Monday, June 18, 2007

CAPITALISM DISTORTS SCIENCE

Two separate items from the same day's newspaper illustrate the harshness of capitalism. "Several men were arrested in an organ-smuggling inquiry in Jordan for allegedly luring poor people to sell their kidneys. More than 80 cases have been uncovered in recent months. Each kidney can sell for up to $2,000 (£1,000)." (Times, 5 June)
"Clinical trials that compare two similar drugs are significantly more likely to favour the one made by the company that pays for the work, according to a study that sheds new light on bias in medical research. ...The work, by a team led by Lisa Bero, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California, San Francisco, raises fresh concern about the influence of pharmaceutical companies over research." (Times, 5 June) RD

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