Author: Paul Brown,
Environment correspondent
Publication: The Guardian,
UK
Date: September 23,
2000
Thousands of South American
indians were infected with measles, killing hundreds, in order to for US
scientists to study the effects on primitive societies of natural selection,
according to a book out next month.
The astonishing story
of genetic research on humans, which took 10 years to uncover, is likely
to shake the world of anthropology to its core, according to Professor
Terry Turner of Cornell University, who has read the proofs.
"In its scale, ramifications,
and sheer criminality and corruption it is unparalleled in the history
of anthropology," Prof Turner says in a warning letter to Louise Lamphere,
the president of the American Anthropology Association (AAA).
The book accuses James
Neel, the geneticist who headed a long-term project to study the Yanomami
people of Venezuela in the mid-60s, of using a virulent measles vaccine
to spark off an epidemic which killed hundreds and probably thousands.
Once the epidemic was
under way, according to the book, the research team "refused to provide
any medical assistance to the sick and dying Yanomami, on explicit order
from Neel. He insisted to his colleagues that they were only there
to observe and record the epidemic, and that they must stick strictly to
their roles as scientists, not provide medical help".
The book, Darkness in
El Dorado by the investigative journalist Patrick Tierney, is due to be
published on October 1. Prof Turner, whose letter was co-signed by
fellow anthropologist Leslie Sponsel of the University of Hawaii, was trying
to warn the AAA of the impending scandal so the profession could defend
itself.
Although Neel died last
February, many of his associates, some of them authors of classic anthropology
texts, are still alive.
The accusations will
be the main focus of the AAA's AGM in November, when the surviving scientists
have been invited to defend their work. None have commented publicly,
but they are asking colleagues to come to their defence.
One of the most controversial
aspects of the research which allegedly culminated in the epidemic is that
it was funded by the US atomic energy commission, which was anxious to
discover what might happen to communities when large numbers were wiped
out by nuclear war.
While there is no "smoking
gun" in the form of texts or recorded speeches by Neel explaining his conduct,
Prof Turner believes the only explanation is that he was trying to test
controversial eugenic theories like the Nazi scientist Josef Mengele.
He quotes another anthropologist
who read the manuscript as saying: "Mr. Tierney's analysis is a case
study of the dangers in science of the uncontrolled ego, of lack of respect
for life, and of greed and self-indulgence. It is a further extraordinary
revelation of malicious and perverted work conducted under the aegis of
the atomic energy commission."
Prof Turner says Neel
and his group used a virulent vaccine called Edmonson B on the Yanomani,
which was known to produce symptoms virtually indistinguishable from cases
of measles.
"Medical experts, when
informed that Neel and his group used the vaccine in question on the Yanomami,
typically refuse to believe it at first, then say that it is incredible
that they could have done it, and are at a loss to explain why they would
have chosen such an inappropriate and dangerous vaccine," he writes.
"There is no record that
Neel sought any medical advice before applying the vaccine. He never
informed the appropriate organs of the Venezuelan government that his group
was planning to carry out a vaccination campaign, as he was legally required
to do.
Fatalities
"Neither he nor any other
member of the expedition has ever explained why that vaccine was used,
despite the evidence that it actually caused or, at a minimum, greatly
exacerbated the fatal epidemic."
Prof Turner says that
Neel held the view that "natural" human society, as seen before the advent
of large-scale agriculture, consists of small, genetically isolated groups
in which dominant genes - specifically a gene he believed existed for "leadership"
or "innate ability" - have a selective advantage.
In such an environment,
male carriers of this gene would gain access to a disproportionate number
of females, reproducing their genes more frequently than less "innately
able" males. The result would supposedly be a continual upgrading
of the human genetic stock.
He says Neel believed
that in modern societies "superior leadership genes would be swamped by
mass genetic mediocrity".
"The political implication
of this fascistic eugenics is clearly that society should be reorganised
into small breeding isolates in which genetically superior males could
emerge into dominance, eliminating or subordinating the male losers in
the competition for leadership and women, and amassing harems of brood
females." Prof Turner adds.
In the memo he says:
"One of Tierney's more startling revelations is that the whole Yanomami
project was an outgrowth and continuation of the atomic energy commission's
secret programme of experiments on human subjects.
"Neel, the originator
of the project, was part of the medical and genetic research team attached
to the atomic energy commission since the days of the Manhattan Project."
James Neel was well-known
for his research into the effects of radiation on human subjects and personally
headed the team that investigated the effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki
bombs on survivors and their children.
According to Prof Turner,
the same group also secretly carried out experiments on human subjects
in the US. These included injecting people with radioactive plutonium
without their knowledge or permission.
Nightmarish
"This nightmarish story
- a real anthropological heart of darkness beyond the imagining of even
a Joseph Conrad (though not, perhaps, a Josef Mengele) - will be seen (rightly
in our view) by the public, as well as most anthropologists, as putting
the whole discipline on trial," he says.
"This book should...
cause the field to understand how the corrupt and depraved protagonists
could have spread their poison for so long while they were accorded great
respect throughout the western world... This should never be allowed
to happen again."
Yesterday Professor Turner
told the Guardian it was unfortunate that the confidential memo had been
leaked, but it had accomplished its original purpose in getting a full
response from the AAA.
A public forum would
be held at its AGM in November to discuss the book its revelations and
courses of action.
In a statement yesterday
the association said "The AAA is extremely concerned about these allegations.
If proven true they would constitute a serious violation of Yanomami human
rights and our code of ethics. Until there is a full and impartial
review and discussion of the issues raised in the book, it would be unfair
to express a judgment about the specific allegations against individuals
that are contained in it.
"The association is anticipating
conducting an open forum during our annual meeting to provide an opportunity
for our members to review and discuss the issues and allegations raised
in the book."
(Source - http://www.guardianunlimited.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,372067,00.html)