Treatment or Research? The Government Decides

Two neurosurgeons at the University of California - Davis (UCD) have resigned over an investigation into their activities at the university. The two neurosurgeons reportedly injected bacteria into the brains of patients in hopes that the bacteria would induce an immune reaction that would fight cancer. UCD launched an investigation and found that that the surgeons were conducting research without the proper ethical protocols. The surgeons argue that they were providing treatment, not conducting research.
Read more about the case at the website:
http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/2-neurosurgeons-who-were-accused-of-misconduct-at-uc-davis-resign/65193

The Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Safety (http://www.hhs.gov/) provides a definition of human subject research on their website.
http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.html#46.102
The definition indicates that activities might be considered research even if the activities are not "conducted or supported under a program which is considered research for other purposes."

The moral of the story -- caveat scolaris (scholar beware).

Guns May Become More Common On Campus

There is a battle going on right now between university officials who want to keep guns off campus to protect students, faculty, and staff and others (mostly students) who want to exercise their right to bear arms.A UNF student and member of a gun rights group has filed a lawsuit against UNF (read more). The issue rests on whether colleges have the right to regulate gun use.

As a signal of things to come, an Oregon Appeals Court recently ruled that the State University System did not have the right to regulate gun use. Students may begin to exercise their right to carry loaded guns on campus.