The Mikovits / XMRV research saga continues
For those following the XMRV saga, or who simply like intrigue, the latest twist is that lead researcher Judy Mitovits, formerly of the Whittemore Peterson Institute–she was dismissed some time ago–has been arrested for theft of materials from the WPI.
Mikovits proposed that the retrovirus Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) was associated with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), in a study published in Science. Other researchers found that they could not confirm Mikovits’ earlier results. Since then a number of studies have indicated the that XMRV observed is contamination of the samples.
Subsequent to this Mikovits was dismissed from the WPI.
More details are emerging, via Trine Tsouderos (@ChicagoScience) in the affidavits accompanying her recent article in the Chicago Tribune. Tsouderos has excerpted some of these on twitter:
’Affadavit: Grad student said Mikovits enlisted him to take lab notebooks from WPI, hid them in Happy Birthday gift bag’ (Source)
’Affadavit: Jailed scientist Mikovits allegedly “hiding out” on a boat to avoid being served papers by WPI.’ (Source)
’Affidavit: Grad student says jailed scientist had them create secret email addresses’ (Source)
These are from the affidavits, now up on the Chicago Tribune page; look for the block in the middle of ’s article reading ‘Court filing for the WPI theft case’. These affidavits are short and make for interesting reading, especially if you’re into whodunnits. (I’m not usually.)
If Tsouderos ever writes a book on this case, it won’t need much ‘packaging’ to make it an interesting read.
(Updated 4:12pm to correct typing error.)
7 Responses to “The Mikovits / XMRV research saga continues”
There are any number of follow-ons to this, ranging from the websites of science magazines (e.g. Science, Nature, NewScientist), discussions on science blogs and, of course, discussions on CFS advocacy forums. I may bring a short collection of the more informative source if I find time.
In the meantime, ScienceInsider offers this brief first-hand account of her initial court hearing: http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/11/inmate-mikovits-meets-judge.html?ref=ra
If you’re looking for a (long) exposition on the wider story—CFS research—this may be a useful starting point (I haven’t time to read it through for myself – be your own judge):
http://www.virology.ws/2011/11/23/chronic-fatigue-syndrome-and-the-cdc-a-long-tangled-tale/
Nature News has a new brief up about this, but to my reading this doesn’t add anything new (that said, it’s a tidy summary of recent events):
http://www.nature.com/news/embattled-scientist-in-theft-probe-1.9505
ArsTechnica now has an article up, too.
I think it’s worth pointing at the final few paragraphs as it raises a concern of my own – that the actions of some members of the patient or XMRV-CFS advocate “communities†may be discouraging research into the disease or XMRV.
http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/11/how-the-collapse-of-a-scientific-hypothesis-led-to-a-lawsuit-and-arrest.ars
[…] The Mikovits / XMRV research saga continues […]
[…] In another high-profile example, researcher Judy Mikovits with Whittemore Peterson Institute falsified data regarding the linkage of a retrovirus called XMRV to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). When she left the institution, Mikovits then illegally took some of her research records […]
As a (very!) belated follow-up for anyone who strays by here, Snopes has a round-up of the legal aspects:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/scientist-vaccine-jailed/
(Apparently, groups opposed to vaccines are now using her as some sort of cause célèbre. She now works for a consultancy featuring ‘vaccine injury’ [sic] offering “wellness and treatment protocols for individuals, families and physicians”: http://www.marcinc.org/about-us.html )