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shawnsmith
Czech Republic
2048 Posts |
 Posted - 01/17/2010 : 10:17:35
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Or Maybe That Virus Isn’t Linked to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2010/01/07/or-maybe-that-virus-isnt-linked-to-chronic-fatigue-syndrome/
By Jacob Goldstein -- January 7, 2010
A few months back, a group of scientists got a lot of attention when they published a study that suggested a virus called XMRV could be linked to many cases of chronic fatigue syndrome, or CFS.
But as we noted at the time, the study didn’t clearly prove a link between the disease and the virus. Now, in a study published this week in the journal PLoS One, scientists in the U.K. say they looked at samples from 186 CFS patients and found no sign of XMRV.
A research institute that was part of the earlier study fired off a press release that faulted the methods used in the new article, arguing that the techniques “not only explain their failure to replicate” the earlier findings, “but also render the conclusions meaningless.” Needless to say, the U.K. scientists defended their work. (For more on the technical back-and-forth, see this article from ScienceNOW.)
A lot is at stake here, because there’s no test to determine whether someone has CFS; it’s diagnosed based on a patient’s symptoms, which the CDC says include six months or more of incapacitating fatigue, along with other problems. So finding a physiological link — like a viral infection — would be an important advance. |
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HellNY
130 Posts |
Posted - 01/17/2010 : 15:40:11
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Edited by - HellNY on 01/17/2010 15:44:40 |
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HellNY
130 Posts |
Posted - 01/17/2010 : 15:43:38
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I hate to say this: I have been a research scientist for almost 20 years. Ive developed a lot of experience in that time. And when I read these one shot studies, Im not at all surprised to see them fail to replicate just a short time later.
Until something has been really, really well demonstrated forwards and backwards, the general public is RIGHT in its wisdom to stop listening to the latest "study results" in the news media.
They all treat single studies like they are a silver bullet. They almost never are. Many scientists are complicit in teh way teh press reports their results.
I literally just roll my eyes and say "blah blah blah study shows blah blah balh exciting discovery blah blah blah now we need more funding to follow up blah blah blah."
As a relatively well known scientist in my field once said about 12-15 years ago "Congress and the legislature have a certain...wide eyed reverence when they hear what scienstists they are funding are working on...a feeling that can only be had by one who is not actually doing the work."
I knew what he meant.
It always the same. Conlcusions that can be drawn from scientific research is a lot less certain than the press often suggests.
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Edited by - HellNY on 01/17/2010 16:28:00 |
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skizzik
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2010 : 04:32:40
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quote:
Originally posted by HellNY
"Congress and the legislature have a certain...wide eyed reverence when they hear what scienstists they are funding are working on...a feeling that can only be had by one who is not actually doing the work."
I knew what he meant.
thats good stuff. haha, yet sad on so many levels, waste of tax dollars...etc |
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drziggles
USA
292 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2010 : 13:11:55
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| Thanks for the update, Shawn. However, this is most certainly not a waste of tax dollars. It's called research! The big message is, as mentioned, data have to be replicated... |
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HellNY
130 Posts |
Posted - 01/18/2010 : 15:08:10
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I am a researcher and have procured over 10 million dollars in federal funding from NIH since 1996. I have many peer-reviewed, first author publications in the top journals in my field. Research is important but all too often there is a terrible failure in interpretation and the weight that is placed on single findings in the media. The scientific community is not without culpability in this regard, either, however.
I do not believe all research monies are well spent. In fact politics often drives what the feds will fund. Sometimes great things are funded. Often probably not. |
Edited by - HellNY on 01/18/2010 15:11:18 |
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Article on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in WSJ
