1. sa smith
  2. He coulda been a BLOGGER. He coulda been somebody, instead of a bum premiere influenza researcher!

He coulda been a BLOGGER. He coulda been somebody, instead of a bum premiere influenza researcher!

By sa smith on May 12, 2010.

Earlier this week, Peter Palese visited our Uni (he made it through Oklahomas version of hazing: a night of tornadoes, LOL!).

I gotta say, man, that guy might be one of the biggest names in influenza/virology research. He might have a few hundred publications. He might be a member of the National Academy. But that guy? Peter Palese? Hes got the heart of a BLAGGER!

He gossiped with us students at lunch about kook scientists and anti-vaxers and snake-oil salesmen, it was so much fun! Heres my favorite story :)

Back in the day, when Dr. Palese was cutting his teeth as a scientist, Linus Pauling was still a credible guy. So Palese spent a lot of time/effort/money on investigating how Vitamin C could help us battle influenza. Why not, right? Nobel Prize winner thinks its a good idea!

... yeah, it was a massive waste of time.

:-/

His view on Vitamin C and influenza in a recent interview about swine flu:

Can vitamin C help?
A lot of people swear by vitamin C, but there is very little evidence that it works. But there is a placebo effect, which can be useful.

HA! HAAAHAHA! LOVE IT!

*sigh*

He would have made such a snarky blogger...

You all can check him out on '60 Minutes' last year talking about swine flu (video).

Tags
virology
influenza

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I saw Pauling talk when I was a grad student. By then, he was firmly in the grip of his orthomolecular woo. It was genuinely depressing to watch.

So sad when someone misses their calling like that. I hope he is happy anyway.

By the backpacker (not verified) on 13 May 2010 #permalink

qetzal: sounds like when I heard Watson speak in 2002(?, maybe 2003 or 2004). Something about skin color and sexual energy.

Not really for posting this - just wondered did you mean blogger when you wrote "heart of a blagger?"