- Email: [email protected]
Pluto left out in the cold
Comment
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Vanags D, Williams B, Johnson B, et al. Therapeutic efficacy and safety of chaperonin 10 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind randomised trial. Lancet 2006; 368: 855–63. Emery P, Ponchel F. Inhibiting toll-like receptors in inflammatory disease. Lancet 2006; 368: 821–22. Apolone G, Joppi R, Bertele V, Garattini S. Ten years of marketing approvals of anticancer drugs in Europe: regulatory policy and guidance documents need to find a balance between different pressures. Br J Cancer 2005; 93: 504–09. Glannon W. Phase I oncology trials: why the therapeutic misconception will not go away. J Med Ethics 2006; 32: 252–55.
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Joffe S, Miller FG. Rethinking risk-benefit assessment for phase I cancer trials. J Clin Oncol 2006; 24: 2987–90. Khandekar J, Khandekar M. Phase I clinical trials: not just for safety anymore? Arch Intern Med 2006; 166: 1440–41. Markman M. “Therapeutic intent” in phase I oncology trials: a justifiable objective. Arch Intern Med 2006; 166: 1446–48. Anonymous. Expert group says preclinical TGN1412 studies failed to predict safe dose in man. Scrip July 28, 2006: 2. Anonymous. UK industry recommends staggered dosing in first-in-man trials. Scrip July 28, 2006: 3. Kaiser J. A cure for medicine’s ailments. Science 2006; 311: 1852–54.
Pluto left out in the cold
The International Astronomical Union/Martin Kornmesser
The solar system as we know it just got a little smaller. At the 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a vote was taken on Resolution 5, the official definition of a planet. Little Pluto did not make the grade, and is instead now classified as a dwarf planet, a new distinct class of object. A planet is defined a body that is in orbit around a star, while not being a star itself, and it must be massive enough for its own gravity to pull it into a roughly spherical shape. The planet must also have cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit of smaller objects, which Pluto has not achieved. Instead, it will be recognised as a prototype for a new and growing category of transNeptunian objects. For sentimental reasons, many people had hoped that Pluto would be allowed to retain its place as the ninth planet, an idea that has been with us since it was discovered in 1930. However, this status had been called into question with the discovery of new objects such as the unwieldy-sounding 2003 UB313, popularly nicknamed Xena, in the icy Kuiper Belt region at the edge of our solar system. Should these objects be planets too?
Pluto is by no means the only celestial body to have had an undecided status. The discovery in 1801 of Ceres, a possible planet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, and the subsequent discovery of similar objects in the same region, led instead to creation of a new category to be known as asteroids. Under the proposed IAU resolution, Ceres would have been officially classified as a planet, along with Pluto, its similarly sized moon Charon (the two of which would have been regarded as a double planet), and 2003 UB313. However, they will now be classified as dwarf planets except Charon, whose status is currently uncertain. No one could deny that Pluto was unlike the other known planets. Its size, distance, and highly irregular orbit are very different from those of the traditional planets. But for those brought up after 1930, Pluto has been part of our perception of our celestial neighbourhood. For many, this new definition will not alter their sentimental attachment to the former planet. However, some astrologers may have to rethink any claims about the explanet’s mystical effects. Future generations will have no such attachments. Science textbooks and dictionaries will eventually be rewritten. The childhood mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets will need recasting. Some science museums had already removed Pluto from their list of planets. Classification of objects is integral to science, and reclassification based on new information will always be part of that. Some people might consider the status of a small icy body orbiting our sun at the far edges of our solar system to be of little importance, but such classifications can help define our extended neighbourhood and our appreciation of our place in it. Stephanie Bartlett The Lancet, London NW1 7BY, UK
828
www.thelancet.com Vol 368 September 2, 2006
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Vanags D, Williams B, Johnson B, et al. Therapeutic efficacy and safety of chaperonin 10 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind randomised trial. Lancet 2006; 368: 855–63. Emery P, Ponchel F. Inhibiting toll-like receptors in inflammatory disease. Lancet 2006; 368: 821–22. Apolone G, Joppi R, Bertele V, Garattini S. Ten years of marketing approvals of anticancer drugs in Europe: regulatory policy and guidance documents need to find a balance between different pressures. Br J Cancer 2005; 93: 504–09. Glannon W. Phase I oncology trials: why the therapeutic misconception will not go away. J Med Ethics 2006; 32: 252–55.
8 9 10 11 12 13
Joffe S, Miller FG. Rethinking risk-benefit assessment for phase I cancer trials. J Clin Oncol 2006; 24: 2987–90. Khandekar J, Khandekar M. Phase I clinical trials: not just for safety anymore? Arch Intern Med 2006; 166: 1440–41. Markman M. “Therapeutic intent” in phase I oncology trials: a justifiable objective. Arch Intern Med 2006; 166: 1446–48. Anonymous. Expert group says preclinical TGN1412 studies failed to predict safe dose in man. Scrip July 28, 2006: 2. Anonymous. UK industry recommends staggered dosing in first-in-man trials. Scrip July 28, 2006: 3. Kaiser J. A cure for medicine’s ailments. Science 2006; 311: 1852–54.
Pluto left out in the cold
The International Astronomical Union/Martin Kornmesser
The solar system as we know it just got a little smaller. At the 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a vote was taken on Resolution 5, the official definition of a planet. Little Pluto did not make the grade, and is instead now classified as a dwarf planet, a new distinct class of object. A planet is defined a body that is in orbit around a star, while not being a star itself, and it must be massive enough for its own gravity to pull it into a roughly spherical shape. The planet must also have cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit of smaller objects, which Pluto has not achieved. Instead, it will be recognised as a prototype for a new and growing category of transNeptunian objects. For sentimental reasons, many people had hoped that Pluto would be allowed to retain its place as the ninth planet, an idea that has been with us since it was discovered in 1930. However, this status had been called into question with the discovery of new objects such as the unwieldy-sounding 2003 UB313, popularly nicknamed Xena, in the icy Kuiper Belt region at the edge of our solar system. Should these objects be planets too?
Pluto is by no means the only celestial body to have had an undecided status. The discovery in 1801 of Ceres, a possible planet orbiting between Mars and Jupiter, and the subsequent discovery of similar objects in the same region, led instead to creation of a new category to be known as asteroids. Under the proposed IAU resolution, Ceres would have been officially classified as a planet, along with Pluto, its similarly sized moon Charon (the two of which would have been regarded as a double planet), and 2003 UB313. However, they will now be classified as dwarf planets except Charon, whose status is currently uncertain. No one could deny that Pluto was unlike the other known planets. Its size, distance, and highly irregular orbit are very different from those of the traditional planets. But for those brought up after 1930, Pluto has been part of our perception of our celestial neighbourhood. For many, this new definition will not alter their sentimental attachment to the former planet. However, some astrologers may have to rethink any claims about the explanet’s mystical effects. Future generations will have no such attachments. Science textbooks and dictionaries will eventually be rewritten. The childhood mnemonic for remembering the order of the planets will need recasting. Some science museums had already removed Pluto from their list of planets. Classification of objects is integral to science, and reclassification based on new information will always be part of that. Some people might consider the status of a small icy body orbiting our sun at the far edges of our solar system to be of little importance, but such classifications can help define our extended neighbourhood and our appreciation of our place in it. Stephanie Bartlett The Lancet, London NW1 7BY, UK
828
www.thelancet.com Vol 368 September 2, 2006