Next Of Kin (Unnatural Selection #3) (17 page)

“Yet they used
it again on Nick and Gordon.”

“I know. Which
makes them criminally reckless, as well as torturers, because that
gene isn’t just found in people from Tamil Nadu. Even if they did
some kind of genetic test to make sure they had chosen individuals
who weren’t allergic, it’s still outrageous they used it on
conscious people. Andy tells me that Nick and Gordon were both
injected repeatedly with the stuff.”

She looked at
me and I squirmed. “He, uh, didn’t want to tell you. In case it
upset you.”

“It is
upsetting, but I want Burton prosecuted for the torture on top of
everything else. Using a paralytic agent on someone who’s not
sedated is unbelievably cruel. I bet Nick has nightmares.”

“Yes. But if
Burton can be punished for that as well, it’ll help.”

“The best help
is you.”

“And you, and
everyone here.”

“That too.
Will you tell him?”

“Yes. I don’t
want him to think I’m hiding information. He’s lost enough control
of his life this year. But not tonight.”

“No, not
tonight. Now, I better go downstairs and find out who’s corrupting
whom.”

“They do look
awfully cute together.”

“The deadliest
creatures in the world look ‘cute’, Anton. Didn’t you tell me that
bushbabies are venomous?”

“Uh, slow
lorises, and poisonous, not venomous. But point taken. Now I’m
worried.”

She stood and
smiled down at me. “I’m the one who should be worried. After all,
the female of the species....”

“Eats her mate
after sex?”

“No,
during.”

“Too much
information, Charlie.”

“Call yourself
a scientist,” she said as she swished out.

I did
call myself a scientist. But there
were
limits.

Now to find my
husband, discover how corrupted he’d become by our cute but deadly
Beth, and put that to damn good use.

~~~~~

From the BBC
website, February 11, 2018.

‘
Fountain of Youth’ research ‘deliberate and cynical
hoax’

The
journal
Science
has
formally retracted two papers published in 2015 on the supposed
anti-aging effects of the immuno-stimulant haemovirus (ISH).
Internal investigations at the University of California and
independent investigations carried out by other researchers,
revealed that research published in the papers by a team in
California led by Dr Xavier Lieberman were based on invented
patient profiles and fabricated data. The conclusions that the ISH
virus could lengthen telomeres and that ‘vee’ morph individuals had
an extended life span, were nothing but ‘a deliberate and cynical
hoax’, an editorial in the latest issue of
Science
stated. There is ‘simply no evidence’ that any of
the claims made for ISH in these papers have any basis, the
editorial concluded.

The two papers
gained worldwide attention from the anti-aging industry and sparked
a massive investment into ISH research. Demand for illicit
treatment with the virus also rose. Last year in Britain, a plastic
surgeon, Henry Burton, his wife, and members of her family were all
convicted of murder and kidnapping and a number of other serious
offences related to Burton’s illegal use of ISH therapy in his
clinic in Braintree, Essex. Although the use of ISH for
non-therapeutic purposes has largely been outlawed around the
world, there have been other prosecutions for improper use of ISH
treatment in several countries, though none reached the depth of
criminality involved in the Burton case.

An NHS
spokesperson said it was important to note that existing legitimate
ISH therapy is not impacted by today’s announcement, and that
patients could continue to have full confidence in its use in
treating intractable infections and cancer.

Investigations began after other researchers failed to
reproduce any of the results published by Lieberman’s team. One
investigator said it was “Wakefield all over again”, recalling the
scandal over the 2011 discrediting of Andrew Wakefield’s paper
linking autism with the MMR vaccine. A
Science
editor who did not wish to be named, admitted that
while procedures were tightly followed to ensure papers followed
proper editorial standards, there was little any journal could do
against wholesale invention.

Lieberman’s
team is under police investigation for the fraudulent use of grant
money, Californian police have announced, and criminal charges are
expected to be laid within days against a number of
individuals.

~~~~~

 
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