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BEIJING-The workshop was meant to train volunteers to prick the fingers of thousands of elderly Chinese as part of an international study of human longevity. But as the first drops of blood appeared, Tong Zeng saw red. Initially worried about the welfare of the elderly subjects, he soon wondered whether the participants would be properly informed and if the genetic component of the study might be used for commercial purposes that would not benefit China. Working at the China Research Center on Aging (CRCA), the organization conducting the project, Tong helped launch a media campaign that led the government to temporarily halt the project last spring. Although the furor has ebbed, the genetic fruits of the research-more than 4000 blood samples already collected--have yet to be harvested. Instead, they sit locked inside a well-guarded safe, with domestic scientists waiting for the necessary resources to analyze them.
The campaign was not the first time Chinese newspapers and magazines had questioned the reasons behind genetic research involving foreign scientists. And it came as the government was preparing rules to restrict the export of genetic material (Science, 18 September 1998, p. 1779). But this time the targets of the media assaults did not remain silent. Last fall, the Beijing-based CRCA sued two local newspapers and one weekly magazine for libel, claiming that its reputation had been damaged by what it said were false and misleading articles. The case, which is pending before local courts in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Nanchang, asks for $360,000 to cover the center's legal expenses and the cost of any delays in the research. Man Zhenyu, deputy director of CRCA, says he hopes that the media also "will apologize openly" for their conduct.
"The accusations are ridiculous and fabricated:' says one of the principal investigators,...