The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Iceland" ...
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"Your genetic destiny for sale"
Several ventures have been launched over recent years to "sift through the DNA of specific populations, in hope of identifying the underlying genetic causes of those diseases most likely to kill us. The researchers, pharmaceutical companies executives and venture capitalists involved are all betting that recent advances in biotech and computing have made it possible to take a few hundred or thousand victims of a disease, analyze their DNA, compare it to the DNA of healthy individuals, and identify the salient differences -- those genetic variations that result in illness on the one hand and health on the other...If these efforts succeed, they could revolutionize the nature of drug discovery and medical treatment." However, this type of research, called population genomics, brings up a host of ethical issues. For instance, some past studies use a standard of "presumed consent" for subject's participation in the study, as opposed to the "informed consent" required for most research.
Tags: population genomics; Gemini Genomics; Newfound Genomics; DNA; genetics; deCODE genetics; Iceland; UmanGenomics; medical ethics
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High School Basketball Investigation
The Long Beach Press-Telegram investigates Artesia High School's nationally recognized basketball program. A large number of the players on Artesia's men basketball team live outside of the school's district, or are from foreign countries like the Dominican Republic or Iceland. An investigation by the Press-Telegram revealed the Artesia's head coach, Wayne Merino, had violated numerous California prep sports rules while building his championship teams, including using undue influence to recruit players and recruiting ineligible players . The newspaper discovered that "two of the team's players had submitted foreign student applications with false information on them, that one of the team's stars, a junior at the school, was actually in his 10th semester of high school and that the team's coaches had used undue influence in recruiting the players."
Tags: Artesia High School; Long Beach; California; Wayne Merino; basketball; sports; winning; students; players; athletes; recruiting; Dominican Republic; Iceland; Adidas
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Fire and Ice
Gudmundur Pall Olafsson, an Icelandic researcher, has succeeded in bringing a governmental attempt to dam wilderness areas for hydroelectric power to the public's attention. A personal symbolic gesture of planting a half-mast flag in the middle of an endangered area turned into a media symbol. The government is still trying to bring heavy industry into the area despite environmental risks.
Tags: Iceland; dam; Gudmundur Pall Olafsson
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Near-Miss Communications
WABC-TV Channel 7 Eye Witness News investigated why two foreign 757 jumbo jets nearly collided on the JFK Airport in New York in June of 1998. The investigation revealed that this near-miss and an Avianca jet crash that killed 73 people 10 years ago "resulted from foreign pilots inability to clearly understand English, the international language of aviation."