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More Clues in the Legend (or Is It Fact?) of Romulus
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD, The New York Times, June 12, 2007
The story of Romulus and Remus is almost as old as Rome. The orphan twins were suckled by a she-wolf in a cave on the banks of the Tiber. Romulus grew up to found Rome in 753 B. C.
Historians have long since dismissed the story as a charming legend. The 19th-century historian Theodor Mommsen said: “The founding of the city in the strict sense, such as the legend assumes, is of course to be reckoned out of the question: Rome was not built in a day.”
Yet the legend is as imperishable as Mommsen’s skeptical verdict, and it has been invigorated by recent archaeological finds.
( Read More... )
Really? The Claim: Brown Sugar Is Healthier Than White Sugar
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR, The New York Times, June 12, 2007
THE FACTS
We all know that brown rice is better for you than white rice, and whole wheat bread comes out on top over white bread, but does this pattern extend to sugar as well?
It is often said that brown sugar is a healthier option than white sugar. But you can chalk that up to clever marketing or plain and simple illusion. In reality, brown sugar is most often ordinary table sugar that is turned brown by the reintroduction of molasses. Normally, molasses is separated and removed when sugar is created from sugarcane plants.
( Read More... )
Opening Statements in Case on Autism and Vaccinations
By GARDINER HARRIS, The New York Times, June 12, 2007
WASHINGTON, June 11 — Lawyers began arguments on Monday in the first of several test cases that may help decide whether the government should pay millions of dollars to parents of autistic children.
Nearly 5,000 parents claim that vaccinations caused their children to become autistic, and many of their claims have been pending for five years. The hearing was held at the “federal vaccine court,” set up by Congress 20 years ago when a series of vaccine scares nearly crippled the industry.
Every major study and scientific organization examining this issue has found no link between vaccination and autism, but the parents and their advocates have persisted. Their frustration was evident in the opening statement of the parents’ lawyer, Thomas Powers of Portland, Ore.
( Read More... )
News Analysis: Potentially Incompatible Goals at F.D.A.
By GARDINER HARRIS, The New York Times, June 11, 2007
Safety and speed are the yin and yang of drug regulation. Patients want immediate access to breakthrough medicines but also want to believe the drugs are safe.
These goals can be incompatible. Race a drug to market and much is likely to remain unknown when patients take it. Test a drug thoroughly to assess all possible risks and its release may be delayed by years.
A series of drug-safety scandals has led many on Capitol Hill to question whether the Food and Drug Administration has failed to strike the right balance between speed and safety. A clear sign of this imbalance, these critics say, is the increasing number of F.D.A. drug-safety officers who say they have been punished or ignored after uncovering dangers of popular medicines.
( Read More... )
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD, The New York Times, June 12, 2007
The story of Romulus and Remus is almost as old as Rome. The orphan twins were suckled by a she-wolf in a cave on the banks of the Tiber. Romulus grew up to found Rome in 753 B. C.
Historians have long since dismissed the story as a charming legend. The 19th-century historian Theodor Mommsen said: “The founding of the city in the strict sense, such as the legend assumes, is of course to be reckoned out of the question: Rome was not built in a day.”
Yet the legend is as imperishable as Mommsen’s skeptical verdict, and it has been invigorated by recent archaeological finds.
( Read More... )
Really? The Claim: Brown Sugar Is Healthier Than White Sugar
By ANAHAD O’CONNOR, The New York Times, June 12, 2007
THE FACTS
We all know that brown rice is better for you than white rice, and whole wheat bread comes out on top over white bread, but does this pattern extend to sugar as well?
It is often said that brown sugar is a healthier option than white sugar. But you can chalk that up to clever marketing or plain and simple illusion. In reality, brown sugar is most often ordinary table sugar that is turned brown by the reintroduction of molasses. Normally, molasses is separated and removed when sugar is created from sugarcane plants.
( Read More... )
Opening Statements in Case on Autism and Vaccinations
By GARDINER HARRIS, The New York Times, June 12, 2007
WASHINGTON, June 11 — Lawyers began arguments on Monday in the first of several test cases that may help decide whether the government should pay millions of dollars to parents of autistic children.
Nearly 5,000 parents claim that vaccinations caused their children to become autistic, and many of their claims have been pending for five years. The hearing was held at the “federal vaccine court,” set up by Congress 20 years ago when a series of vaccine scares nearly crippled the industry.
Every major study and scientific organization examining this issue has found no link between vaccination and autism, but the parents and their advocates have persisted. Their frustration was evident in the opening statement of the parents’ lawyer, Thomas Powers of Portland, Ore.
( Read More... )
News Analysis: Potentially Incompatible Goals at F.D.A.
By GARDINER HARRIS, The New York Times, June 11, 2007
Safety and speed are the yin and yang of drug regulation. Patients want immediate access to breakthrough medicines but also want to believe the drugs are safe.
These goals can be incompatible. Race a drug to market and much is likely to remain unknown when patients take it. Test a drug thoroughly to assess all possible risks and its release may be delayed by years.
A series of drug-safety scandals has led many on Capitol Hill to question whether the Food and Drug Administration has failed to strike the right balance between speed and safety. A clear sign of this imbalance, these critics say, is the increasing number of F.D.A. drug-safety officers who say they have been punished or ignored after uncovering dangers of popular medicines.
( Read More... )
