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| By: Harvey Bialy ISBN: 1556435312 Publisher: North Atlantic Books Release Date: 09 July, 2004 Bioscience book rank: 465104 | Great book. Read it in one go despite the technical vocabulary brain stretching. I've read similar minded books including Lauritsen's which gives a clear picture from the gay world's point of view during the first AIDS outbreak.
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<br />What's most important is the reaction of the one star reviews. It's amazing the degree to which they make their scientific arguments entirely out of personal attacks. An example: "If HIV is not an infectious disease why don't [they] take a vial of infected blood and inject it in [their] body?" Of course this could in no way constitute an experiment, whatever the result might be, but it satisfies the true believer by focusing hatred on the perceived enemy.
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<br />No one argues that AIDS sufferers have not died, but the HIV=AIDS folks have such a huge emotional attachment to the (as yet unclear) mechanism of the syndrome that they have stopped doing science, or even reason in favor of the championship crying jag. In many of these one star reviews we are beaten down with the reports of (reports of) thousands who have, or will suffer. Regarding each death as a vote for their "side" they heap abuse on the skeptical for not caring as much as they do.
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<br />That there are people capable of objectivity in the study of diseases is a great thing. That this objectivity can be strained and tested is the running theme of this book. Reading of famous scientists (famous patent holders) who can't come up with real answers, (in a tough debate situation, maybe, but even months afterwards?), but launch into personal attacks is a warning about who these people are and how their objectivity is holding up.
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<br />The parallel to Global Warming is identical. Again, the numbers of scientists belonging to the club rather than the value of any reasoned arguments, is used to beat down the opposition.
<br /> Shame on Harvey Bialy for not telling the entire story of this misguided man. Duesberg has caused many people to stop or not start medications that have been proven countless times to save lives. Who cares about the argument that HIV doesn't cause AIDS. Does HIV do bad things to people's bodies? Yes. (This has been proven thousands of times.) Can HIV treatment, imperfect as it is, help? Yes. (This too has been proven thousands of times.) Where would you find this information out? The same place you would discover information about heart disease and diabetes and other diseases. Just read scientific medical journals, not this bio of a wasted scientific career. <br /> <br />Scientists should look at study results. Scientists should not hold onto one theory from 1993 and not change their minds when the data change. Medical knowledge changed rapidly. Peter H. Duesberg has not changed his mind as most of us witnessed the world of HIV dramatically change from one where a great percentage of those infected with HIV died to one where the disease could be managed. So many lives have changed as a result of these developments in HIV care and treatment. <br /> <br />I personally know a few people who bought into the Duesberg theory of HIV medicine and did not take medications. Guess what. They died. People like Harvey Bialy who write biographies of flawed men share the responsibility for these people's deaths. <br /> First, this reviewer is a dyed-in-the-wool contrarian with no background in medicine. <br /> <br />The book's main subjects are AIDS and the role of aneuploidy in oncogenesis. Its arguments are deeply flawed, but still very much worth reading. <br /> <br />The current consensus on AIDS may be summed up as follows: <br />1) AIDS is an infectious disease, deadly if untreated. <br />2) The HIV virus causes AIDS. <br /> <br />The book argues that both 1) and 2) are false. As far as 1) is concerned, the book's argument amounts to little more than handwaving. As for 2), the book may have a point, although the alternative explanations provided, such as recreational drug use, are as vague as they are unconvincing and scientifically untestable. <br /> <br />Systematic omission seems to be an essential tool of the author's argument. Just to give an example, the spread of AIDS among hemophiliacs is barely mentioned. The AIDS epidemics among hemophiliacs in countries that did not tempestively adopt blood-screening for HIV is ignored. <br /> <br />As for HIV causing AIDS, the story is somewhat different. Duesberg's critique may have played a role in pinpointing unwarranted hidden assumptions and flaws in the mainstream arguments. The HIV virus appears to be a very special one, its dynamics is still unclear and, since "in vivo" experimentation is problematic, no direct proof that it causes AIDS appears to be available, although circumstantial evidence is there. <br /> <br />The book's chapters about aneuploidy effectively, albeit unwittingly, exemplify the role that explanations (i.e. rethorical models) play in scientific research. It also suggests that neither Duesberg, nor anyone else has a scientifically testable and convincing model for oncogenesis. <br /> <br />The author laments the unfairness of mainstream scientists and provides a wealth of vivid and even entertaining examples. On the other hand, Duesberg and Bialy are hardly champions of civilised debate, resorting to double standards (e.g. concerning Koch's postulate), obfuscation and "ad hominem" attacks. <br /> <br />The book paints a vivid picture of the inner workings of medical research and it raises important issues, a.o. about the role of the media and about the practical implementation of the scientific paradigm. The critical scrutiny it invokes may be fruitfilly applied to its arguments as well as to those it targets. <br /> <br /> | |
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| By: Wafik S. El-Deiry ISBN: 0896039862 Publisher: Humana Press Release Date: 03 March, 2003 Bioscience book rank: 1484653 | ||
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| By: Dennis W. Ross ISBN: 0387983929 Publisher: Springer Release Date: 21 August, 1998 Bioscience book rank: 1452949 | ||
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| By: Katherine R. Polinsky ISBN: 1600216935 Publisher: Nova Science Pub Inc Release Date: 29 October, 2007 Bioscience book rank: | ||
| By: Unknown ISBN: B0010L5PAI Publisher: EMD Biosciences Release Date: 2005 Bioscience book rank: | ||
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