NEWS OF THE WEEK INTERNATIONAL
MIDDLE EASTERNERS MEET IN MALTA Chemistry symposium aims to forge scientific links in a troubled region
O MEDITERRANEAN Over 30 scientists from Middle Eastern nations convened in Malta for scientific discussions.
VER FIVE DAYS LAST WEEK,
scientists from 10 nations in the Middle East met to tackle problems of research and education in the chemical sciences in the politically and economically troubled region. They got together at a hotel in the Mediterranean island republic of Malta. "The meeting aimed to foster relationships between chemical scientists from opposing sides of the political and cultural conflict in the region and to bridge chasms of distrust and intolerance," remarked Zafra M. Lerman, professor of chemistry at Columbia College, Chicago. Lerman, who won ACS's 2003 Charles Lathrop Parsons Award for her human
rights activities, chaired the meeting's organizing committee. "We also wanted to attract the attention of national governments by inviting the best qualified chemical scientists from Middle Eastern countries to discuss how chemistry can address the problems of the region," Lerman said. Challenges include water purification, waste disposal, protection of the atmosphere, and the adoption of best practices for a sustainable chemical industry, according to the symposium organizers. There is also a need for educational resources in the region, they noted. The organizing committee added that the region
ETHICS
Tauzin Poses More Ethics Questions For NIH
T
he practice of allowing NIH scientists to serve as paid consultants for drug companies that receive NIH funding and participate in agency studies is drawing concern from the House Energy & Commerce Committee. The concern comes in the midst of an investigation of NIH by the committee into payments made to NIH scientists in the form of lecture awards from outsiders doing business with the health research agency. In a letter to NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni on Dec. 8P Committee Chairman W. J. (Billy) Tauzin (R-La.) and Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Chairman James C. Greenwood (R-Pa.) requested copies of NIH memos and letters related to this practice, as well as a list of approved consulting agreements and other records. "The receipt of outside payments, even though approved, raises concerns about whether the integrity of NIH clinical research has been affected and whether the honor system used by NIH to enforce recusals signed by NIH scientists and other conflict-of-interest rules [have] been violated," the letter says. In response to the congressional concerns, Zerhouni has ordered an immediate review of outside consulting agreements made within the past five years. He has also set up a blue-ribbon advisory committee to look at systematic solutions to this problem. The committee's letter was prompted by a Dec. 7 Los Angeles Times article that cited several situations where NIH scientists received consulting fees and stock options from drug companies for work that might be a conflict of interest.—SUSAN MORRISSEY Tauzin
has "priceless antiquities and historic sites whose preservation, which is amenable to chemical techniques, substantiates the recorded history of humankind." Among the invitees to the meeting were top-level scientists from Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. The symposium was organized by the International Activities Committee of the American Chemical Society and cosponsored by the International Union of Pure & Applied Chemistry and the Royal Society of Chemistry in the U.K. The organizing committee consisted of ACS members who have been active in fostering scientific freedom and human rights. Because of sensitivities in the region, the committee decided not to publicize the conference in advance, says John M. Malin, assistant director of ACS International Activities. "The program was structured in such a way as to allow plenty of time for informal discussions," he tells C&EN. The symposium included plenary lectures by six Nobel Laureates: Roald Hoffmann (chemistry 1981), Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (physics, 1997), Jean-Marie Lehn (chemistry, 1987), YuanT. Lee and Dudley R. Herschbach (chemistry 1986), and Rudolph A. Marcus (chemistry 1992).\$brkinggroups focused on topics such as cultural heritage and the preservation of antiquities; environment, including water and renewable energy; research and new practices in science education; and medicinal and natural products. "We hope that the meeting will lead to the development of collaborative projects in the chemical sciences," Lerman tells C&EN. At the final session of the symposium, recommendations for future actions were considered. A more detailed report of the meeting will be published in C&EN early next year.—MICHAEL FREEMANTLE
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