Corrupting Influences
Here is an example of the sort of damage done to research endeavors by the highly dubious business-as-usual practices of the "anti-aging" marketplace. Science is the search for truth and, far more so than reputable fields of business, the anti-aging marketplace is based upon whatever lies you can get away with. That is the prevalent culture there - selling snake oil with hype and glitter, with those who've convinced themselves that their product in fact works doing the best job of salesmanship. When the two meet, trust in scientific progress suffers. That doesn't happen in a dozen other fields of business intimately connected with scientific medical research, so why should it do so here? Is resveratrol junk and nonsense, just like a thousand products that don't do what their sellers promise? Many more people now think so on the back of this news. Is research into calorie restriction biology worth funding? Many more people now think not, putting it in the same category as cremes from Revlon and feel-good supplements from fly by night providers. The anti-aging marketplace is a noxious cloud hanging about the scientific quest for healthy life extension. The sooner it either goes away or reforms itself the better.
Link: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2008/12/26/harvard-researcher-tied-to-shaklee-anti-aging-tonic-vivix/