Virology
Threading the NEIDL: TWiV goes inside a BSL-4
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Last fall the science show This Week in Virology teamed up with MicrobeWorld (the public outreach website by the American Society for Microbiology) and Boston University School of Medicine to produce a documentary offering a rarely seen behind-the-scenes view of a biosafety level 4 (BSL-4) laboratory. Today I am pleased to announce the release of Threading the …
This Week in microbiology, parasitism, and virology
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Microbiology, This Week in Parasitism, This Week in Virology
In the past five days we released three science shows on the TWi* network. On This Week in Microbiology (TWiM) episode #51, Vincent, Michael, and Elio meet up with Hazel Barton to talk about cave microbiology. On This Week in Parasitism (TWiP) episode #51, special guest Anthony A. James joins Vincent and Dickson to discuss how mosquitoes …
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How I record my lectures
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
Each year as I teach my undergraduate virology course, I record each lecture and put them online where they are freely accessible. You can find the 2013 lectures here at virology blog and on iTunes U. The complete 2012 course lectures are also available (virology blog and iTunes). And don’t forget Virologia en Español, a …
Proposed US policy on dual use research of concern
By Vincent Racaniello | | Information
The US Office of Science and Technology Policy recently released proposed guidelines for maximizing the benefits and minimizing misuse of life sciences research. The measures establish oversight responsibilities for universities and other institutions that receive Federal funding: Specifically, such institutions would be required to review their current life sciences research involving those pathogens or toxins deemed …
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TWiV 221: Bunya there, done that
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
On episode #221 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Dickson, and Kathy review two emerging bunyaviruses, SFTSV and SBV. You can find TWiV #221 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Antimicrobial peptides induced by herpesvirus enhance HIV-1 infection
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
The risk of being infected with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is substantially enhanced in individuals with other sexually transmitted diseases. For example, infection with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) increases the risk ratio of acquiring HIV from 2 to 4. Explanations for this increased risk include direct inoculation of HIV-1 into the …
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David Tuller
Trial By Error: Claims Built on Fraudulent Trials Should Be Ignored
By David Tuller, DrPH When researchers cite fraudulent studies in support of their claims, it is best not to take anything they write at face value. That is certainly the case with a recent paper titled “Persistent physical symptoms not explained by structural abnormalities or disease processes: a primary care approach to promote recovery,” published …
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Trial By Error: Is Professor Crawley Retired from Bristol, or Isn’t She?
By David Tuller, DrPH Professor Esther Crawley, the methodologically and ethically challenged pediatrician and former grant queen at the University of Bristol, retired from medical practice and, apparently, from academia at some point in the recent past. So why does her name still appear on websites as if she were an active participant in research …
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Trial By Error: Norway Disability Case Exposes Flaws in Draft Guideline for “Long-Term Fatigue–including ME/CFS”
By David Tuller, DrPH A recent disability case in Norway provides a good example of why the draft of a new guideline for “long-term fatigue—including ME/CFS” is so problematic. As I reported last week, the draft guideline, produced by the Norwegian Directorate of Health*, generally favors the biopsychosocial approach. The guideline offers few specifics about …
Trial By Error: Why is Professor Crawley Still on the COFFI Steering Committee?
By David Tuller, DrPH Several years ago, the leaders of the biopsychosocial ideological brigades decided to create the Collaborative On Fatigue and related symptoms Following Infection, or COFFI. According to its website, COFFI’s “overarching aim” is “to investigate factors influencing the development of long-term symptoms (in particular fatigue) following certain infectious diseases.” Akershus University Hospital …
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Trial By Error: Aussie GPs Still Push Graded Exercise Therapy
By David Tuller, DrPH When I was in Australia for the first time in 2018, it was clear that the country’s general practitioners were fervent supporters of the biopsychosocial ideology when it came to ME/CFS. That hasn’t changed, according to a recent exchange of views published in the Australian Journal of General Practice. The debate …
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Trial By Error: Dutch Agency Funds CBT Training Program Based on Flawed Long COVID Trial
By David Tuller, DrPH Here is how bullshit replicates itself in today’s medical world: Conduct a flawed trial, declare success despite serious questions, then develop health policy based on these hyped-up claims. ZonMW, a major Dutch healthcare funding agency, is supporting a new program led by Professor Hans Knoop, a longtime supporter of the fraudulent …
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