Wielding the knife. If you can't cure it, cut it. That appears to be how the National Cancer Institute is dealing with a pain-inducing newsletter that has criticized NCI chief Andrew von Eschenbach.
Last week, NCI cancelled its subscription to The Cancer Letter, an independent journal in Washington, D.C., that has published some scathing articles on NCI leaders, including recent allegations that von Eschenbach has a conflict of interest because he is trying to direct NCI and the Food and Drug Administration at the same time (Science, 7 October, p. 29). The Cancer Letter publisher Kirsten Goldberg and editor Paul Goldberg--a husband-wife team--say NCI's cancellation of its site license means a loss of 600 dedicated readers at the institute and a $48,000 revenue loss that will force the journal to cut costs.
The cancellation of The Cancer Letter and two other "nonscientific" newsletters is "due to budgetary constraints," says NCI spokesperson Nicole Saiontz, and not because of any unhappiness with its coverage. NCI employees will still be permitted to use program funds for subscriptions, she says.
But as one staffer notes, NCI could end up spending more than it saves if a lot of scientists take that approach.
CREDIT: KATHERINE P. GOLDBERG
