Who says science is a sober discipline? This year's events were the stuff of high drama: tall claims, outlandish ideas and outright lies—and from well-regarded teams—all made the news. But there was also much to applaud, including the debut of much-needed vaccines, the return of the pesticide DDT to fight malaria and an infusion of cash into strapped areas of research. In the following pages, we revisit the year's best, brightest and most ridiculous moments, and take a shot at predicting what next year will bring.
Yearbook:
In the tradition of American high school yearbooks, we'd like to hand out a few awards to people we think have earned a special mention for 2006.
Since Arata Kochi took over in late 2005 as malaria chief for the World Health Organization, he has proven himself the most outspoken of the agency's officials. In January, he strong-armed drug companies into discontinuing sales of artemisinin as a monotherapy, which courts drug resistance and, in September, reversed decades of policy by endorsing the pesticide DDT for mosquito control.
South African health minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang continued to promote lemons, beetroot and garlic to combat HIV, making her the least popular among scientists and global health officials. In September, control of AIDS policy passed into the more capable hands of the deputy South African President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, partly due to a petition signed by 82 prominent scientists.
Least likely to succeed in restoring public confidence in the US Food and Drug Administration any time soon, Andrew von Eschenbach faces an uphill battle with the beleaguered agency, fighting poor public perception, low employee morale and increasing concerns that it is unable to ensure the safety of new drugs.
US investor Warren Buffett went from being the second wealthiest person in the world to the most generous. On 25 June, he announced that he would give away more than 80% of his $44 billion fortune, 85% of which—the largest donation in US history—will go toward improving global health and reducing poverty.
Chief editor of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Andrew Marks has taken on a new role as chief rabble rouser. Using the journal as his bully pulpit, he sharply criticized the US National Institutes of Health—and its chief, Elias Zerhouni—over its direction and funding priorities in a time of budget cuts.
Advanced Cell Technology scientist Robert Lanza proved the best self-promoter when, in August, he announced that his company could develop human embryonic stem cell lines without destroying an embryo. What Lanza neglected to mention in the initial reports is that part of his statement was hypothetical: no embryos actually survived the procedure.
Once perceived as a cloning superstar, South Korean Woo-Suk Hwang is now seen as most likely to steal your lunch money: his Science report of the first creation of a human embryonic stem cell line using therapeutic cloning and a later report of patient-specific stem cell lines both proved to be fabricated.
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Year-end Special. Nat Med 12, 1338 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1206-1338
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1206-1338
