Science, politics, and free market economics.
I have a piece in the American Spectator today about the food prices and the need to double our food production by 2050. The commentary includes a brief history of plant breeding and asks why one plant breeding technique should be regulated differently from other methods
Tags: Economics, Plant Biotechnology, Politics, USABookmark this article!
The Scientist has research grants as a theme this month, and the cover story tries to figure out what happens when NIH grants are denied because of budget cuts. The agency has gone from a 19.7 percent approval rating on Type 1 grants in 1999 to 9.1 percent approval rating in 2005. For Type 2 grants the approval rating has gone from more than 55 percent in 1999 to about 33 percent in 2005.
I am not pointing this out because I lament the loss of research funding, I think this type of funding belong in the private arena and should be funneled through 503(c)’s. I am pointing this out because this is a great story about the end results of the horse-trading that goes on in Congress.
This man’s laboratory might be the $100,000 spent by Congress on the High Falls Film Festival in Rochester, NY or the $200,000 spent on the American Cotton Museum in Greenville, TX. Not that I mind buying rich congress people tickets to museum openings and film festivals, but do they have to be so expensive?
The upcoming CEI dinner is a great alternative. It is amuch cheaper for taxpayers and we can offer speaking presidents, authors, great food, and great company.
Tags: Economics, Politics, Science, USABookmark this article!
Depleted uranium (DU) is used in ammunition, which leaves trace elements of the DU all over the battlefield. Scientists have now found a fungus that chemically locks away the radiation and the wonderful little fungus is found in most back yards!
Tags: Cool Critters, EnvironmentBookmark this article!
I have told my U.S. friends that this whole raping and pillaging thing was just a big misunderstanding, Vikings did not do that! See, Norwegians are very introvert and live so far apart, they are not very social. If you walk 5 miles to visit your neighbor, and you know you have to walk 5 miles to get back, you are not likely to be very chatty.
When the Vikings got to Britain or wherever they were going, they were just very shy and curious about all the pretty people they met. But because they were shy, they had a few drinks to get their courage up, and they probably had a bit to many and it all got a bit out of hand. At least that is how I tell the story.
Turns out that was wrong too, it turns out that the Vikings were trading cod. They went all the way to Turkey to trade cod. I come from a proud lineage of free traders!
Tags: Science, Stuff I likeBookmark this article!
Woops, Norway is listed on the lower level watch list for patent violation by the US Trade Representative:
Norway will be added to the Watch List in 2008. The United States is concerned about the lack of product patent protection for certain pharmaceutical products. The regulatory framework in Norway regarding process patents filed prior to 1992 denies adequate protection to nearly 75 percent of the pharmaceutical products currently on the Norwegian market, according to U.S. industry reports. The United States will continue to encourage Norway to resolve this issue.
The Norwegian version of Pharma, Legemiddelindustriforeningen agrees with USTR that there is a weaker patent protection for older pharmaceuticals, and that the practice is in violation of the law, as the law was intended to give generic access once the patent expired.
“Generic pharmaceuticals frees up resources for society and the individual patient. If we strengthen intellectual property rights on pharmaceuticals”, she says. “The price of medications in Norway will increase.”
The price of medications in Norway is only a concern for the government, as Norway has a public health care systems where the government covers a significant amount of common drugs. Only some medications however are listed as covered, while patients have to pay out of pocket for newer medications. The medications on the government list are tried and true, which indicates they might be the ones where generic copies are available.
This does not change my stance that public health care inevitably leads to poorer health care.
Tags: Economics, Health, Norway, Patents