A look at today’s science and health policy news:
Bush’s food crisis aid package now promotes genetically modified crops
L.A. Times–Controversial language is added to the proposal. Opponents of bioengineered food say the White House wants U.S. agribusiness to reap rewards.
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Bush administration bars drilling in Arctic wetland
Reuters–The Bush administration on Friday proposed keeping potentially oil-rich wetlands in Arctic Alaska off-limits to drilling because of their ecological sensitivity, a reversal of its earlier plan.
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Broad failings documented at agencies overseeing organ transplants
L.A. Times–In a soon-to-be-released report, federal inspectors confirm findings that regulators failed to spot problem programs and didn’t act quickly to protect patients.
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FDA stresses birth defect risks with Roche drug
Washington Post–Health regulators warned again Friday that Roche and Novartis drugs prescribed to organ transplant patients can cause miscarriages and birth defects.
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Study says global warming not worsening hurricanes
A.P.–Global warming isn’t to blame for the recent jump in hurricanes in the Atlantic, concludes a study by a prominent federal scientist whose position has shifted on the subject.
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Prescriptions supplanting illegal substances as drugs of choice
L.A. Times–Health professionals — both intentionally and unwittingly — and dishonest patients are diverting powerful and potentially addictive pharmaceuticals from legitimate medical channels, authorities say.
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Fuel From Plants, Not Oil Wells
N.Y. Times–For drivers who would rather cover miles without increasing the country’s need to import Middle East oil, biodiesel is an attractive proposition.
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World’s Poor Pay Price as Crop Research Is Cut
N.Y. Times–The budgets of institutions that delivered the world from famine in the 1970s, including the rice institute, have stagnated or fallen, even as the problems they were trying to solve became harder.
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Biotech companies rush to patent plant genes
Nature–Biotech seed companies are behind a wave of patent claims on dozens of ‘climate-ready’ genes.
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Medical marijuana and organ transplants don’t mix
L.A. Times–Patients who have used doctor-prescribed pot are being turned away from hospital transplant programs.
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On Climate, Symbols Can Overshadow Substance
Washington Post–Tension between substance and symbolism runs through the modern environmental movement.
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Definitions of ‘green’ vary within the home remodeling industry
L.A. Times–Professionals offer a range of criteria, magazine survey finds.
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Monkeys genetically modified to have Huntington’s
Reuters–Scientists have created monkeys genetically modified to have Huntington’s disease in an effort to gain a deeper understanding of the fatal ailment.
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High-Tech Japanese, Running Out of Engineers
N.Y. Times–After years of fretting over coming shortages, the country is actually facing a dwindling number of young people entering engineering and technology-related fields.
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Tasmanian devil to get endangered species listing
A.F.P.–Australia’s Tasmanian devil will be listed as an endangered species this week as a result of a deadly and disfiguring cancer outbreak.
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