Talk Cancer

Question:

"The funny thing is that Gallo did not discover HIV. The Institut Pasteur did." TRUE

The quote above is mine. "HIV did not, after all, kill T-cells"

The quote above is NOT mine. HIV DOES kill CD4+ T lymphocytes. However, viral cytopathicity does not explain the loss of CD4+ cells in the development of AIDS. A lot of dying T cells are not infected. This is a key and important question that is being researched but the mechanisms aren’t fully articulated yet. Oxidative stress, increased expression of inflammatory cytokines and aberrant signalling by infected antigen-presenting cells like macrophages are perhaps the most likely explanations. The rest I’m snipping because it is completely unknown who is saying what, when, the context–and given Paul’s penchant for making things up, cutting and pasting at random, etc., it’s not reliable information. Other information on Montagnier is provided below, including the source of this quote: "In July, at the international AIDS conference in South Africa, Montagnier was one of the most prominent critics of president Thabo Mbeki and several dissident scientists who claim that HIV is not the cause of AIDS." To claim that Montagnier says HIV does not cause AIDS is a lie.                 George M. Carter ** http://www.wellesley.edu/PublicAffairs/Releases/2000/091200.html  For immediate release: September 12, 2000  CONTACT:  Mary Ann Hill (781) 283-2373 NOTED AIDS RESEARCHER LUC MONTAGNIER TO SPEAK AT WELLESLEY ON SEPTEMBER 20 WELLESLEY, Mass. — Dr. Luc Montagnier, one of the co-discoverers of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, will give a public lecture at 8:00 p.m. Wednesday evening, September 20, in Alumnae Hall on the Wellesley College campus. The title of Montagnier’s talk is "AIDS and Beyond: The Challenge of the Emerging Chronic Diseases." The event is free and open to the public. In 1983, Montagnier, a virologist, and his colleagues at the Pasteur Institute in Paris discovered the human retrovirus now known as HIV-1. He has continued to research HIV and AIDS, including efforts to find a vaccine, and is now a professor at the City University of New York and the director of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Biology there. In July, at the international AIDS conference in South Africa, Montagnier was one of the most prominent critics of president Thabo Mbeki and several dissident scientists who claim that HIV is not the cause of AIDS. In recent years, Montagnier has begun to focus on other emerging, and re-emerging, chronic diseases, such as tuberculosis and cholera. He has been pointing out how population growth, urban poverty, rapid travel, globalization, viral adaptability, the overuse of antibiotics, and various environmental factors influence the emergence of new epidemics. "Montagnier takes a very interdisciplinary approach to the study of these devastating illnesses," noted Professor of French Barry Lydgate, who is organizing Montagnier’s visit to campus. "His ideas and remarks will be of interest to anyone who seeks a greater understanding of the environmental, scientific, and social factors in the emergence of new diseases." Editor’s note: Please call the Wellesley College Office for Public Information at 781-283-2373 if you would like more information or if you plan to cover this event ###  

Response:

 John Crewdson