A study of sexual transmission of Zika virus among mice (link to paper) demonstrates beautifully that viral nucleic acid detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is not the same as infectious virus. Male mice were infected with Zika virus and then mated with female mice. Efficient sexual transmission of the virus from males to females was observed. This …
In a recent editorial, the New York Times wrote about ‘the breakdown of a shared public reality built upon widely accepted facts’. As a scientist, I am appalled by the disdain for facts shown by many in this country, including the President-Elect. Unfortunately, science is not without its share of fake information. The Times argues that at one …
By David Tuller, DrPH David Tuller is academic coordinator of the concurrent masters degree program in public health and journalism at the University of California, Berkeley. The past year has been a disaster for proponents of the PACE trial. They have faced growing international resistance to their exaggerated claims that cognitive behavior therapy and graded …
Trial By Error, Continued: The New FITNET Trial for Kids Read More »
Yoshinori Ohsumi has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his work on autophagy, a process of eukaryotic cells for degrading and recycling cellular components. Because of his research, we now understand the importance of autophagy in health and human disease. It is another example of the serendipity of science and …
A Nobel for autophagy, and the importance of fundamental research Read More »
Andrew W. Gurman, M.D., President of the American Medical Association, has expressed disappointment in the failure of Congress to support the US public health response to Zika Virus: At a time when concerns continue to mount about the nation’s readiness to protect the public from the Zika virus, the AMA is disappointed by Congress’ failure to pass legislation before …
Today I learned that a number of investigators refuse to share their samples of Zika virus with other laboratories. There are countless stories about scientists not sharing reagents because they want to be the first to make a discovery. This behavior allows them to publish first, secure more grant funding, garner invitations to speak at meetings, and generally stroke their egos. This …
