Peter Duesberg

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Peter Heinz Hermann Duesberg (born December 2, 1936 in Münster ) is a German virologist. He is Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology in the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley , USA. He became known through his research on retroviruses and the molecular conditions of the development of cancer ( carcinogenesis ). In 1970 Duesberg isolated the first true oncogene src from the Rous sarcoma virus and mapped the entire viral genome.

Regarding the cause of the immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS by the HI virus , Duesberg assumes that the HIV is a "passenger virus" that does not possess sufficient pathogenicity to trigger an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. This is in contrast to established scientific knowledge. As one of the most prominent AIDS deniers , he was convened by the South African President Thabo Mbeki in his so-called "Presidential AIDS Advisory Panel".

Life

Peter Duesberg studied chemistry in Würzburg , Basel and Munich and was in 1963 Theodor Wieland on the theme fractionation of proteins - with ion exchangers and molecular sieves - particularly enzymes at the Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main doctorate . He worked at the Max Planck Institute for Virus Research in Tübingen and has been a full professor at the Department of Molecular & Cell Biology at the University of California, Berkeley since 1973 . He was elected a full member of the American Academy of Sciences in 1986 and was appointed research guest (Fogarty Scholar-in-Residence) at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD , USA from 1986 to 1987 and received from 1985 to 1992 an Outstanding Investigator Grant. From 1997 to 2000 he was a regular visiting professor at the Medical School in Mannheim at the University of Heidelberg (III. Medical Clinic, Rüdiger Hehlmann ).

From 2000 to 2003 he was appointed "Mildred Scheel Visiting Professor" of the German Cancer Aid at the Medical School in Mannheim at the University of Heidelberg in order to further develop the theory of chromosomal instability as a condition of carcinogenesis.

AIDS denial

Duesberg takes the view, which contradicts the scientifically established knowledge regarding AIDS, that retroviruses of the type HIV alone cannot cause the immunodeficiency disease AIDS. Although he assumes the existence of HIV, he is convinced that AIDS is not caused by HIV infection. Rather, the immunodeficiency syndrome consists of a large number of known diseases that are primarily caused by environmental toxins (e.g. long-term drug abuse, AIDS medication, especially zidovudine (AZT)). Duesberg's theses are rejected by science, HIV as the cause of AIDS is clearly established and proven.

As one of the most prominent representatives of the group Rethinking AIDS - the group for the scientific reappraisal of the hiv / aids hypothesis - also known as AIDS denier - he was named in 2000 by the then South African President Thabo Mbeki in his “Presidential AIDS Advisory Panel” on the occasion of XIII International AIDS Conference, Durban, South Africa. Mbeki then took the stand of Duesberg and other AIDS deniers and failed to take any action to combat the AIDS epidemic in his country. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have died of AIDS and AIDS-related infections as a result of these failed policies.

Duesberg's contribution "HIV-AIDS Hypothesis Inconsistent with AIDS in South Africa - A New Perspective" (2009) caused further controversy when the paper was rejected by scientists from the journal JAIDS . The scientists accused Duesberg of an unscientific way of working (including " cherry picking "), that he had only selected the data that support his hypothesis and completely ignored other data. It was also criticized that in the paper the conflict of interest of Duesberg's co-author David Rasnick - who was formerly an employee of Matthias Rath , who also represents AIDS denier positions and sells vitamin preparations as AIDS cures - was concealed. Duesberg was warned that if he did publish the paper, he could be brought on trial for scientific misconduct . Duesberg ignored this and published the paper in Medical Hypotheses magazine , which is not peer reviewed . As a result, the University of Berkeley opened a lawsuit against him for scientific misconduct. However, the proceedings were discontinued. The university does not endorse the article, but it does not justify any direct disciplinary action against Duesberg as he has the right to publish this article due to academic freedom .

Aneuploidy cancer hypothesis

Since 1992 Duesberg has been researching a modified " aneuploidy cancer hypothesis" originally formulated by Theodor Boveri in 1914.

The “classic” hypothesis on the development of cancer assumes that carcinogenic environmental factors lead to the mutation of less specific, cancer-associated genes. This leads to the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes and overactivation of oncogenes, which enables an increased growth of mutated cells. One modification assumes that the mutations also inactivate DNA synthesis and repair genes, which leads to an accumulation of genomic defects. These mechanisms create solid tumors.

