Virology
Headline writers: Please take a virology course
By Vincent Racaniello | | Commentary, Information
Yesterday Denise Grady wrote in the New York Times about the end of the moratorium on influenza H5N1 virus research. The story headline read: Research to resume on modified, deadlier bird flu The Minneapolis Star Tribune reprinted Ms. Grady’s story with the following headline: Studies will resume on deadly modified flu virus Where do these …
End of moratorium on influenza H5N1 research
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Commentary, Information
In early 2012 influenza virus researchers around the world decided to stop working on highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus. This decision came after work from the Fouchier and Kawaoka laboratories revealed the isolation of influenza H5N1 strains that can be passed among ferrets by aerosol. The moratorium on influenza H5N1 virus research has now …
Slow motion sneezing
By Vincent Racaniello | | Information
A bit unsettling, but this is what happens when a sneeze is not contained: If you have a respiratory viral infection, each drop expelled can contain tens of thousands of infectious virions. Made by South Australian Health.
Viruses on Time
By Vincent Racaniello | | Information
Poliovirus recently made the cover of Time magazine. Prompted by a reader question, I searched the Time archive to find out if there have been other virology-themed covers. I found fifteen in all, depicting poliovirus (3), herpesvirus (1), HIV/AIDS (4), influenza (5), and SARS coronavirus (2) (I did not distinguish between US and international editions). …
TWiV 216: Processing VIRALGUUAACACCAGRNA
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
On episode #216 of the science show This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, Rich, and Kathy resume the virology 101 series with a discussion of RNA capping, splicing, and export. You can find TWiV #216 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
Effectiveness of this season’s influenza vaccine
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has released early estimates of the effectiveness of this season’s influenza vaccine in preventing influenza infection. Influenza vaccine effectiveness is assessed each year by the U.S. Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Network. Patients with acute respiratory infection (ARI) are enrolled in the study; respiratory samples are taken and the presence …
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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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