And that’s why people hate you: A federal judge ordered much-maligned agricultural chemical company Monsanto to pay over $80 million in damages to a California man. The jury determined that Roundup, a popular weed killer, was partly responsible for the man developing cancer. The company failed to include a label on its product warning of the weedkiller’s risk of causing cancer. https://nyti.ms/2HOsICr
Stay home or else: STAT News has published an in-depth article following up on the stunning measures taken by the local government in Rockland County, New York. All unvaccinated children under the age of 18 were forbidden to go into public places for 30 days. Parents could face fines or even jail time. http://bit.ly/2Wz2Y0g
Who needs a casino to bet?: AstraZeneca and Daichi Sankyo have reached an agreement for $7 billion where the company gains access to Daiichi’’s lead cancer antibody drug conjugate (ADC), trastuzumab deruxtecan (DS-8201). Daichi will receive $1.35 billion upfront, though heavily backloaded with a $5.5 billion, $1.75 billion of this coming from potential sales. http://bit.ly/2WzAxPs
Natural disaster: A new study in Nature reveals that a fungus-related disease has been decimating frog populations since the 1960s. According to the journal, “…chytrid fungi have caused the decline of at least 501 amphibian species worldwide from 1965 to 2015, including 90 that have become extinct.” The devastation animal diseases like the bat white-nose syndrome has inflicted is only a fraction of chytrid fungi. https://go.nature.com/2WrUaJk
You cannot be serious: Finally, Elsevier has retracted a paper printed in 2017 in its journal, Materials Today Proceedings, due to the fact that the study wasn’t much of a study after all and more a reflection on the superiority of ancient civilizations. The group’s name, SWASTIK, failed to raise and reviewer eyebrows. Even wonderful lines like this went unchallenged by the journal’s editorial staff, “Ancient ancestors had 12 strand DNA, hence had more intelligence than modern humans. Ancient ancestors coded advanced science and technology in Sanskrit texts.” Let’s hear it for Elsevier! Question: where does all that paywall money go when it’s certainly not to editorial staffing? http://bit.ly/2WvmmuT
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