Friday, May 9, 2025

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Researcher accused of being “bought” by Fauci

Published 22 March 2023
– By Editorial Staff
Anthony Fauci and Kristian Andersen.

Early on during the covid crisis, researcher Kristian Andersen stuck his neck out when he pointed out that the coronavirus did not seem to be of natural origin – but rather gave the impression of being artificially created.

However, after talks with the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, the scientist quickly came out and condemned speculation about human involvement as “conspiracy theories”, leading Andersen to be accused of being “bought out” – partly because government funding for his research increased after he changed his mind on the issue.

Kristian Andersen, a researcher and professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, emailed US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Anthony Fauci on the 31st of January 2020, warning that there were many indications that the virus did not come from any animal at all.

“You have to look really closely at all the sequences to see that some of the features (potentially) appear to be engineered… Eddie (Holmes), Bob (Garry), Mike (Ferguson) and myself all believe that the genome is inconsistent with expectations from evolutionary theory,” he wrote at the time.

The next day, Fauci organized a conference call with 11 virologists from across the world – including Kristian Andersen, who less than 24 hours earlier had sent the email stating that the virus appeared to be engineered. However, Fauci’s boss, health department head Robert Kadlec, was not invited to the conference.

It is not known what was said during the conversation, but four days after the conference took place, Mr Andersen suddenly made a 180-degree turn and went public to warn against conspiracy theories about man-made covid – despite the fact that he himself had just warned about the same thing.

“The main conspiracy theories circulating at the moment are that the virus is somehow engineered … and that is demonstrably false,” Mr Andersen declared at the time.

In four days, Andersen changed his mind about the origin of the virus. Photo: Prachatai/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Financial motives?

A few weeks later, Kristian Andersen and three other participants from the video conference with Fauci authored a scientific article published in Nature Medicine, claiming, among other things, that “our analyses clearly show that SARS-CoV-2 is not a laboratory product”. According to The Federalist, Andersen also offered Fauci to edit the article before publication.

In their 2021 article, The Federalist points out that the information from Fauci’s email indicates that he was aware of scientists’ concerns about man-made covid as early as 1 February 2020. Yet he chose to keep this information secret from his superiors and the American people, people who speculated that the virus had leaked from a laboratory in Wuhan were dismissed as conspiracy theorists and were subjected to character assassination.

In an interview with the New York Times, Mr Andersen explains his reversal by saying that his internal warnings to Mr Fauci were based on “limited data” and “preliminary analyses” – which he soon revised as more information became available.

However, a report by researcher and epidemiologist Andrew G Huff – former vice-president of the EcoHealth Alliance, a New York-based group that has worked closely with the notorious Wuhan lab – suggests that it may have been purely financial motives that caused Andersen to change his mind on the issue.

“Kristian Andersen, who in late January wrote to Fauci expressing his concern that SARS-Co-V-2 contained sequences that appeared to be man-made, led a group that published an article in Nature on 17 March 2020, supporting the theory that the virus is transmitted from animals to humans. Following this, Andersen received a generous grant from the National Institutes of Health. “At this point, we have no way of knowing whether this was a form of quid pro quo, but it can at least be concluded that this does not pass the ‘smell test'”, he writes.

He emphasizes that the National Institutes of Health, which funds medical research in the US, “dramatically increased” its funding for Andersen’s research after he changed his mind on the origin of COVID-19 and started arguing for a natural origin instead of an artificial one.

Kristian Andersen’s funding, according to Huff.

Renewed attention

Huff’s report was released in September 2022 – but the issue of whether there may have been financial incentives for scientists to revise their position on the origin of the virus has been widely publicised again. This is due to the fact that an account belonging to the Libertarian Party in the US has drawn attention to the issue and refers to documents that support the theory.

