Nexus - 0803 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

... GL@BAL NEWS ... NEWS extracted by plane during the last leg of their trip, did not request the intervention. "Over the protests of the Australian crew at Casey, the two were airlifted via an extraordinary 48-hour flight by a USN Special Forces team out of American Samoa. "According to the dispatch, the women were insistent on reporting something unusual they had seen. The latest news reports have the pair resting in 'seclusion’.” (Sources: Various websites, including www.cyberspaceorbit.com/antmag.html and NASANews @ hq.nasa. gov) formal studies of Pepcid in infants, the US Federal Government has given Merck a half-year of extra protection from generics. And the gains are even greater for some of the other companies rushing to take advantage of a 1997 law meant to encour- age paediatric trials of adult medicines. That law, by giving drug makers an incentive to test on children, is producing important new prescribing information for paediatricians, the Food and Drug Administration says. Labels have been changed on 14 drugs to reflect new data. Some paediatricians are delighted with the results and are lobbying to extend the law past its scheduled expiration at year's end. But a close look at the law shows that it is also producing an unintended conse- quence: a drug-industry financial bonanza. (Source: Wall Street Journal, NY, 5 Feb 2001, http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/) Borough of Harrow's refusal to permit an Orange phone mast in a residential area in Stanmore, said: "There is justification for the council's view that residents' anxiety about the health effects of the appeal installations materially contributes to the general loss of amenity." Planning Minister Nick Raynsford wrote to councils last summer, advising them to ignore health issues when determining mast applications if they met international radiation guidelines. But Alan Meyer, legal advocate to lobby group Mast Action UK, said the decisions would give authorities a reason to ignore Raynsford's advice, which he believes vio- lates the Human Rights Act. "The Inspectorate, unlike Raynsford, is doing what the law requires. It is respect- ing the European Convention on Human Rights article 8, right to respect for family life, and article 6, right to a fair and proper hearing," Meyer said. RTPI spokesman David Rose said: "These decisions will put new pressure on authorities to refuse masts. But it's barmy to leave them to judge the safety of each individual mast. The government needs to assess if they are safe." (Source: The Journal of the Royal Town Planning Institute, UK, 16 February 2001) MOBILE PHONE RADIATION LINKED TO EYE CANCER obile phones have been linked to human cancer in a scientific study for the first time. The research, which sug- gests there is a threefold increase in eye cancers among people who regularly use the device, was carried out by a team from the University of Essen, in Germany. The team investigated a form of eye can- cer called uveal melanoma, in which tumours form in the layer that makes up the iris and base of the retina. The results were published in the journal Epidemiology. Dr Andreas Stang, who led the research, said he had examined 118 people with uveal melanoma and obtained details about their use of digital mobile phones. This was compared with a control group of 475 people without the disease. The mechanism by which the radiation might cause cancer is uncertain, but it is known that the watery content of the eye assists the absorption of radiation. (Source: The Times, London, 14 Jan 2001) PHONE TOWERS ARE NOW A HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE n the UK, two landmark decisions by the Planning Inspectorate have endorsed decisions by planning authorities to refuse the installation of phone masts on the grounds of public fears about health haz- ards. The Inspectorate has thrown out two separate appeals by phone companies against refusals based on public concern about health risks. It is the first time inspectors have ruled that anxiety about the possible adverse health effects of masts is a material consideration. An inspector, upholding the London DRUG TRIALS IN AUSTRALIA LACK PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY lhousands of Australian patients are being used as guinea pigs in drug trials for global pharmaceutical companies PAEDIATRICIANS TEST ADULT DRUGS ON CHILDREN MM: Robinson, a Philadelphia X-ray technologist, received US$300 and a $50 Toys 'R' Us gift certificate as an incen- tive to enrol her seven-month-old daughter in a drug trial to treat a form of indigestion babies can get. Merck & Co., the maker of the medicine, also received an incentive: about US$290 million. That's the estimat- ed revenue Merck will pocket from the six months of additional marketing exclusivity it has won. Merck's drug, Pepcid, was slated to lose its patent protection last October, opening the way to low-priced generic competition. But, as a reward for conducting the first APRIL — MAY 2001 NEXUS 7 www.nexusmagazine.com