Stacey Smith
I'm a graduate student studying the molecular and biochemical evolution of HIV within patients and within populations. I also study epigenetic control of ERVs.
sa smith
Posts by this author
January 3, 2012
The very first sign Judy Mikovits was not just a little 'off-her-rocker' kook-coo, but full on 'off-the-rocker-set-it-on-fire-and-dancing-around-the-flames-nude-while-using-feces-as-war-paint' kook-coo, was this comment she made about XMRV, vaccines, and autism, before her shit paper was even…
January 2, 2012
Oh my gawd this is so fun!
You know how we are always screaming online about some stupid thing Jenny McCarthy or Bill O'Reilly has said/done? A group of folks at Sense About Science have gotten together some of the stupid, if not outright dangerous 'potentially misleading' things celebrities have…
December 26, 2011
(sorry about the commenting issues the past couple of days-- dunno what that was, fixed now!)
So, they finally retracted Lo et al, which should have never been published in the first place, as it turns out their findings were contamination, and they should have been aware of that if they BLASTed…
December 22, 2011
Thank you to Bruce Alberts for taking the initiative to do this*. I would also like to thank all of the hard working scientists, from all over the world, who did real research to help resolve this issue. It restores my faith in science. It really does.
[Shorter Bruce Alberts: FUS-RO-DAH!!!!]
[…
December 21, 2011
The strangest things have happened in the past 24 hours.
1-- New FDA approved clinical trial of anti-HIV vaccine
YAY, right? Except I have no idea what the hell they are proposing to do in this clinical trial, other than what was mentioned in press releases-- Its some kind of killed virus. Why…
December 20, 2011
Sorry, Hitch. Religion doesnt poison *everything*.
Thanks to the bumbling efforts of 'respected' scientists like Judy Mikoivts, we now know that its not religion, but mouse DNA, that poisons everything.
Relatively new readers of ERV are well aware of the fact that all efforts to connect XMRV to…
December 14, 2011
For the millionth time-- Viruses are not just pathogens that make us sick. In the modern world, viruses have been domesticated, and are now used to treat/cure diseases. Example #gazillion: Hemophilia B:
Adenovirus-Associated Virus Vector-Mediated Gene Transfer in Hemophilia B
This study is far…
December 13, 2011
Once you are infected with HIV-1, you are screwed.
Yes, we have antiretroviral therapies, but you will never be cured. You will never be free from the virus. And there is always a chance that the virus you are infected with will become resistant to the antiretroviral drugs used (this isnt just a…
December 12, 2011
While you all are having a good time making fun of PZ Myers for bravely outing a dead Russian (damn zombie trolls!), I figured it would be a good time to talk about Anons in HIV World.
Okay, so, I do HIV-1 research. The first thing everyone says when I mention this is "Oh my god! Arent you afraid…
December 7, 2011
Sorry, guys-- family emergency this weekend = no blogging.
Glad I am not a physician, glad other people are, and nurses are the best people on Planet Earth.
While Im sitting here in the ICU, Id really appreciate some funny videos/links/anything to distract me. Everything is fine (fine-ish?) now,…
December 1, 2011
Link (you might want to play some scary music while you read this):
Locked up in the bowels of the medical faculty building here and accessible to only a handful of scientists lies a man-made flu virus that could change world history if it were ever set free.
This isnt an intro to some Michael…
November 30, 2011
Monty Harper is an Oklahoma musician who writes/performs songs for kids with pro-science messages. You guys helped get his latest CD 'Songs from the Science Frontier' made, but what Monty is known for locally are the 'Born to Do Science' programs he organizes for the Stillwater Public Library! He…
November 29, 2011
One problem we have to deal with in HIV-1 world (of the many problems we have to deal with) is that no one is 'cured' of HIV/AIDS (except this guy).
So people who are infected go on to infect more people, who go on to infect more people, who go on to infect more people... I mean thats how we *got*…
November 23, 2011
Do you want the good news first, or the bad news?
I like to get the bad news first, usually, because then the good news can cheer me up. So, the bad news:
Kim Bannon has Passed Away
(back-story on Kim Bannon)
HIV-1 Denial claimed another life. It was reported that (HIV-1 positive) HIV-1 Denier…
November 21, 2011
I mean for Petes sake:
Chronic fatigue syndrome researcher Judy Mikovits arrested
I mean, this is funny. No doubt this is funny.
