¿Qué opinan los lectores de Nature y Scientific American? El mal ejemplo de la gripe A.
Resultados publicados por Scientific American este octubre sobre la encuesta ¿Cómo se siente usted respecto a la ciencia?
Al preguntar tópico por tópico sobre la confianza en la información brindada por los científicos, solamente tres de estos lograron un aceptable nivel (ranking 4 o mayor).
El último puesto lo ocupó la información brindada por la comunidad científica sobre la Pandemia de Gripe A. ¡Oh Oh!
El editor/MPizzanelli HmP
Se realizó el estudio a través de una encuesta on-line a lectores y respondieron más de 21.000 personas. La población participante se puede definir como una multitud educada y bien formada científicamente, como sería de esperar al realizar una encuesta entre lectores de una revista científica especializada. Un 19% del total se auto identificó con nivel académico de PhD.
Las preguntas solicitaron realizar un ranking de confianza sobre la información brindada por parte de diversos grupos de opinión sobre importantes asuntos de interés social. La escala de respuestas fue de 1 (fuerte desconfianza) hasta 5 (total confianza).
De acuerdo a los resultados, como puede verse en el cuadro, la opinión de los científicos comparada con la de otros gupos como, amigos, organizaciones no gubernamentales, grupos de ciudadanos y hasta autoridades religiosas, es considerada altamente confiable. Hasta aqui todo bien.
Sin embargo al preguntar tópico por tópico sobre la confianza en la información brindada por los científicos, solamente tres de estos lograron un aceptable nivel (ranking 4 o mayor).
El último puesto lo ocupó la información brindada por la comunidad científica sobre la Pandemia de Gripe A. ¡Oh Oh!
Lea toda la nota en: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-science-we-trust-poll
El editor/MPizzanelli HmP
Textual de la pagina web de la revista Scientific American ya citada."On June 11, 2009, the Geneva-based World Health Organization declared the H1N1 flu outbreak a pandemic, confirming what virologists already knew that the flu virus had spread throughout the world. Governments called up billions of dollars’ worth of vaccines and antiretroviral drugs, a medical arsenal that stood ready to combat a virus that, thankfully, turned out to be mild.
A year later two European studies charged that the WHO’s decision-making process was tainted by conflicts of interest. In 2004 a WHO committee recommended that governments stockpile antiretroviral drugs in times of pandemic; the scientists on that committee were later found to have ties to drug companies. The WHO has refused to identify the scientists who sat on last year’s committee that recommended the pandemic declaration, leading to suspicions that they might have ties to industry as well.
The controversy got a lot of press in Europe the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, declared: “The pandemic that never was: Drug firms ‘encouraged world health body to exaggerate swine flu threat’”; the controversy in the U.S. garnered little mention.
The brouhaha seems to have influenced opinion markedly in Europe. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. respondents in our survey trusted what scientists say about flu pandemics; in Europe, only 31 percent felt the same way. The figures represented the largest split between the U.S. and Europe on any issue in the poll."
Lea toda la nota en: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-science-we-trust-poll
El editor/MPizzanelli HmP
El último puesto lo ocupó la información brindada por la comunidad científica sobre la Pandemia de Gripe A. ¡Oh Oh!
Lea toda la nota en: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-science-we-trust-poll
El editor/MPizzanelli HmP
Textual de la pagina web de la revista Scientific American ya citada."On June 11, 2009, the Geneva-based World Health Organization declared the H1N1 flu outbreak a pandemic, confirming what virologists already knew that the flu virus had spread throughout the world. Governments called up billions of dollars’ worth of vaccines and antiretroviral drugs, a medical arsenal that stood ready to combat a virus that, thankfully, turned out to be mild.
A year later two European studies charged that the WHO’s decision-making process was tainted by conflicts of interest. In 2004 a WHO committee recommended that governments stockpile antiretroviral drugs in times of pandemic; the scientists on that committee were later found to have ties to drug companies. The WHO has refused to identify the scientists who sat on last year’s committee that recommended the pandemic declaration, leading to suspicions that they might have ties to industry as well.
The controversy got a lot of press in Europe the Daily Mail, a British tabloid, declared: “The pandemic that never was: Drug firms ‘encouraged world health body to exaggerate swine flu threat’”; the controversy in the U.S. garnered little mention.
The brouhaha seems to have influenced opinion markedly in Europe. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. respondents in our survey trusted what scientists say about flu pandemics; in Europe, only 31 percent felt the same way. The figures represented the largest split between the U.S. and Europe on any issue in the poll."
Lea toda la nota en: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=in-science-we-trust-poll
El editor/MPizzanelli HmP
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