French Science Academies Slam Seralini Study Finding GMO Cancer Threat

But the six academies said "conventional statistical analysis... showed no significant difference between the (rat) groups... in contrary to the wording used by the authors of the article for the public."

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2012-10-linking-gm-corn-cancer-non-event.html#jCp
Andrew Revkin at NYTimes.com on the ball:

An intensively promoted and controversial French study claiming to find high tumor rates and early mortality in rats fed genetically modified corn and“safe” levels of the herbicide Roundup has been dismissed in a rare joint statement from France’s six scientific academies. Here’s a link to the statement (in French). Here’s an excerpt from coverage of the academies’ statement by Agence France-Presse:

“This work does not enable any reliable conclusion to be drawn,” they said, adding bluntly that the affair helped “spread fear among the public.” The joint statement—an extremely rare event in French science—was signed by the national academies of agriculture, medicine, pharmacy, sciences, technology and veterinary studies. It was sparked by research published in September that said rats fed with so-called NK603 corn and/or doses of Roundup herbicide developed tumors….
Two fast-track official investigations into the study, ordered by the government, are due to be unveiled on Monday.
The academies’ statement said: “Given the numerous gaps in methods and interpretation, the data presented in this article cannot challenge previous studies which have concluded that NK603 corn is harmless from the health point of view, as are, more generally, genetically modified plants that have been authorised for consumption by animals and humans.” In withering terms, it dismissed the study as “a scientific non-event.” “Hyping the reputation of a scientist or a team is a serious misdemeanour when it helps to spread fear among the public that is not based on any firm conclusion,” the academies said.

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