Ideology with evidence: global warming, maps and ethics.

The author presents a discussion on several studies including the link between the prevalence of obesity and the increase of greenhouse gas emissions, the association of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene with cancer risk, and the spatial clustering of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in South Africa. The author laments the reality that research has not reduced HIV transmission in Africa. A wider discussion on the issue of ethics in medical research is also suggested.