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    Created in 2008, Phoenix Rising is the largest and oldest forum dedicated to furthering the understanding of, and finding treatments for, complex chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), fibromyalgia, long COVID, postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), and allied diseases.

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    Carmine Pariante's MRC research award-Persistent fatigue induced by interferon-alpha

    There's a forum thread just for this new study here: https://forums.phoenixrising.me/index.php?threads/persistent-fatigue-induced-by-interferon-alpha-a-novel-inflammation-based-proxy-model-of-cfs.62434/ It would be nice if discussion continued in just one place, but I'm not sure how to get that...
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    New from Nick Brown: how psychology incentivises bad science

    Simon, this is fine by me. :) A.B.: Most psychologists reject everything Freud ever said, for all kinds of reasons, notably because of his circular reasoning and lack of falsifiability. What I always find amusing, however, is how psychologists' own behaviour is so Freudian in so many ways...
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    Nick Brown (good science star): My (current) position on the PACE trial

    This is a good summary of how I feel, including the cornflakes. :) Hmmm. I presumed he would have a position on this (most doctors do), but I didn't know what it was. And if it ends up going to the Medicine Balls desk, it will certainly be him deciding. On the other hand, if it goes to the...
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    Nick Brown (good science star): My (current) position on the PACE trial

    Lots of interesting reading here, and I did appreciate Jonathan Edwards' comment on my blog. Clearly there is a big story to be written here. I hope I can get Private Eye interested. I just had a brief part in a very interesting exchange on Twitter ( is one of the tweets in the thread...
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    Nick Brown (good science star): My (current) position on the PACE trial

    The bureaucracy I see here is King's College. Whoever "owns" the data, it's very likely not the named researchers; it will be an institution. Before someone at level 5 of that institution's hierarchy can hand over that data, they need to know that there will be no comeback from levels 4, 3, 2...
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    Nick Brown (good science star): My (current) position on the PACE trial

    It certainly sounds pretty bad. But I'm not in a position to evaluate it in any meaningful way. Again: I don't think these people are in any way maliciously intentioned. The behaviour you're seeing is within what I consider the "normal range" (as in, statistically unexceptional, not that I...
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    Nick Brown (good science star): My (current) position on the PACE trial

    Hallo everybody, I'm the author of the blog post in question. Thank you for your kind words, especially Simon. To Marco (*waves across France from Strasbourg*): I think worldbackwards has summed up what I would want to say in reply to your first post. Some people are going to believe the...