Summary of Kent Heckenlively & Judy Mikovitz's Plague

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Dr. Robert Gallo was the keynote speaker at the 5th International Conference on HHV-6 and -7, which was dedicated to the human herpes virus 6. Many Americans still believe he is the scientist who discovered the HIV virus, which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

#2 John Crewdson, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, was among the first to criticize Gallo’s claims about the HIV virus. He investigated many of Gallo’s claims about his role in the discovery of the virus, and concluded that the lab had benefited from the resulting test.

#3 The investigation of high-profile science exposed the pitfalls of money, ambition, and controversy. It showed that politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers, and marketers get too close to science.

#4 Gallo had pushed the science further, demonstrating that the HIV virus caused AIDS, using a technique developed in his lab by Frank Ruscetti for growing T-cells. He had also been among the few who took the renegade position that a retrovirus could cause human cancer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Jul 16, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822540491

IRB Media

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Insights on Kent Heckenlively & Judy Mikovitz's Plague

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 18

Insights from Chapter 19

Insights from Chapter 20

Insights from Chapter 21

Insights from Chapter 22

Insights from Chapter 23

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Dr. Robert Gallo was the keynote speaker at the 5th International Conference on HHV-6 and -7, which was dedicated to the human herpes virus 6. Many Americans still believe he is the scientist who discovered the HIV virus, which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

#2

John Crewdson, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, was among the first to criticize Gallo’s claims about the HIV virus. He investigated many of Gallo’s claims about his role in the discovery of the virus, and concluded that the lab had benefited from the resulting test.

#3

The investigation of high-profile science exposed the pitfalls of money, ambition, and controversy. It showed that politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers, and marketers get too close to science.

#4

Gallo had pushed the science further, demonstrating that the HIV virus caused AIDS, using a technique developed in his lab by Frank Ruscetti for growing T-cells. He had also been among the few who took the renegade position that a retrovirus could cause human cancer.

#5

The truce between Gallo and Montagnier over HIV/AIDS would soon be broken over the latter’s theory that abnormal bacteria were causing at least some of the symptoms of autism, and that long-term treatment with antibiotics might be helpful.

#6

Dr. Frank Ruscetti, Mikovits’s mentor and long-time collaborator, was one of the most brilliant, well-rounded men she had ever met. He was both honest and incorruptible.

#7

There is a risk of scientific celebrity intoxication, where scientists become intoxicated by their scientific celebrity and quickly throw away their integrity.

#8

In 1982, Gallo contracted with Mikovits and her colleagues to purify HTLV-1 retrovirus from infected cells, but they were also given the task of purifying interferon, which had the potential to be a cure for cancer. But there were risks to the lab employees, especially pregnant women.

#9

Ruscetti was eventually able to convince Gallo to give up his search for the HIV virus, but not before a lot of stress and fear for her job.

#10

The discovery of the herpes virus HHV-6 was controversial, as it was found to be connected to several deadly human diseases. It is unclear whether the virus lies at the heart of these diseases or whether it is just another indicator of an even more elusive pathogen.

#11

In late 2005, Mikovits was smiling and at ease in her favorite place: tending bar at the Pierpont Bay Yacht Club in Ventura, California, not far from the beach house she shared with her husband. She enjoyed hearing about the struggles and obstacles people had overcome.

#12

In 2005, Judy was working behind the bar when Joe Vetrano, then vice commodore of PBYC, walked in with his new girlfriend, Karen, an accountant. Karen began to talk about her boss, Kristin Loomis, who had started an organization to go after the HHV-6 virus.

#13

Judy Mikovits was a well-spoken, knowledgeable, and dedicated scientist who wanted to do everything possible to find effective treatments for cancer. She was controversial, but many people admired her dedication.

#14

Within a few hours of her chance encounter with the yacht club, Mikovits felt comfortable with the questions surrounding HHV-6, and within a few days she had accepted a job offer from Loomis.

#15

After the first couple of weeks, however, there was a disconnect between what Mikovits thought she would be doing and what she was actually assigned. She figured she would be preparing for the 5th International Conference on HHV-6 and -7, but when the conference was over, she would leave the HHV-6 Foundation and look for another job.

#16

After Gallo’s dinner talk, Mikovits learned that Annette Whittemore