Mr. Osama Saraya did well when he issued orders preventing the publication of any scientific news until it has been introduced, reviewed and refined by the science department at Al-Ahram. These new orders were in response to what Al-Masry Al-Youm published regarding the scandal of the publication of official news in 'brain stem death' whereby it was mentioned that it is the most recent scientific research, although its relationship to science is much like my relationship to Cambodia! This news headline came about after the official heard someone say that the 'brain stems' are alive. He then quickly adopted the thought and highlighted that on the first page as a new scientific discovery whereas in reality it is the viewpoint of friends chatting in a forum! Of course, this paved the road for tabloid press, which unfortunately then launched an attack on Al-Masry Al-Youm. The official used the language of informants in the fifties who wore the yellow overcoat, a cane under the arm, a newspaper with holes in it. He then accused me of benefiting from it and saying that I call for organ donation and that I do not benefit from American families' refusal of brain stem death! What saddened me the most was not the attack as they became merely words, but rather his style of writing upset me the most because it is an indicator of the level the Egyptian press has reached. He was joined by some journalism graduates who cannot read! He continued to defend Al Ahram with comical clichés which belong to the publications of al-Qaeda, and the language and style of the era of the Mamluks! I saw before me the image of Abdel Fatah AlQasri (an actor specializing in comedy) as he was reading "Henchen" and delivering a speech before the court in the fine film "Professor Fatima," and I advised him with sincere advice that he name his column "Alilm Nouran." The earth does not revolve around itself, according to the famous fish teacher; the journalist could use this as a reference and disseminate scientific information on the front page! I suggest that Al-Ahram form an advisory committee to examine any scientific information. This Committee would be composed of doctors, scientists, physicists and chemists. Each one would review his specialty and they would determine the recognized scientific journals in each discipline giving the news more scientific credibility. They will distinguish between what is real and what is false, not leaving any opportunity for anyone to comment. The problem is that scientific news, especially medical, transforms into a game with peoples' lives. When an established newspaper publishes that we have done a face transplant when in fact it was a skin graft gone bad whereby the plastic surgeons deny it, the world will laugh at us. And when we say that for the first time someone has performed a catheter in the arteries, which has been done in Egypt for the past ten years we will have lied about a serious issue. Also, when we publish the news of the treatment of paralysis in Almansoura with stem cells on the front page and then many desperate patients in need of this treatment travel on expenses reaching LE 30,000 based on that news then this is a crime. One cannot say this is the freedom of the press as this is scientific news.
When AbdulFatah Al-Qasri writes - may he rest in peace - about brain stem death then Egypt is in trouble.
