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'Transparency' Rule Proposed

The Trump Administration is pursuing new rules that would limit the type of scientific and medical research that can be used to guide public health regulations, the New York Times reports.

The Environmental Protection Agency has a new proposal called Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science — Wired notes that versions of this proposal have previously been bills put forth to Congress — that will require researchers to disclose their raw data before the agency can use it in its decision-making process, the Times adds.

"Good science is science that can be replicated and independently validated, science that can hold up to scrutiny," EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler told a congressional committee in September, according to the Times.

Wired writes that while this sounds like a good move on the surface, it actually means that a number of epidemiological and other studies that rely on confidential patient health information that cannot be shared won't be able to inform policymaking.

"This proposal, if it's implemented, could effectively nullify laws that have worked for decades to deliver cleaner air, cleaner water, and healthier communities," writes Andrew Rosenberg, the director of the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, at Scientific American.

 

 

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.