Virology
TWiV 103: Shots with LJ Tan
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and LJ Tan On Episode 103 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent and Alan discuss influenza vaccines with LJ Tan of the American Medical Association. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV103.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #103 (56 MB .mp3, 77 minutes) Subscribe to TWiV (free) in …
Viral bioinformatics: Introduction to multiple sequence alignment
By Vincent Racaniello | | Uncategorized
This week€™s addition to the virology toolbox was written by Chris Upton Generating multiple sequence alignments (MSA) is one of the most commonly used bioinformatics techniques. The sequences to be compared can be DNA (promoters, genes, genomes) or proteins. Note that the length and number of sequences to be aligned has an impact on the …
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Universal influenza vaccines
By Vincent Racaniello | | Basic virology, Information
The need to re-formulate the influenza virus vaccine in response to viral antigenic drift and shift makes for complex logistics of vaccine production and administration. Surveillance programs must be conducted each year to identify strains that are likely to predominate and cause disease. Wouldn€™t it be simpler if a single vaccine could be developed that …
TWiV 102: Catch me if you can in Munich
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Virology
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Andrew Baker, Karl-Klaus Conzelmann, Peter Palese, and Katharina Eisenächer Episode #102 of the podcast This Week in Virology is a conversation about the RNA sensor RIG-I, adenovirus gene therapy, a universal influenza vaccine, and rabies virus, recorded in Munich, Germany at the SFB455 symposium ‘Viral offense and immune defense€™. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV102.mp3″] Click the arrow above to …
TWiP 17: Entamoeba histolytica
By Vincent Racaniello | | This Week in Parasitism
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello and Dickson Despommier On episode 17 of the podcast This Week in Parasitism, Vincent and Dickson continue their discussion of protozoan parasites that cause diarrhea with a review of amebic dysentery caused by Entamoeba histolytica. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twip/TWiP017.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiP is brought to you …
Munich Symposium: Viral offense and immune defense
By Vincent Racaniello | | Uncategorized
I arrived in Munich, Germany today for the start of a Symposium entitled ‘Viral offense and immune defense’. It is organized by Collaborative Research Center 455 (in German, Sonderforschungsbereich, SFB 455); these are centers funded by the German Research Foundation that support collaborative research throughout the country. This meeting will highlight 21 internationally renowned speakers …
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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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