Readers respond

To the Editor:

Re: "Meddling in peer review?": As someone who participates in the peer-review process by both submitting and reviewing grant proposals, I find Rep. Neugebauer's amendment reprehensible but disagree that it represents a new trend. Didn't Sen. William Proxmire do essentially the same thing for years with his "Golden Fleece" awards? Many politicians get good mileage around Election Day misrepresenting scientists' work to demonstrate their own "common sense." It does seem to play better nowadays to an electorate increasingly bewildered by the issues and given to magical thinking.

Daniel Normolle

University of Michigan

monk@umich.edu

To the Editor:

I enjoyed your article on Congress meddling in peer review. Quite frankly, I think they should meddle in a whole lot more of it. They should meddle in any peer review where the "peers" have connections to the pharmaceutical industry since this "research" paid for by the taxpayer is...