Its funny to see The Patient Community defending Mikovits, the woman who said she didnt have a problem lying to patients when it was convenient for her.
Its funny to see…
November 17, 2011
My favorite 'artistic rendition' of the scientific process, the only realistic depiction of what science is/how it is done on TV, is this montage from Big Bang Theory.
This flow-chart is pretty damn accurate too:
See more on Know Your Meme
This is what you are getting into if you want to be a…
November 17, 2011
Recently, several impossible events have happened here in Oklahoma City:
1-- 5.6 magnitude earthquake
2-- Abbie rides motorcycles
3-- OKC add sexual orientation to nondiscrimination policy
END TIMES! END TIMES!!!!!
Just last week, it was entirely legal for, say, an OKC fire department, not to…
November 16, 2011
I love junk DNA.
Well, thats an understatement-- I mean I love is SO MUCH I created a blog dedicated to a particular form of junk DNA, endogenous retroviruses.
I love how we can learn fantastic things about organisms (and their diseases) from, basically, dumpster-diving though millions and millions…
November 15, 2011
Quick recap of ERVs for new readers of ERV (or long-time readers who have forgotten!)--
ERVs are retroviruses that accidentally infected an egg/sperm cell, and became a permanent part of that egg/sperms DNA. That egg/sperm then went on to successfully generate a viable embryo, and because that…
November 11, 2011
BlogBrother Ethan Siegel just caught (yet another) scientist manipulating data to generate the conclusion they want... not the conclusion the data actually supports.
Exposing a Climate Science Fraud
Yeah, thats how we roll on SciBlogs.
But in my example, the scientists actively hid relevant data…
November 9, 2011
Im sure you all have heard this story--
Chickenpox parties--just a Facebook friend away
"Pox packages," child abuse, and the violation of federal law
I dont have much to add other than a question for the parents doing this:
I mean, lets ignore the ethical and legal implications of what they are…
November 7, 2011
We get little earthquakes all the time in OK. This is my usual reaction:
Department mates running into the hallway: OMFG WHAT WAS THAT???
Me: Wat?
Department mates: HOLY CRAP THAT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE!!
Me: ... I didnt feel anything... ... ... Thats what she said.
But this Saturday we had the…
November 4, 2011
The Southern Poverty Law Center just published an article on an interview they did with an animal liberation freak, Camille Marino (you remember her).
There isnt really anything I feel I need to say about it.
I think Marino says it all.
Marino thinks so too. After the article was published, she…
November 3, 2011
The very first red flag that something was very, very wrong with the 'XMRV=CFS' paper went up before the actual paper was published.
On the woo-rag Huffington Post, the anti-vaxer David Kirby posted a very, very odd comment from the lead researcher on the paper, Judy Mikovits:
And then Dr. Mikovits…
November 1, 2011
This post is going to be a touch of a stretch for ERV. I normally dont write about theology. Mostly, because I dont care. I think the cultural phenomena surrounding 'theology' or Harry Potter or Twilight is far more interesting than the ins-and-outs of the magical creatures at the center of the…
October 27, 2011
I was recently chatting with a friend from South America about my excitement about getting to see Ayaan Hirsi Ali speak right here in Oklahoma. He had never heard of her before, which of course flipped me into super-fan-mode and I started gushing about her life and accomplishments and powerful…
October 26, 2011
The HPV vaccine is one of my most favoritest vaccines.
From a public health perspective, its efficacy is unprecedented.
From an immunological perspective, learning how the HPV vaccine works is going to teach us something about our immune system we didnt know before.
From a virological and…
October 21, 2011
If there is one ERV I genuinely love talking about on ERV, its PERVs-- Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses.
And you all should care about them too-- Pigs and their PERVs (or, lack of PERVs, or lack of infectious PERVs) might one day have a direct impact on you or your friends/family.
Clinical trials…
October 19, 2011
Conceptually, vaccines are very simple things-- Dummy viruses/bacteria/pathogen that train your immune system how to fight the real viruses/bacteria/pathogen. All the benefits of being sick (training your B- and/or T-cells how to fight the pathogen) without actually having to get sick.
Nice.
In…
October 18, 2011
Sorry, guise. A cold that has been circulating around the department finally got me this weekend. So instead of writing posts this weekend, I was a sneezy snotty mess :(
BUT I would like to thank the 'Occupy ERV' gang for giving me a laugh Sunday morning, as did this SNL skit* (original):
Hell,…