The man on the left is Kristian Andersen, a British scientist who emailed Fauci 1/31/20, saying the virus looks lab-made. The man on the right is Kristian Andersen, the guy who Fauci called on 2/1/20 and ordered to publicly say it wasn’t lab-made, which he did. Fauci then gave… https://t.co/UDzIhNb37k pic.twitter.com/LY7ttS23kJ

— Mises Caucus (@LPMisesCaucus) March 1, 2023

Many interpret these findings as an example of the fact that researchers are primarily loyal to their financiers – and that Fauci’s behaviour is a further indication that the US was directly involved in the development of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. At the same time, Huff’s compilation is also questioned as sloppy, pointing out that Andersen is presented as a British researcher – even though he is Danish, and that it cannot currently be proven that his change of opinion is a result of increased funding.

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Robotic insects to revolutionize agriculture

Published 6 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
An early version of the robotic insect from MIT.

Researchers are developing different types of robotic insects. The idea is that they will revolutionize agriculture when other pollinators are threatened with extinction, but also to be able to engage in surveillance.

Today, a large proportion of the world’s pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, are heading towards extinction, with the UN estimating that nearly 35% are threatened with extinction globally. However, robotic insects are not intended to replace real insects, but rather to develop agriculture.

Pollination is critical to the entire food industry, as 75% of the world’s food grown depends on pollination. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believe that with artificial pollination, using robotic insects, farmers could in the future grow fruit and vegetables in multi-storey warehouses. This, in turn, is said to increase yields while reducing some of the harmful environmental effects of farming.

For some time, researchers have been working on developing various robotic insects. Earlier versions of the robotic insect consisted of four identical units, each with two wings, combined into a rectangular unit about the size of a microcassette.

Now, much smaller and more durable robotic insects have been developed. The new robots can hover for about 1 000 seconds, which is more than 100 times longer than previously demonstrated. At the same time, they weigh about the same as a paper clip and can fly much faster.

– Compared to the old robot, we can now generate control torque three times larger than before, which is why we can do very sophisticated and very accurate path-finding flights, said researcher Kevin Chen in a press release.

The goal is to achieve a flight lasting longer than 10,000 seconds. They also want to improve its precision so that it can land and take off from a flower, which it currently cannot do.

Photo: Harvard SEAS

Inspired by the crane fly

Researchers at Harvard University have also been working on developing robotic insects. RoboBee can fly, dive and hover like a real insect. The robot weighs only one-tenth of a gram and has a wingspan of three centimeters. The idea is that RoboBee could be used for artificial pollination, but also for surveillance and rescue operations.

However, researchers have long struggled to land it effectively, but now they have found a solution. Taking inspiration from nature, a seemingly graceful landing has been upgraded for RoboBee.

The crane fly spends much of its short life landing and taking off, and it has a strong ability to cushion the landing using its long legs that almost act as shock absorbers. Since the robot’s size and shape were already similar to the crane’s, the researchers chose to develop the robot’s legs like the crane’s.

However, RoboBee is still unable to fly without external energy and is wired. The idea now is to continue developing the robot.

– The longer-term goal is full autonomy, but in the interim we have been working through challenges for electrical and mechanical components using tethered devices, said researcher Robert Wood, from Harvard, in a press release.

New endocrine-disrupting chemicals detected in Swedish blood samples

Published 3 May 2025
– By Editorial Staff
It is still difficult to assess the extent of the negative health effects of environmental pollution.

A new group of environmental pollutants has been discovered in the blood of Swedes. Some of the substances may have a negative impact on fertility and may also be endocrine disruptors.

So-called synthetic phenolic antioxidants (SPAs) have been found in 30 blood donors in Stockholm, confirmed a study from Stockholm University.

SPAs are found in food packaging, chewing gum, clothing and skin care products, where they are often used to increase the durability of materials. Some of these substances are on the EU’s so-called candidate list, i.e. a list of substances of very high concern. This is because some of the substances can be endocrine disruptors and also negatively affect fertility.

Previous studies from China and the US have shown that the substances are present in both humans and the environment, and some in high concentrations. However, this is the first time it has been detected in the blood of Swedes. The levels are comparable or even higher than the levels of the more well-known PFAS substances, according to researchers.

