Good. This trial reminded me of Le Carré’s “The Constant Gardener” - I used snippets of the film in my Scientific Ethics lectures in SCI2010 on informed consent (echoed a real drug trial in Nigeria)
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
Controversial US-backed vaccine trial in African newborns halted
Hepatitis B study in Guinea-Bissau that was to be funded by CDC and that drew global backlash ‘will not move forward’
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Good. This trial reminded me of Le Carré’s “The Constant Gardener” - I used snippets of the film in my Scientific Ethics lectures in SCI2010 on informed consent (echoed a real drug trial in Nigeria)
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
*SCI2010 - scientific practice and communication . Students did a deep dive on a topic chosen from a range of science disciplines using primary sources.
May 23, 2026 at 12:07 AM
*SCI2010 - scientific practice and communication . Students did a deep dive on a topic chosen from a range of science disciplines using primary sources.
I set this as a lit review topic in SCI2010* at monash ~15 years ago: juxtaposing people, domestic animals and remnant forests has long been recognised as an avenue for emergence of zoonotic diseases
The Ebola and hantavirus - currently two examples of zoonotic diseases where diseases jump from animals to humans
To prevent future pandemics, we must halt deforestation, improve animal farm safeguards, and crack down on the commercial wildlife trade
time.com/article/2026...
To prevent future pandemics, we must halt deforestation, improve animal farm safeguards, and crack down on the commercial wildlife trade
time.com/article/2026...
The Ebola and Hantavirus Outbreaks Offer an Ominous Warning
“Ebola and hantavirus are different viruses spreading under different circumstances, but both come from animals,” writes Neil Vora.
time.com
May 23, 2026 at 12:05 AM
I set this as a lit review topic in SCI2010* at monash ~15 years ago: juxtaposing people, domestic animals and remnant forests has long been recognised as an avenue for emergence of zoonotic diseases
One of my best days ever was meeting and talking with David Attenborough at Monash Uni with my fellow SCI2010 Sci Comm leaders Kirsti and Allie (who took the photo) - Happy 100th to a man who has deeply affected all of us, and genuinely nice as well #DavidAttenborough
May 8, 2026 at 8:12 AM
One of my best days ever was meeting and talking with David Attenborough at Monash Uni with my fellow SCI2010 Sci Comm leaders Kirsti and Allie (who took the photo) - Happy 100th to a man who has deeply affected all of us, and genuinely nice as well #DavidAttenborough
I taught a compulsory course on scientific practice & communication #SCI2010 for 15 years - academic, media and policy makers. Every BSc student at Monash took it. A cutdown version is still offered #SciComm @monashscience.bsky.social
December 21, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I taught a compulsory course on scientific practice & communication #SCI2010 for 15 years - academic, media and policy makers. Every BSc student at Monash took it. A cutdown version is still offered #SciComm @monashscience.bsky.social
I spent a bunch of time in my #SCI2010 lectures using Wakefield as an example of bad science and fraud - can only hope many 1000s of Australians and their families know there is no evidence for autism from MMR vaccines
Vaccines save lives. There is no credible evidence that they cause autism.
Pretending otherwise hurts kids twice – by undermining trust in vaccines, and by distracting from the urgent need to understand and address autism itself.
Pretending otherwise hurts kids twice – by undermining trust in vaccines, and by distracting from the urgent need to understand and address autism itself.
The Plain Truth About Vaccines and Autism
We respect families not by perpetuating recycled myths, but by pursuing real science and better care.
tomfrieden.substack.com
August 30, 2025 at 12:10 PM
I spent a bunch of time in my #SCI2010 lectures using Wakefield as an example of bad science and fraud - can only hope many 1000s of Australians and their families know there is no evidence for autism from MMR vaccines
Scientists, we need to bring people WITH us. In my ‘how science works” #SCI2010 lectures I flagged the danger of scientists being viewed as highpriests of knowledge = could be rejected like any religion. (I may’ve got this idea from Julian Cribb: too long ago to remember) #SciComm 🧪
RFK Jr: We need to stop trusting the experts... Trusting the experts is not a feature of science or democracy, it's a feature of religion and totalitarianism.
August 30, 2025 at 4:52 AM
I used the Wakefield case for a fraud/bad science discussion in my #SCI2010 scientific ethics lectures for years. At least thousands of Monash science students will have heard what nonsense the autism/MMR vaccine link is 🧪
The Measles vaccine is completely safe and two doses are 99 percent effective
RFK Jr on the measles vaccine: "There are adverse events from the vaccine. It does cause deaths every year. It causes all the illnesses that measles itself cause."
March 13, 2025 at 1:08 AM
I used the Wakefield case for a fraud/bad science discussion in my #SCI2010 scientific ethics lectures for years. At least thousands of Monash science students will have heard what nonsense the autism/MMR vaccine link is 🧪
I used to lead a discussion of the Wakefield saga in my lectures on scientific ethics in #Sci2010 @monash.bsky.social
In light of the ‘vaccines cause autism’ claims once again surfacing in the US, would recommend reading ‘The Doctor Who Fooled the World’ by Brian Deer - reveals how astonishingly fraudulent and unethical some of those original (now thoroughly discredited) claims were.
December 10, 2024 at 9:58 AM
I used to lead a discussion of the Wakefield saga in my lectures on scientific ethics in #Sci2010 @monash.bsky.social
