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Nation in brief

NIH scientists can no longer consult for drug companies

By wire services
Published August 26, 2005

WASHINGTON - After accusations that some government scientists used their official positions for private gain, the National Institutes of Health announced rules on Thursday that ban scientists from consulting for drug companies.

"Our research should be based on scientific evidence that is not influenced by any other factors," Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, director of the health institutes, said at a news conference.

The rules were issued after disclosures that scientists at the institutes had leveraged their positions to land lucrative consulting contracts that seemed to conflict or at least overlap with their official duties. Those contracts caused some critics to worry that research by the agency could be tainted.

An investigation by the agency concluded that 44 of its 1,200 senior scientists appeared to have violated rules governing consulting and that nine might have violated criminal laws.

The controversy surrounding consulting work and scientists' relationships with drug companies has been a black eye for the health institutes.

Investigations found that the health institutes had such poor and inconsistent controls over scientists' outside activities that the agency could not even answer basic questions by investigators about the extent of the problem.

PITTSBURGH - An autistic boy died after receiving an unproven treatment that some people believe may cure the neurological and developmental disorder.

Officials said they do not know for sure what killed Abubakar Tariq Nadama, 5, who died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack following his third treatment of chelation therapy at a suburban medical clinic.

More tests would be needed to determine the cause of death, said deputy coroner Larry Barr. State police are also investigating.

The boy was undergoing the therapy at Advanced Integrative Medicine Center in Portersville, about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. Neither the boy's doctor, Roy E. Kerry, nor a representative from the center returned a call for comments Thursday.

Some people believe autism can be linked to a mercury-containing preservative once commonly used in childhood vaccines. Chelation therapy has been advocated as a remedy because it causes heavy metals to leave the body through urine.

During the treatment, chemicals are administered under the skin or orally. The chemicals bind to heavy metals in the body, and patients excrete the chemicals through urine.

CRAWFORD, Texas - A fallen soldier's mother said Thursday that the antiwar vigil she started nearly three weeks ago near President Bush's ranch won't end when she and other protesters pack up their camp next week.

Cindy Sheehan said the day after she leaves Aug. 31, she will embark on a bus tour ending up in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 24. Then the group will start a 24-hour vigil in the nation's capital.

"I am not alone," she said at a news conference Thursday. "There's the people standing behind me here, but there's thousands of military families ... who want the same answers to the same questions."

Sheehan's 24-year-old son, Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, was killed last year in Iraq.

Meanwhile, supporters of President Bush arrived and pitched tents across the street from the war protesters' site along the main road leading to the president's ranch.

"People have said, "Enough is enough - enough Bush bashing,' " said Gregg Garvey of Keystone Heights, near Gainesville, whose 23-year-old son Justin died in Iraq in 2003. "This (protest) does not represent all of America."

Bush has said he recognizes Sheehan's right to protest and understands her anguish, although she does not represent the views of many families he has met with.

CALIFORNIA BLACKOUTS: Sweltering heat and the loss of key transmission lines Thursday forced power officials in Southern California to impose rolling blackouts, leaving as many as half a million people without power for about half an hour, officials said. The California Independent System Operator, which operates the states's electric grid, declared a transmission emergency at 3:57 p.m. About 30 minutes later, power was being restored to people subjected to the blackouts.

CRYPT VANDALIZED: In Newburyport, Mass., a teenager performing court-ordered community service in a cemetery was accused of breaking into a Civil War-era tomb and desecrating remains by pulling apart a skeleton and posing for pictures with the skull and other bones. Neil J. Goodwin Jr., 19, was arraigned on charges of desecrating a corpse and breaking into a tomb, both felonies.

TEENS ACCUSED IN SLAYINGS: In Dublin, Ga., police said a 15-year-old girl robbed and fatally shot two men who had given her and a 14-year-old friend a ride to a motel, and both girls were arrested. The bodies of Fredrick Williams, 25, and Reante Stanley, 26, both of Dublin, were found Wednesday. The girls stole about $200 from the men, officials said.

[Last modified August 26, 2005, 01:37:18]