#158-Brian Deer: A tale of scientific fraud—Andrew Wakefield & the belief that vaccines cause autism

A former physician and surgeon, central figure in the MMR vaccine controversy, whose fraudulent 1998 Lancet paper falsely linked vaccines to autism.

A professor in London and dean of research who even in the 1990s believed Wakefield's work was fraudulent.

A very famous scientist at Stanford who mentored Peter Attia on writing a scientific proposal, emphasizing rigor and falsification.

An Irish professor working in New York who was hired by Wakefield to 'find' measles virus in children's bowel tissues using PCR, central to the alleged fraud.

A famous scientist known for emphasizing the principle of not fooling oneself in scientific inquiry, cited by Peter Attia.

A woman whose child experienced neurological illness after an MMR shot, leading her to campaign against vaccines and collaborate with Richard Barr and Andrew Wakefield.

Awarded the Nobel Prize in the 1980s for inventing the PCR technology.

Wakefield's own scientific researcher, who froze tissue samples but couldn't find measles virus, later leaving science disillusioned.

An obscure lawyer who contracted Andrew Wakefield to find evidence linking the MMR vaccine to developmental issues, specifically autism, to support a lawsuit.

Mentioned by Brian Deer as discussing PCR cycles and setting a threshold of 35 cycles for meaningful results.

Britain's top PCR technology expert, hired by the pharmaceutical industry, who uncovered deliberate data manipulation in O'Leary's lab.

Bernard Seltz's wife, who also put up money to fund Wakefield's lawsuit against Brian Deer.

His trial is mentioned as being shorter than the medical board hearing that investigated Wakefield's misconduct.

A New York financier who funded Wakefield's lawsuit against Brian Deer and the British Medical Journal in Texas.

A London medical school where Andrew Wakefield worked and conducted his discredited research on Crohn's disease and later the MMR vaccine.

The Canadian hospital where Andrew Wakefield studied in the late 1980s, observing early attempts at whole bowel transplants.

The US public health agency, whose alleged 'whistleblower' narrative was used by Wakefield to falsely accuse CDC researchers of fraud.

A prominent medical research charity that initially funded Wakefield, though its role and status were different in the late 1980s.

The journal where Wakefield first published his 1993 paper claiming to find measles virus using immunohistochemistry.

Mentioned as the institution that first characterized autism through a case series of 11 children, and also the publisher of Brian Deer's book.

A maternity hospital in Dublin where John O'Leary conducted his PCR research for Wakefield.

A British government agency that provided funding for Wakefield's research based on a grant application that pre-supposed the link between MMR and autism.

A national UK television network that produced a documentary based on Brian Deer's investigation, leading to Wakefield's lawsuit against them.

A medical journal that published a series of Brian Deer's reports on Wakefield's fraud, which led to another lawsuit from Wakefield.

The virus that Wakefield falsely implicated as a cause of Crohn's disease and later, through vaccination, a cause of autism.

An inflammatory bowel disease that Andrew Wakefield initially hypothesized was caused by the measles virus.

The virus responsible for COVID-19, mentioned in the context of the anti-vaccine movement pivoting its focus from MMR to coronavirus shots.

The Measles, Mumps, and Rubella vaccine, falsely linked to autism by Andrew Wakefield's retracted Lancet paper, becoming the primary target of the anti-vaccine movement.

A two-volume encyclopedia of viruses from which Wakefield learned about measles virus presence in the gut during acute infection.

Brian Deer's book detailing the extensive fraud committed by Andrew Wakefield, based on years of investigation and access to sealed documents.

The location where the Taq polymerase enzyme, crucial for PCR, was discovered.

A highly prestigious medical journal that published Wakefield's fraudulent 1998 paper linking MMR to autism, and later retracted it.

A highly prestigious medical journal that published an article in 2011 characterizing anti-vaccinationists.

A commercial kit for real-time quantitative PCR, noted for its automated and user-friendly nature.

A movie by Andrew Wakefield that helped bring about his return to the public eye and the rebirth of the anti-vaccine movement.

A state-of-the-art PCR machine used in O'Leary's lab, which was a research tool and not rated for clinical diagnosis.

A company used as an analogy for corporate fraud and manipulation of books, similar to the scientific fraud discussed in the podcast.

A company mentioned in the context of rigging results for fuel emissions, drawing parallels to the scientific fraud.