RESEARCH ETHICS: Studies Trace Patchwork of Conflict Policies.

For more than a year since the September 1999 death of a teenager in a gene-therapy clinical trial that had industry connections, scientists, ethicists, and government and university officials have been fretting about conflict of interest. But no one could say just how the nation's universities are policing such conflicts. Now, three recently published studies show that requirements for disclosure of outside financial interests vary widely from university to university, as do penalties for violations.