- Capitalism and Alternatives -

Were we bowling?

In Reply to: Strike One! posted by Frenchy on January 10, 19100 at 10:46:09:

: :
: : : Well, this is all wonderful, but again, with that much brain power, technical brain power no less, where in blue blazes are the fruits of that knowledge? ......

: : ---

: : Indeed, that is the very question posed by Corporate giant SmithKlein Beecham. To Wit:

: :

"ABCNEWS.com
: : While the rest of the world stands to benefit
: : from Cuba’s medical discoveries, it remains an
: : open question if they can ever be used in the
: : United States.
: : The strict U.S. embargo on Cuba, strengthened in
: : 1996 by the Helms-Burton law, not only bars trade in
: : food and medicine, but also restricts Cuban and American
: : scientists and researchers from meeting with each other to
: : exchange information. It bars any commerce that would
: : ultimately bring financial profit to the Cuban government.
: : Last year, the British-American pharmaceutical giant
: : SmithKlein Beecham tried to press U.S. authorities into
: : allowing a Cuban meningitis drug to be tested for use in
: : the States. Despite a plea to U.S. Secretary of State
: : Madeleine Albright by a bipartisan panel of 16 U.S.
: : lawmakers, no decision has yet been made...."

: : http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/cubacancer990312_side1.html

:
: Very Interesting, very interesting indeed.
: What specific 'medical discoveries'? Who discovered them? When? In what laboratory were these discoveries discovered?

---

Well, in the interest of furthering your insatiable thirst for knowledge of Cuban science - here's some more:

The biotechnological revolution came upon the world scene in the 1980s, and it provided an opportunity for the Cuban scientific community to be present at the forefront of science. Chemists have been involved in the production of alpha interferon from leukocytes since 1981, and a contagious working fever started with the acquisition and structural elucidation of recombinant proteins (via new mass and nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometers from Japan), development of diagnostic and therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, production of restriction enzymes, etc. Several new research centers with well-equipped chemical laboratories were built, including the
Center of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (1986), Center of Immunoassay (1987), Institute Finlay (research, development, and production of vaccines, 1989), Center of Pharmaceutical Chemistry (1989), and Center of Molecular Immunology (1994). The support given to biotechnology led to the improvement of R&D in chemistry and a larger presence of chemists in national programs of decisive importance for the social and economic development of the country. Chemical R&D is present in 12 of the 14 National Programs in Science and Technology managed by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment, as independent or related projects in basic and applied research. At present, there are more than 220 scientific institutions in Cuba, without considering university faculties, and 40 of them (18%) are devoted, entirely or partially, to R&D in different fields of chemistry, including medicine, agriculture, oil, mining, textiles, heavy and light industries, sugar, food, cosmetics, etc. Today, Cuba spends 1.2% of its GDP on the development of science and has 1.7
scientists and engineers per 1000 inhabitants, figures that are
very close to those of Canada and several times above those of
most nondeveloped countries.

:http://www.iupac.org/publications/ci/1999/march/cuba2.html#post

:What prevent Cuba from sharing these discoveries with some of their trading partners like the former Soviet Repblics and Germany? Couldn't those wonderful medical discoveries come to the down trodden of the US via Germany? Doesn't Germany have dealings with many other countries?

There's the little matter of the Helms-Burton Act...but I guess you didn't read the previous link.

Incidentally, 53% of Cuban scientists are women while the figure is somewhere between 25-30% in the U.S. Curious eh?

: Or are you attemping to attach something to the bottom of my shoe?

On the contrary, I was trying to remove the banana peel.

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