International Genetic Epidemiology Society:: Commentary on Darkness in El Dorado by Patrick!Tierney
International Genetic Epidemiology Society:: Commentary on Darkness in El Dorado by Patrick!Tierney
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DOI：
10.1002/gepi.1020
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发表时间：
2001-09-01
影响因子：
2.1
通讯作者：
Thomas, DC
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Baur, MP;Majumder, PP;Thomas, DC
国际遗传流行病学学会（IGES）审查了帕特里克·蒂尔尼最近出版的一本书中对詹姆斯·V·尼尔及其同事的指控，该书题为《埃尔多拉多的黑暗：科学家和记者如何摧毁亚马逊》（W. W. Norton，2000）。这本书暗示尼尔在1968年引起或促进了委内瑞拉雅诺马马印第安人的麻疹流行病，导致“数百人，如果不是数千人”死亡，使用“恐龙”疫苗（埃德蒙斯顿B）作为一个故意的“实验”，以测试他的“优生”理论。蒂尔尼还试图将这项由原子能委员会（AEC）资助的研究与更广泛的人体辐射实验联系起来。为了调查这些严重的指控，IGES对蒂尔尼的书中提到的大多数源文件、尼尔的现场日志、笔记、第一手报告、当代著作、电影音轨等进行了彻底的检查，并采访了多位相关人士。研究机关认为，这些指控是不实的。尼尔不是优生学家，事实上他对优生学的科学基础和强制性的社会政策都持高度批评态度。在这方面，蒂尔尼严重歪曲了尼尔关于现代文明对基因库长期健康的广泛社会影响的观点。尼尔非但没有引起麻疹流行，反而尽最大努力通过疫苗接种计划保护亚诺马马人免受即将到来的流行病的蹂躏，该计划使用了当时广泛使用并以适当方式接种的疫苗。疫苗接种计划没有任何实验性，这实际上严重阻碍了探险队的主要科学目标。虽然这项研究的大部分资金来自原子能委员会，但没有辐射研究的成分，而且这项工作与原子能委员会资助的辐射研究（如重同位素研究）所报告的道德滥用没有任何联系。尼尔对人类遗传学领域广泛主题的开创性贡献在其他地方被广泛记载。他对雅诺马马人的研究尤其为我们物种的进化生物学，社会文化实践的作用提供了独特的见解，例如亲属关系和选择压力在塑造原始种群隔离物的遗传多样性方面的作用，以及这些种群的健康状况。IGES谴责对其创始人之一和第一任总统的声誉造成的损害，以及这本书可能对遗传流行病学研究的进行造成的误解。关于在原始人口中进行科学研究的伦理问题值得认真和广泛的讨论，但IGES谴责本书中对事实的严重歪曲和对主要人物的妖魔化。(1)（C）2001 Wiley-Liss，Inc.
The International Genetic Epidemiology Society (IGES) has examined the charges against James V. Neel and his colleagues contained in the recently published book by Patrick Tierney entitled Darkness in El Dorado: How Scientists and Journalists Devastated the Amazon (W.W. Norton, 2000). The book implicates Neel in causing or promoting an epidemic of measles among the Yanomamo Indians of Venezuela in 1968 leading to "hundreds if not thousands" of deaths by using, a "dinosaur" vaccine (Edmonston B) as a deliberate "experiment" to test his "eugenic" theories. Tierney also attempts to link this research, funded by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), with a broader tapestry of human radiation experiments. To investigate these serious charges, the IGES undertook a thorough examination of most source documents referenced in Tierney's book, Neel's field logs, notes, first-hand reports, contemporary writings, film sound tracks, etc., and conducted interviews with many relevant persons. The IGES finds that these allegations are false. Neel was not a eugenicist and was in fact highly critical of both the scientific basis of eugenics and its coercive social policies. In this regard, Tierney has grossly misrepresented Neel's views on a Wide range of social implications of modem civilization for the long-term health of the gene pool. Far from causing an epidemic of measles, Neel did his utmost to protect the Yanomamo from the ravages of the impending epidemic by a vaccination program using a vaccine that was widely used at the time and administered in an appropriate manner. There was nothing experimental about the vaccination program, which in fact severely hindered the primary scientific objectives of the expedition. Although the research was funded in large part by the AEC, there was no element of radiation research and the work had no connection with the ethical abuses that have been reported from AEC-sponsored radiation research, such as studies of heavy isotopes.Neel's seminal contributions to a broad range of topics in human genetics have been extensively chronicled elsewhere. His research on the Yanomamo in particular has provided unique insights into the evolutionary biology of our species, the role of sociocultural practices, such as kinship relationships and selective pressures in shaping the genetic diversity of primitive population isolates, as well as the general picture of health in such populations. The IGES decries the damage done to the reputation of one of its founders and its first President and the misperception this book may have caused about the conduct of research in genetic epidemiology. Ethical issues about scientific research in primitive populations deserve serious and wide discussion, but the IGES condemns the gross misrepresentation of the facts and demonization of the principal characters in this book.(1) (C) 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.