Eli Lilly will face a class-action suit over Zyprexa, now that a federal judge
has certified a group of insurance companies, pension funds, and unions that
want the drugmaker to repay them for the billions they spent on the
controversial antipsychotic drug. …
The FDA has already warned patients and docs about some of the drugs on the
first list of 20 under scrutiny, such as TNF
blockers, in the news last week. …
Researchers found that, for uninsured patients, the percentage of medications
prescribed as generics rose from 12 percent to 30 percent after the clinic
closed its drug sample closet. For Medicaid patients, however, there was no
significant change in generic prescribing. …
Some say the fact that a few quick medication-monitoring visits pay much better
than a longer psychotherapy session conducted in the same amount of time could
be the reason for the switch …
A world-renowned
Harvard child psychiatrist whose work has helped fuel an explosion
in the use of powerful antipsychotic medicines in children earned at least $1.6
million in consulting fees from drug makers from 2000 to 2007 but for years did
not report much of this income to university officials, according to information
given Congressional investigators. …
John Burklow, a spokesman for the National Institutes of Health,
said: “If
there have been violations of N.I.H. policy – and if
research integrity has
been compromised – we will take all the
appropriate action within our power
to hold those responsible
accountable. This would be completely unacceptable
behavior, and
N.I.H. will not tolerate it.”
…
So, what solution is being bandied about for the coming tragic loss of bananas
five to twenty years from now? This is even scarier than all that Chiquita has
done to this point. The primary suggestion offered is genetic engineering.
Scientists are already at work mapping the banana’s genome. Already, there are
genetic experiments to modify bananas with the hepatitis B vaccine and with
fish. That this sort of solution is nothing more than the next, utterly insane,
step in a food system already mad with monoculture seems to be of no concern. …
Please don’t misconstrue. There are still some small organic farms out there
that are producing quality foods. But I think it’s important to get the word out
that the “organic” label for the most part has been compromised. You cannot rely
on it as an indicator of quality any more than you can the word “natural” or
“healthy.”
…
(Exercising Your Mind) All of the following text and