WEISS'S NOTEBOOK

Unsavory Snacks

Part of the problem behind the recent spread of Salmonella-infected peanut paste products is a disastrously underfunded FDA.

FDA Approves First Trial for Therapy Derived From Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Andrew Pollack at The New York Times reports that biotech company Geron has won approval for its Phase I trial of a hESC-derived therapy, which will treat spinal cord injuries: Geron’s trial will involve 8 to 10 people with severe [...]

WEISS'S NOTEBOOK

Quiet Heroes

The United States boasts a huge corps of public-servant scientists devoted to going where the evidence takes them and who, as of Wednesday, will for the first time in years be respected by the highest officials in the land for what they do.

WEISS'S NOTEBOOK

Speedy FDA Process Gets Observers’ Goats

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has deemed a drug from a genetically engineered animal to be safe and effective even though the agency has not yet decided what the rules for such approvals should be.

The Top Eight Science Policy News Stories of 2008

A thumbnail of advances in science that will have long-lasting impacts on science policy—or advances in science policy that we predict will have long-lasting impacts on science.

Change for America on Science and Tech Policy, Part 3: The FDA

One out of every four dollars Americans spend goes toward products the safety of which rests in the hands of the Food and Drugs Administration. But as Virginia Cox points out in her chapter on the agency in the forthcoming book Change for America: A Progressive Blueprint for the 44th President, “Consumers today are understandably skeptical about the safety of their food and medical products, yet the [FDA] is struggling to keep pace with breakthroughs in science, an expanding global market, and years of underfunding.”

Synthetic Biology

Synthetic biology is on the brink of two noteworthy accomplishments: to be able to “streamline” and redesign the genetic material of living organisms to make them operate more efficiently; and to design and assemble entirely new, artificial life forms from scratch. But a lengthy list of potential risks, as well as broad scientific and social concerns, are largely unaddressed.

A Taxonomy of Scientific Appointments

The Washington rumor mill is buzzing with names of possible science appointees—and there are dozens of major science-related positions to fill. The questions appointees will face are an opportunity for a clear break with past approaches.

FDA Did Not Finish Its Homework On BPA

Yesterday, the Science Board Subcommittee on Food Contact Applications of BPA released its report on the Food and Drug Adminstration’s draft assessment of bisphenol A, a chemical used to strengthen all manner of plastic containers, the most damaging example being baby bottles. This story has been brewing for months, and the public health bloggers who smelled a regulatory proposal baked with industry-authored research are slamming the FDA.

Cease and Desist

To the pharmaceutical companies out there pushing spurious claims about their medications with millions in marketing dollars: Stop. Now. And please submit your data to the FDA for review.

Bon Appetite: FDA Proposal on Genetically Engineered Animals Opens for Comment

Today the FDA released its long-awaited—and in some quarters, long feared—proposed new rules for marketing foods from animals that have been genetically engineered to have particular traits.

You Might Be Eating Clones

Milk and meat from cloned animals could be in the U.S. food supply, and the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture can’t detect it, says an FDA official, despite a USDA “voluntary moratorium.” But products from cloned animals may have been in the food supply for a while.

Downer Cows Out of Burgers Is Good, but as for the Rest of the Food Safety System…

Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture proposed a rule that cattle too sick to stand should not be turned into hamburgers. The move raises the opportunity to consider broader issues regarding federal food safety structures, which have been under scrutiny since this summer’s outbreak of salmonella St. Paul, which was eventually traced to imported serrano peppers.

End-of-the-Week Review: Anthrax, Booger, Carbon, and Drugs

A quick look at the issues making the rounds on the science blogs this week.

What Took So Long?

Why did it take almost four months after the first report of a Salmonella St. Paul infection for the Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control to find the grower responsible? Two congressional hearings yesterday and today aimed at understanding why this most recent food safety scare took so long to understand.

House Moves to Regulate Unregulated Drug Delivery Systems

With the support of cigarette manufacturer Phillip Morris USA, the House voted Wednesday to approve legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco.

Congress Bans Toxins in Toys, Beauty Products

The House and Senate agreed yesterday to ban three types of phthalates, chemicals that are common in plastics, perfumes, lotions, and shampoos, and that can disrupt normal hormone function.

A Ray of Hope for the Fractured FDA

In response to recent outbreaks of food-borne illnesses, including salmonella-contaminated tomatoes, the Bush administration has asked Congress to add $275 million to the proposed 2009 budget of $2.4 billion for the Food and Drug Administration. But the patch won’t fix a fractured food safety system.

Defending Science from Industry Assaults

David Michaels speaks at a Center for American Progress event to discuss his book, Doubt Is Their Product, explaining the “tricks of the trade” used by cigarette makers, drug companies, and climate change deniers to delay regulation that would make Americans safer.

Our Fractured Food Safety System

As food worries grow, so does the appeal of a single federal Food Safety Administration to deliver effective oversight of what America eats.