Science on Trial: The Clash of Medical Evidence and the Law in the Breast Implant Case. Angell M. 256 pages. New York: WW Norton; 1996. $13.95. ISBN 0393316726. Order phone 800-223-2584.

Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge. Epstein S. 466 pages. Berkeley: Univ of California Pr; 1996. $29.95. ISBN 0520202333. Order phone 800-822-6657.

In a recent piece in The New York Times [1], prominent AIDS researcher Max Essex and epidemiologist Bruce Weniger argued that two things intrinsic to the culture of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-the high premium placed on basic as opposed to applied science ...

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