ELIAS ZERHOUNI, director of the US National Institutes of Health, last week took one small step along the road to repairing the tainted ethical reputation of government science. New conflict-of-interest rules that he announced will at last bar NIH scientists from moonlighting as consultants for private industry. The move follows a series of investigations by The Los Angeles Times and the US Congress that uncovered extensive financial ties – many previously undisclosed – between agency scientists and the drug and biotech firms that have a financial stake in the outcome of their research.
This is reassuring news, but it is only a…
