Low Tox Life 418. Fraudulent Alzheimer’s Drug Research has led to 20 years down the wrong path - Investigative journalist Charles Piller explains
How can 20 years of fraudulent science pass? It’s complicated. It’s not just vested interests but humans, desire, ego, hope and poor checks and balances.
“Doctored”, the new book by investigative science journalist Charles Piller, is an arresting deep dive into how Alzheimer’s disease treatment has been set back by corrupt researchers, negligent regulators, and the profit motives of companies for the past nearly 20 years.
I genuinely believe it’s one of the most important conversations I’ve hosted on the show, in a time where many have become blanket skeptics of science - while we explore this hectically fraudulent research: I asked Charles: Is there hope for us to ever believe again in the scientific method? He walks us through his investigative process after the initial tip off, how he gathered information that was robust enough to draw a conclusion, and then how, despite uncovering this research and nearly 20 years of fraudulent claims, he maintains hope and a lot of trust in the scientific method.
I hope you find the show as powerful as I did and it doesn’t feel too heartbreaking but rather more like we are finally now closer to knowing how we can make progress by carving a new chapter in Alzheimer's research for cause and cure. Alexx
Charles Piller is an investigative journalist for Science magazine and his work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, the Sacramento Bee, and more. Piller has been honored with many national journalism awards, and is the author of Gene Wars, The Fail-Safe Society, and Doctored. He has reported on public health, biological warfare, infectious disease outbreaks, and other topics from the United States, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central America.Check out Charle’s latest book Doctored here.
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