Friday Blog Roundup

This week, bloggers had plenty to say regarding the new study raising safety questions about the diabetes drug Avandia. The Olive Ridley Crawl and Merrill Goozner at GoozNews emphasize the importance of transparency around clinical trials, while Cervantes at Stayinâ Alive explains whatâs wrong with using surrogate markers (as the Avandia studies used in the approval process did), and Roy M. Poses MD at Health Care Renewal explores the all-too-familiar elements of the drama.

Bloggers are also keeping an eye on Congressâs progress with the Farm Bill. Angry Toxicologist explains why we should care about this legislation, while Andrew Leonard at How the World Works alerts us to a proposed change in the Bill that could make it impossible for states or counties to prohibit farming GMOs. At Gristmill, Aimee Witteman examines the conservation section of the bill and Steph Larsen updates us on politiciansâ maneuverings.

Elsewhere:

Matt Madia at Reg Watch reports that Bush's nomination of Michael Baroody to head the Consumer Products Safety Commission has been withdrawn.

Shirah at Unbossed looks at the human health and environmental risks associated with nanotechnology.

Joseph Aldy at Climate Policy responds to some questions policymakers may have about climate change policy and how the IPCC WG-III report addresses them.

Tara C. Smith at Aetiology explains how environmental change affects infectious disease.

Revere at Effect Measure explores whatâs behind Thailandâs drug problem.

Donna Barne at the Development Marketplace blog has a list of the winners of the World Bankâs Development Marketplace competition; they include a health insurance program for street children in the Philippines, novel mosquito traps to reduce dengue transmission in Brazil, and distribution of sanitary pads to improve health and school attendance among Kenyan girls.

If you have other blog posts to recommend, leave a link in the comments.

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