In contrast, Duesberg assumes that environmental toxins lead to incorrect cell division, resulting in aneuploid cells , i.e. cells with abnormal sets of chromosomes (a normal cell has a diploid set of chromosomes). If, for example, certain chromosome sections are now reproduced, then a multiple number of certain genes are available, which, for example, by overexpression of certain proteins, can lead to the derailment of enzyme systems that regulate the synthesis and repair of DNA. It has been shown experimentally that the genetic instability of cancer cells is proportional to the degree of aneuploidy.

Honors

  • 1969 Merck Award
  • 1971 California Scientist of the Year
  • 1981 First Annual American Medical Center Oncology Award
  • 1986 Outstanding Investigator Award, National Institutes of Health
  • 1987 Science Prize from the Johann Georg Zimmermann Association , Hanover
  • 1988 Lichtfield Lecturer, Oxford, England
  • 1990 CJ Watson Lecturer, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, Minneapolis, MN
  • 1992 Fisher Distinguished Professor, University of North Texas, Denton, TX
  • 1992 Shaffer Alumni Lecturer, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
  • 1992 Constance Ledward Rollins Lecture, University of New Hampshire, Durham NH
  • 1996 Distinguished Speaker, Department of Biology, Univ. Louisville, KY,
  • 1997, 1998 and 2000: visiting professor at Heidelberg University
  • 2006 Admission to the World Innovation Foundation (WIF)
  • 2008 Semmelweis Award (Clean Hands Award)

Fonts

Aneuploidy:

  • Activated proto- onc genes: sufficient or necessary for cancer? In: Science . 157, 1985, pp. 24-28.
  • Genetic instability of cancer cells is proportional to their degree of aneuploidy. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 95, 1998, pp. 13692-13697.
  • with R. Li: Multistep carcinogenesis, a chain reaction of aneuploidizations. In: Cell Cycle . 2, 2003, pp. 202-210.
  • with A. Fabarius, R. Hehlmann: Instability of chromosome structure increases exponentially with degrees of aneuploidy. In: Cancer Genet Cytogenet . 143, 2003, pp. 59-72.
  • with R. Li and others: The chromosomal basis of cancer. In: Cell Oncol . 27 (5-6), 2005, pp. 293-318.
  • Cancer development - the chaos in the chromosomes. In: Spectrum of Science. October 2007, pp. 54-64.
  • with JM Nicholson: On the karyotypic origin and evolution of cancer cells. In: Cancer Genet Cytogenet. 194 (2), 2009, pp. 96-110.
  • with D. Mandrioli and others: Is carcinogenesis a form of speciation? In: Cell Cycle. 10 (13), 2011, pp. 2100-2114.
  • The Chaos in the Chromosomes , Spectrum of Science, 2007

AIDS:

  • with C. Koehnlein, D. Rasnick: The chemical bases of the various AIDS epidemics: recreational drugs, anti-viral chemotherapy and malnutrition. In: J Biosci . 28, 2003, pp. 383-412.
  • with D. Rasnick: The AIDS dilemma: drug diseases blamed on a passenger virus. In: Genetica . 104, 1998, pp. 85-132.
  • Inventing the AIDS Virus . Regnery Publishing, 1996.

Retroviruses:

  • Retroviral transforming genes in normal cells? In: Nature. 304, 1983, pp. 219-225.
  • Retroviruses as carcinogens and pathogens: Expectations and reality. In: Cancer Res . 47, 1987, pp. 1199-1220.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Life data, publications and academic family tree of Peter H. Duesberg at academictree.org, accessed on January 30, 2018.
  2. ↑ P. Chigwedere, G. Seage, S. Gruskin et al .: Estimating the Lost Benefits of Antiretroviral Drug Use in South Africa. In: J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2008 Oct 16. PMID 18931626
  3. ^ Nicoli Nattrass: AIDS and the Scientific Governance of Medicine in Post-Apartheid South Africa. In: African Affairs 2008 107 (427): 157-176. doi : 10.1093 / afraf / adm087
  4. ↑ PH Duesberg, JM Nicholson, D. Rasnick, C. Fiala, HH Bauer: HIV-AIDS hypothesis out of touch with South African AIDS - A new perspective. (PDF; 260 kB) In: Med Hypotheses. July 10, 2009.
  5. ^ Jon Cartwright AIDS contrarian ignored warnings of scientific misconduct . In: Nature . May 4, 2012.
  6. ↑ sciencemag.org: Berkeley Drops Probe of Duesberg After Finding 'Insufficient Evidence' .
  7. ↑ See website of the World Innovation Foundation .
personal data
SURNAME Duesberg, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Duesberg, Peter Heinz Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German virologist and AIDS denier
DATE OF BIRTH December 2, 1936
PLACE OF BIRTH Muenster