Not a good day for research

Today appears to be a bit of a black Friday for research and publication since there are three different stories all of which touch on the conduct, regulation and publication of medical science.

First the Washington Post reports on the as yet scanty information released by Targeted Genetics in regards to a patient who may have died because of the novel gene therapy for arthritis they were undertaking. If this turns out to be the case it will be another set back for a field littered with potential promise and actual setbacks.

The New York Times discusses a report into safety concerns regarding Avandia a diabetes medication manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline and is broadly critical of the FDA's ongoing handling of this affair.

Finally The Scientist discusses the recent withdrawal of a paper on stem cells from Science on the grounds of research misconduct, and expresses some surprise that this paper got through the peer review system, especially given the Hwang case.