Science Archives

PACE: Objections, Challenges & Beliefs

February 7, 2016 No Comments

I am writing this piece to offer Dorothy Bishop & Stephan Lewandowsky some patient perspective on their joint piece in Nature : “Research integrity: Don’t let transparency damage science”. Specifically, I would like to add some context to this line in particular:- “When people object to science because it challenges their beliefs or jeopardizes their interests, they are rarely committed to informed debate.”

James Coyne at Belfast Castle: PACE a “wasteful train wreck of a study”

February 7, 2016 3 Comments

Professor James Coyne told a packed audience at Belfast Castle in Northern Ireland on Sunday that the PACE trial was “bad science” that was “being badly misrepresented by the investigators”, resulting in “clear harm to patients”. The PACE authors had, he said, changed their study endpoints after peeking at the data and had suppressed analyses

NIH Grant Reviewers in 2015

January 28, 2016 No Comments

Thank you to Jennifer Spotila for giving us permission to reprint her article and for all of her great investigative work. The original post can be found on her blog at http://www.occupycfs.com/. NIH: Who Reviewed Grants in 2015 In order to get NIH funding, a researcher has to succeed in several levels of application review. A persistent controversy

Rehmeyer and Tuller: PACE trial didn’t prove graded exercise safe for CFS

January 7, 2016 No Comments

Journalists Julie Rehmeyer and Dr. David Tuller have published an analysis concluding that the PACE trial failed to demonstrate the safety of graded exercise therapy, despite its authors claiming that it was a safe treatment for patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Their article, on Virology Blog, concludes that “the PACE researchers’ attempts to prove

Columbia professor says PACE damaging Lancet’s reputation

January 6, 2016 2 Comments

Yesterday, Columbia University professor of statistics Andrew Gelman published a warning that The Lancet was risking its reputation by refusing to rectify errors in the main paper on the PACE trial that appeared in the journal in 2011. In his article on a popular statistics blog, Professor Gelman described the PACE authors’ refusal to share

In-Depth article on ME/CFS Research Plans

January 6, 2016 No Comments

MedPage Today’s Update on ME/CFS Research Plans MedPage Today reposted Shannon Firth’s earlier article on ME/CFS in their 2015 recap and also published an in-depth update by the author. The new article goes in-depth on Ron Davis’ plans for the Big Data study and also includes an interview with Jen Brea and information from the

David Tuller: 68 unanswered questions about the PACE trial

January 5, 2016 No Comments

Yesterday, journalist and public health expert Dr. David Tuller published on Virology Blog a list of 68 questions for the authors of the controversial PACE trial. The trial studied the effects of graded exercise and cognitive therapy on chronic fatigue syndrome. Dr. Tuller has, he said, been seeking answers from the PACE researchers for more

Ron Davis' Plea for his Son's Life

January 3, 2016 8 Comments

Ron Davis’ Plea for his Son’s Life Ron Davis recently posted a heart-felt plea for more research “before his son, and others like him, die from this horrific disease.” He has given us permission to share his post in order to reach as many people as possible with Whitney’s story. Here is Dr Davis’ plea:

Davis, Tuller, Racaniello, and Levin issue FOI request for PACE data

December 17, 2015 No Comments

Yesterday four scientists, led by world-famous geneticist Professor Ronald Davis, added to the pressure for scientific transparency on the PACE trial by making a request for raw data under the Freedom of Information Act. Davis was accompanied in his request by biostatistician Professor Bruce Levin and immunologist Professor Vincent Racaniello, both of Columbia University, and Dr.

PLOS One posts "notification" of intent to evaluate James Coyne's PACE data request

December 16, 2015 1 Comment

PLOS One today published a statement that its staff were evaluating Professor James Coyne’s request for data from a PACE trial paper published in the journal in 2012. Professor Coyne said on social media that the move “represents progress”. King’s College London had denied Professor Coyne’s request on behalf of the study authors and had

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