Fw: Extreme Science ~ ABC News Reporter Nicolas Regush

March 8, 2001

FYI

Martha Murdock, Director

National Silicone Implant Foundation

Dallas, Texas Headquarters

----- Original Message -----

From: " Ilena Rose " <ilena@...>

" Regush, Nick " <Nick.Regush@...>

Sent: Friday, March 09, 2001 12:16 AM

Subject: Extreme Science ~ ABC News Reporter Nicolas Regush

> Bravo!!!

>

> http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/SecondOpinion/secondopinion_115.html

>

> Extreme Science

>

> - Here's an idea for a let-it-all-hang-out network TV show that would make

> the new XFL seem downright boring and tired. Let's simply call it " XS, "

for

> " Extreme Science. "

>

> Mainstream scientists and doctors who cling to cherished beliefs about how

> things work would be " screened " and " reviewed " by those on the outer edge

> holding new and challenging views. This would be a no-mercy " debate, "

> featuring any sort of name-calling and perhaps even kicking and screaming.

>

> XS would reveal how science is rife with the type of back-stabbing and

> conflicts of interest that rule the manner in which so-called " knowledge "

> is spread.

>

> Unlike in the daily world of science where the " Established View "

dominates

> and works tirelessly with duped media to censor the competition, those on

> the outer edge of science would now have the full opportunity to present

> their views and stir things up, without fear of immediate retaliation,

such

> as losing access to research funds and having their academic employment

> terminated.

>

> Of course, those holding mainstream scientific views would also be

> encouraged to feel guilt-free in publicly trashing the ideas of their

> accusers.

>

> Each team would have an on-air support/research staff of near-naked

> " assistants. " Armed guards would be on hand to prevent extra extreme

> encounters.

>

> XS would focus on a single topic each week. Here are three " debates " that

> would head my list:

>

> WEEK 1: MAD COW DISEASE

>

> As fears about mad cow disease spread across continents, including North

> America, scientists on the " outer edge " would love to take a strong public

> poke at current theory about what causes the disease.

>

> The conventional wisdom is that the culprit is a rogue protein called a

> " prion. " It has been found in brain tissue in people affected by the human

> form of the disease. So?

>

> Have the prion researchers jumped the gun? Being there in tissue doesn't

> necessarily mean it does anything. Some " outer edge " scientists think the

> scientific world is becoming infused with prion nonsense. Some believe

that

> a microorganism, possibly bacteria, may trigger the disease process.

Others

> believe that certain toxic chemicals used in farming may contribute to a

> prion attack.

>

> Week 2: AIDS DRUGS

>

> Government scientists who have ferociously championed the prescription of

> highly toxic AIDS cocktails to HIV-positive people with relatively intact

> immune systems and no sign of symptoms would be " reviewed " by scientists

> who have referred to this practice as lacking scientific basis, downright

> stupid and, in some cases, murderous.

>

> The " debate " peg would be the recent flip-flop on AIDS treatments by the

> government scientists who now claim that mostly only those whose immune

> systems have been damaged should receive these drugs. The " outer edge "

> scientists and doctors would hammer home questions to the government

> scientists about the near half-decade of unnecessary suffering experienced

> by many thousands of people due to the widespread hype surrounding the

need

> to prescribe these toxic drugs to anyone who solely turned up

HIV-positive.

>

> I see this particular " debate " as possibly requiring an extra unit of

armed

> guards to prevent extreme hostilities, given the long history of tensions

> surrounding this issue.

>

> WEEK 3: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

>

> Is Alzheimer's disease really triggered by insoluble lumps of amyloid

> protein that accumulate on nerve cells in the brain? And does this

> accumulation lead to the build-up of thread-like protein, referred to as

> " tangles? " Well, that's the hallowed mainstream view that has dominated

> research and funding for years.

>

> This " debate " would feature those well-funded mainstream scientists who

> won't budge an iota on this issue. The " outer-edge " scientists and doctors

> who have serious questions about this theory would " review " the

> conventional science and also point to recent research, including a study

> with chimps, gorillas and orangutans - that shows no signs of tangles in

> the presence of amyloid deposits in the brain. Furthermore, a study with

> 100 patients who died of dementia showed very few had brain plaques.

>

> Perhaps Alzheimer's causation needs some re-thinking. I'm sure the

" debate "

> would make this very plain to see. Possible flash points for highly

> aggressive behavior on the set include any discussion of why Alzheimer's

> drug treatments have mostly been a miserable failure.

>

> But the real danger of XS is not the possible blood that might be

> occasionally spilled, even with tight security; rather, I predict that the

> ultra-high ratings to be expected for XS will inevitably lead to mass

> public confusion, which will translate into a lack of faith in science and

> hence, public despair.

>

> That, however, could lead to spin-off educational re-programming aimed at

> teaching the masses that scientific knowledge is actually forever changing

> and that many new " outer-edge " ideas eventually blot out the old

> established lines of thought and practice.

>

> In fact, there could even be a network spin-off that allows the public -

> and scientists-to tell their stories of how they got sucker-punched by

some

> theories in science and then eventually recovered.

>

> The likelihood of an extreme science television show airing the views of

> mavericks and the establishment in science is pretty small. Typically,

> change in science takes a long time and it often occurs outside the

> public's view. But many ideas, such as cloning, that were once thought

> impossible or bizarre, actually get realized. This week, World News

Tonight

> takes a Closer Look at some of those concepts on the frontiers of medicine

> in a three-part series called " Medicine On the Cutting Edge. "

>

> Regush produces medical features for ABCNEWS. In his weekly

> column, published Mondays, he looks at medical trouble spots, heralds

> innovative achievements and analyzes health trends that may greatly

> influence our lives. His latest book is The Virus Within.

>

March 13, 2001