This study is a first indication that we have a high exposure to SPAs also in Sweden. Studies on more individuals in different parts of Sweden need to be done to understand the extent of the problem, says researcher Josefin Engelhardt in a press release.

“Don’t know what the consequences will be”

One reason why SPA levels may have been missed in the past is because of the great care required when analyzing blood. Since SPAs are used in plastics and laboratory materials, it is important to be sure that it is the blood levels that are being measured and not substances added during sample collection. However, new methods have now been developed to analyze SPAs in blood.

The researchers say that we now need to find out where SPAs come from and also investigate their health effects, to best prevent them from spreading and affecting people and the environment.

We don’t know what the consequences of long-term exposure to these substances will be, but the fact that they are present in high levels in the blood is sufficient to act and reduce the levels in accordance with the Swedish Parliament’s environmental quality objective ‘A non-toxic environment’, says Engelhardt.

Young adults in Sweden feel shame about scrolling habits

Published 25 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff

Young adults in Sweden often feel ashamed of their mobile phone addiction and experience themselves to a high degree that they have an addictive behavior, according to research from the University of Gothenburg.

The study looked at how people between the ages of 20 and 35 view their own mobile phone use. It emerges that many consider themselves to be addicted and find it difficult to let go of their cell phones.

André Jansson, one of the researchers behind the study, believes that a form of culture has been created where it has become associated with social status to have the ability to reduce screen time and have control over their mobile phone use, something that many people feel they are unable to live up to in reality. Many also feel that they are wasting their time scrolling and ashamed that they cannot control it.

– When you can’t live up to that ideal, it creates a moral dissonance, you don’t use your smartphone in the way you would like to, Jansson told the state channel SVT.

 

Painkillers linked to increased risk propensity

Published 19 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
If large groups have an impaired perception of risk, this can have significant societal consequences.

Paracetamol can affect how we perceive risk, according to a US study. Students given painkillers before experiments were found to take greater risks than those given a placebo – something the researchers say may also have societal implications.

Paracetamol is an over-the-counter medication commonly taken for pain and fever and is available in the form of several different brands such as Alvedon, Orifarm and Apofri.

In the study, which was published in Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience in 2020, participants were asked to perform various experiments and then assessed based on their risk-taking. Over 500 university students took part in the experiments, with half of the group receiving a single dose of 1000 milligrams of acetaminophen before the experiments, and the rest receiving a placebo.

In one of the experiments, participants had to inflate balloons via a computer game, with each individual pump providing pretend money. The point was not to blow up the balloon with too much air as all the money earned would be lost. The results showed that the students taking paracetamol engaged in significantly more risk-taking during the exercise, compared to the more cautious placebo group.

Overall, those taking paracetamol inflated, and burst, their balloons more than the control group.

“Less negative emotions”

Researcher Baldwin Way from Ohio State University, who is behind the study, believes that this may have to do with the fact that paracetamol has a certain anxiolytic effect.

If you’re risk-averse, you may pump a few times and then decide to cash out because you don’t want the balloon to burst and lose your money, Way says, adding:

But for those who are on acetaminophen, as the balloon gets bigger, we believe they have less anxiety and less negative emotion about how big the balloon is getting and the possibility of it bursting.

The balloon experiment was repeated twice, with similar results. Furthermore, during the experiments, participants were asked to complete questionnaires in which they had to assess risk levels around hypothetical scenarios. For example, betting a day’s income on a sporting event, bungee jumping off a high bridge or driving a car without a seatbelt.

“Significant effects on society”

Those who had taken paracetamol were clearly more comfortable with, for example, the idea of driving without a seatbelt compared to the placebo group.

Way says the study suggests that the substance “seems to make people feel less negative emotion when they consider risky activities”, which he says could have implications for society.

With nearly 25 per cent of the population in the US taking acetaminophen each week, reduced risk perceptions and increased risk-taking could have important effects on society, he says.

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