Today’s dose is full of opposites: stopping a trial vs. starting to share data; rising supply costs vs. cheaper solutions.

— The US Food and Drug Administration might no longer have the heart for carrying out a study involving diabetes medication Avandia, according to reports. The trial was designed to compare this GlaxoSmithKline drug, which has been linked to an increased risk of heart attack, with Takeda’s diabetes drug Actos. Some say, however, that it’s unethical to administer a known-to-be-unsafe medication. (Pharmalot)

— It might not be Napster, but BioTorrent could lead to major advances in sharing scientific data, according to its developers. A BitTorrent for the biosciences, the free service allows for rapid sharing of large data sets, as well as error checks and search capabilities. (The Scientist)

— A new report says that medical and lab supply costs will be going up significantly over the next year or so. Premier Purchasing Partners attributes the rise to increasing raw material prices from India and China, along with the increasing value of the dollar. (AMNews)

— An MIT doctoral student has developed a $3 version of a suction device for dressing wounds. The suction, which is hand-powered, is designed to speed up healing time for acute or chronic wounds, and creator Danielle Zurovcik has already tested it in the field: in Haiti. (Fast Company)

Image by CarbonNYC via Flickr Creative Commons