tisiwoota

Just blogging to state for the record that I think that Café Scientifique is a fabulous idea. The goal is to promote public engagement with science, by getting scientists together to do informal presentations about their work in a casual venue.

From a blog account:

“The doors are open, it’s free, anyone is encouraged to come in and chat and ask questions, and the goal is to let everyone see how fun and exciting good science really is…while they actually learn something.

…There really are smart Americans out there who are receptive to new ideas and are hungry to hear more, and all we have to do is provide the opportunity. This is how we combat anti-intellectualism, by getting out there and sharing the world of the mind with others.

Seriously, if there’s a Café Scientifique near you, go. If there isn’t, write to your local university and tell them about it, and urge them to jump on the bandwagon. It’s good for the public, it’s good for the universities, and it’s good for science.”

“Terrorism is an autoimmune disease; its purpose is to cause harm by provoking an overreaction.”

The LA Times has an article which starts off its discussion of CAFTA issues by introducing the case of one woman with AIDS whose life is likely to be directly impacted by the agreement.

Opening:

“Carmina Garcia rises before the sun each morning, taking pleasure in the first yellow rays of dawn. But it’s the pink and white tablets that keep her going… Found to be HIV-positive shortly before her husband died of AIDS-related complications last fall, an ailing Garcia was convinced of her own death sentence. But generic drugs have kept the virus in check and restored 60 lost pounds to her frame.

“I now have hope,” said the 52-year-old grandmother and flower vendor, who gets her medicine free from a nonprofit clinic.

Public health experts fear that hope might fade for Garcia and thousands of the region’s chronically ill if the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement, known as CAFTA, is approved this year.”

…

Other key excerpts:

“For many Guatemalans, this is far more than an arcane trade dispute. Competition from generics has helped drive down prices for some antiviral drugs by as much as 98% in Guatemala, where 78,000 people are infected with HIV. That has allowed relief agencies to stretch their budgets to treat more people like Garcia. Even so, it’s estimated that as many as 80% of Guatemalans who need these medicines still lack them.”
…

“…WTO rules permit member countries to override patents and authorize generic production of name-brand medicines that are needed to protect the public health. The mere threat of this so-called compulsory licensing has helped keep drug prices down. However, if CAFTA is approved, experts say, the ability of Central American nations to use that leverage would be severely restricted.”

…

“In addition, under CAFTA, generic-drug manufacturers seeking government approval to produce a drug would be required — for the first five years after a drug is registered — to conduct their own clinical trials rather than piggyback on originators’ work. That would add considerable time and expense, critics say, making it much less attractive for generic makers to pursue the Central American market, which represents less than 1% of drug sales worldwide.”