Premiering at 9 pm on Tuesday, May 31, on TPT, Channel 2 ..read more

From the New York Times: Sheldon Krimsky, a leading scholar of environmental ethics who explored issues at the nexus of science, ethics and biotechnology, and who warned of the perils of private companies underwriting and influencing academic research, died on April 23 in Cambridge, Mass. He was 80. Tufts University has also posted a tribute ..read more

This kind of thing is becoming disturbingly common.  From Reason: The Institute invited Princeton philosopher Peter Singer to give a public lecture on his views regarding contemporary moral philosophy. Singer is a controversial figure, and some students launched a petition calling for a boycott of his talk at St. Olaf. Several offices on campus set out emails to students distancing themselves from Singer's views, but the talk took place without disruption or cancellation. Nonetheless, in apparent response to the Singer invitation, the president of St. Olaf College suddenly removed Santurr ..read more

What's running through my head today ..read more

 Research misconduct and whistleblower retaliation allegations at the University of Arkansas. The story is here ..read more

 Ryan Briggs on "The Abject Failure of IRBs:" It was apparent early on that the process could run amok. In 1966, the sociologist Gresham Sykes worried that some review boards might be “overzealous,” hewing to “the strictest possible interpretation” of institutional standards. He predicted that relying on experts from a wide range of fields — as IRBs typically do — could produce committees “incapable of reasonable judgment in specialized areas.” And he worried that review boards might simply function as rubber stamps, offering “the appearance of a solution, rather than the substance.” Syke ..read more

 "Why American Teens Are So Sad," in The Atlantic ..read more

Seven years after two scathing investigations of lapses in research protection, the University of Minnesota is finally hiring a non-interim, non-temporary Vice-President for Research. The names of the candidates are being held from the public, as usual, but the three candidates will be holding sessions in Tate Hall next week. If you have any interest in the protection of human research subjects at the U, please consider attending, watching or submitting questions. Here is what has been announced: Candidates will present their visions for research and innovation for the University of Minne ..read more

From Greg Kaebnick in the Hastings Center's Bioethics Forum: A friend recently shared that it is simply not safe to relax social distancing requirements. Since March 2020, he and his wife, neither of whom have any known risk factors for Covid, had not been into anyone’s home, had anyone in their home, or gone to any bar or restaurant, and they did not foresee a time when any of those things would be possible. Another friend argues that the seclusion forced by Covid is emotionally unsustainable and that anyone with a clear-eyed understanding of the risks and benefits would start going to partie ..read more

 Dr. Ralph Snyderman, the former CEO of the Duke University Health System and a former Purdue Pharma board member, has threatened legal action against a UNC graduate student if the student writes anything to suggest that he knew of Purdue Pharma's criminal activity. Paul Thacker has the story ..read more