Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > December
> December 3,
2004:
Hour One: Mars Water / Drug Safety
This week, scientists exploring the planet Mars via the rover 'Opportunity' published 11 papers detailing the progress of the research being done in an area called Meridiani Planum. The results, they say, are the first geological and geochemical documentation of water on the Red Planet. We'll get an update on the status of the rovers, and find out what the rover Opportunity found during its first 90 martian solar days in Meridiani Planum.
Then, we'll turn our attention to drug safety. Since the painkiller Vioxx was withdrawn from the market, some medical researchers and journal editors say we need a better system for detecting the harmful effects of drugs once they're on the market. Is there a better way? Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern).
Guests:
Steve Squyres
Principal Investigator for the science payload, NASA's Mars
Exploration Rover Mission
Professor, Astronomy
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York
**************
Catherine DeAngelis, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of the American Medical Association
Chicago, Illinois
Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, of Medicine, and of Pharmacology
Chair, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology
Director, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jerry Avorn, M.D.
Author,
"Powerful Medicines: The Benefits, Risks, and Costs of Prescription Drugs"
(Knopf, 2004)
Associate Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Chief, Division of Pharmacoepidemiology
and Pharmacoeconomics
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
This segment produced by Karin Vergoth
Archived Audio:
Mars
listen
in RealAudio format
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in Windows Media format
drug safety
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in Windows Media format
streaming audio help
from NPR
Related Links:
Mars
Exploration: Home
Mission
to Mars
The
Nine Planets
How to Improve Drug Safety (washingtonpost.com)
Vioxx
study's publication derailed by FDA queries
Prescription
for change
Congress
weighs FDA restraints to improve drug safety
Idea
of Drug Safety Office Is Already Hitting Snags
The
CDER Handbook
Books/Articles Discussed:
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