On reading Remember Your Humanity by Joseph Rotblat, 1995 Nobel Peace Prize Lecture. Bouquet of flowers 1945, oil on canvas, by Lucien Cadene (1887-1958), a native of SW France On reading is always looking for parallel discussions that may help cajole the Gain of Function (GOF) debate. Dr. Rotblat shared the prize with the Pugwash...
A case study of peer review enabling academic abuse Alex Washburne Feb 23, 2024 Science was a beautiful thing before people got involved. As a child, the son of a molecular biologist, I envisioned Science as a magical community of scholars all committed to truth, a Vulcan-esque species of minds for whom evidence and...
On reading Lethal infection of human ACE2-transgenic mice caused by SARS-CoV-2-related pangolin coronavirus GX_P2V(short_3’UTR) by Lai Wei, Shuiqing Liu, Shanshan Lu, Shengdong Luo, Xiaoping An, Huahao Fan, Weiwei Chen, Erguang Li, Yigang Ton and Lihua Song. Bouquet of flowers by Marie-Anne Camax-Zoegger (1881-1952) A slight detour today, although some will recognize a few familiar symptoms....
On reading Virology – the path forward by Angela Rasmussen and 77 others. Journal of Virology, Jan 3, 2024. The old farmhouse, gouache on paper by Joseph-Marius Avy (1871-1939). This might take a little longer. Nobody likes regulations. They cost time and money but without regulations global warming would be even worse. Raw sewage would...
Scientists For Science – the “boys will be boys” of science Alex Washburne Feb 10, 2024 The history of the COVID-19 pandemic started long before 2019. If I were to put a start-date on the series of events leading to COVID-19, I’d start in 2011 when the Dutch scientist Ron Fouchier and his team...
On reading The InterAcademy Partnership 2005 statement on biosecurity. View from the terrace of villa Dautreme near Saint Tropez by the French painter, engraver and draftsman Lionel Floch (1895-1972) This is a must for any Biosafety Now reader as it is clear and relevant even though issued almost 20 years ago. It is signed by...
On reading Research must do no harm: new guidance addresses all studies relating to people. Nature, 2022. The Rock of Monaco seen from the botanical garden at Menton by Robert Mauchant (1893-1970) This is a very interesting editorial from Nature. In their own words ‘the guidance encourages authors, reviewers and editors to respect the dignity...
