IMPORTANCE OF RESEARCH Without experimentation medical science cannot advance We would have little knowledge of how the human body works or how to prevent treat and cure diseases Our knowledge of what does and does not work has grown from research and hundreds of years of trial and error To come up with new medical treatments and cures researchers build upon what is already known their studies This alters their findings in a way that benefits them Just a small number of researchers do this but the impact can be dangerous if the public believe their findings A researcher’s job can be risky Some medical research involves working with dangerous diseases People wear safety gear FUDGING RESULTS A lot of research is made available in medical journals These publications provide scientists and doctors with the latest discoveries They include long articles about detailed scientific studies Other experts in the field review the research articles before they are published But sometimes researchers secretly change their results Occasionally they steal ideas from other researchers Some even make misleading conclusions by sharing only part of the results of to keep safe 6
Years of researching and testing are done before vaccinations are considered safe to use on humans DARK SCIENCE SECRETS In 1998 researcher Andrew Wakefield published a journal article that suggested a link between the measles mumps and rubella MMR vaccine and autism Autism is a developmental disorder in which people communicate and interact with others differently The article was published in The Lancet one of the world’s most respected medical journals Wakefield’s research involved 12 children and consisted of stories on the children’s medical histories His research was later proven false and he lost his medical license Other larger research studies failed to prove any link between the MMR vaccine and autism The Lancet removed the paper but the damage was done To this day many people mention Wakefield’s research when refusing to give their children the MMR vaccination Some reject all vaccines despite years of proven research on their safety and success Sadly this has lead to outbreaks of diseases such as measles and whooping cough in populations where they were previously rare 7
THE RISKS OF RESEARCH Medical research is not without risk From drug dosages and combinations to complicated surgeries developing medical treatments relies on trial and error This means that research studies can have both good and bad results Over the years governments and regulatory bodies have developed special rules and methods to follow These make research safer Still errors and accidents happen Researchers can lose their jobs and damage their reputations following an error so in rare instances they keep them secret Despite all precautions clinical trials still carry some risk to people who participate in them TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS Clinical trials are studies performed on people They are the main way that medical researchers find out if a new drug or surgery works Research that uses people is tricky researchers do not want to harm anyone even though it is always a possibility That is why rules for medical research include trials that go through different phases At each phase more information is gathered from the people participating in the trials 8
KEEPING DRUG SECRETS Drug companies pay for research trials or test their own product This means money is at stake If things are not going well drug companies may end trials before they get to the final stage This means they do not make any money Some drug companies have hidden the dangerous side effects of drugs in order to not lose money But if their secrets are discovered they could be made to pay huge fines to the government They might also be sued by people taking the drugs In 2012 pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline paid a 3 billion fine for withholding the results of studies that showed its diabetes drug Avandia increased the risk of heart attacks Some survivors of thalidomide in Canada were awarded compensation or money from the government in 2015 more than 50 years after they were born with deformities caused by the drug DARK SCIENCE SECRETS Once called a wonder drug thalidomide was a mild sleep aid given to pregnant women to help relieve nausea German company Grünenthal said the drug was safe to use but trials did not include tests on the effects of the drug used during pregnancy When women taking the drug began to have babies with birth defects some doctors took note In 1961 the drug was pulled in West Germany the United Kingdom and Australia Doctors in Canada continued to prescribe it for another year An estimated 24,000 babies worldwide were born with malformed or badly formed limbs because of thalidomide The drug was never used in the United States 9
