Commission. According to the poll, women and people from an Asian background were more likely to believe that research into human genetics was unethical, and older people were more likely to have faith in regulations governing genetic research. Some statistical numbers are provided in this article.	4. Ethical and Social Concerns Arising out of Biotechnology, 32. Genome Project and Genomics
02.22.2001	Nature	Wheels start to turn for mutant mouse archive	After a somewhat shaky start, the European Mouse Mutant Archive (EMMA) is at last preparing to expand. With a grant from the European Commission, the archive is set to become an important source of mouse models for biologists.	32. Genome Project and Genomics, 53. Novel DNA Uses
01.2001	Nature Biotech	FDA Gene rules impractical	The Biological Response Modifiers Advisory Committee (BRMAC) has concluded that current US FDA guidelines for long term follow-up are unfeasible for trial sponsors and patients, especially individual investigators on five-year NIH grants and less well-financed biotechnology companies. High costs, patient compliance, inter alia, are cited.
01.2001	Nature Biotech	Slippery Slopes?	[Editorial] Interface between commercial and academic publication of research. The author questions the academic integrity of researchers and publishers who allow commercial considerations to dictate the type of research that will be published and the arrangements connected with their publication. The relationship between Celera and Science is specifically denounced as a precedent for distorting the accepted scientific publication practices.	51. Academia
01.12.2001	Yahoo!News (Reuters)	Genetic Advances Spark Fears of Science Gone Awry	Using the genetically modified monkey as the starting point of the discussion, this article explores some concerns regarding scientific advances.	4. Ethical and Social Issues Arising out of Biotechnology, 50. Gene Therapy
12.07.2000	Nature	Biomedical whistleblowers to receive protection	New rules to protect 'whistleblowers' who inform on people suspected of research misconduct have been proposed by the US government. The rules will require institutions receiving grants from the Public Health Service - which includes the National Institutes of Health - to produce written procedures aimed at preventing retaliation against whistleblowers who expose scientific or financial misconduct.
12.07.2000	Nature	Royal Society calls for better communication	Britain's Royal Society is to spend £1 million (US$1.5 million) on encouraging scientists to communicate more effectively with the public.
12.07.2000	Nature	Medical schools in concert on research ethics	Outline of recent attempts to establish uniform standards of conduct for researchers at US academic medical centers, especially with respect to conflict-of-interest policies, disclosure requirements. Although major medical schools are each likely to adhere to their own sets of conflict-of-interest rules, administrators believe that some commonality between these rules will help to discourage researchers from 'jumping ship' to more lenient institutions.
11.30.2000	Nature	British public doubts genetics rules	Nearly three-quarters of British people think that government regulation has not kept up with human genetics research, according to a survey released by the UK Human Genetics Commission. Results on other genetic-related questions in the survey also available here.	4. Ethical and Social Issues Arising out of Biotechnology
11.16.2000	Nature	Ethics can boost science	This article cautions against premature conclusions on the scientific, and ethical, viability of embryonic stem-cell research. Limited European positions on stem-cell research are canvassed.	31. Stem Cells
11.10.2000	Science	Genetic Testing: Families Sue Hospital, Scientist for Control of Canavan Gene	A lawsuit filed on 30 October in Chicago federal court is the latest dispute in the growing controversy over who controls and who benefits from human genetics research.	4. Ethical and Social Issues Arising out of Biotechnology, 50. Gene Therapy
11.10.2000	Science	Clinical Trials: Company, Researchers Battle Over Data Access	A potential legal dispute over access to AIDS-related research data once again raises the issue of who controls the data when corporate and academic interests conflict.	4. Ethical and Social Issues Arising out of Biotechnology
10.06.2000	Nature	Experts question precautionary approach	Notwithstanding the United Nations Biosafety Protocol is the first fully fledged international treaty to incorporate the 'precautionary principle', scientists and lawyers remain deeply divided on the principle's definition and merits. Positions of international interests and interpretations are stated and presented to show the ambiguity of the principle.
10.06.2000	Nature	US lab animals may win in lawsuit	In a stinging defeat for the biomedical research lobby, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is about to settle a lawsuit brought by animal-rights activists which seeks to bring some 23 million laboratory rats, mice and birds under the protection of the Animal Welfare Act.
09.2000	Nature	Japan seeks science entrepreneurs	Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has linked up with the country's ministries of education and health to examine how to spur joint public-private research. The result is the creation of two three-year grant programmes to fund joint research projects in new industries (eg. IT, energy, bioetch), with the hope of paving the way for commercialization and start-up companies. The cooperation between ministries, and its establishment as a permanent part of the budget are quite significant accomplishments in a Japanese setting.
06.24.2000	Globe and Mail	Whiff of Bias in Research Grows Harder to Avoid	The editor of the New England Journal of Medicine recently accused medical professors of being open to the charge that their words are for sale--to the pharmaceutical industry.