Science teacher and attorney Kent Heckenlively, is a founding editor of Age of Autism, and Judy Mikovits, earned her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and studied immunology, virology, and drug development over 35 years. In the first half of the show, they shared the revelation that a retrovirus called XMRV is linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), prostate cancer, lymphoma, and even autism. In 2009, Dr. Mikovits presented her discovery to leading scientists at the National Institutes of Health. However, in the ensuing years, she was drummed out of her field due to various controversies, and the medical establishment doubting her findings. Heckenlively noted the possible connection between vaccinations (which sometimes have embedded retroviruses) and the development of autism.
A 2003 paper showed that black children had a higher risk of developing autism if they were vaccinated with the MMR vaccine before the age of three, and scientists were told to cover-up the data, and throw away their research, Mikovits cited. "These are the same kinds of things that happened to me...and when I refused to destroy the raw data...basically, they locked me away and took the data...and blackballed me so that I'd have no credibility," she continued. Dr. Miklovits is "one of those rare people who will stand up to Goliath, and I felt like I had to make sure her story was told...We need to turn the ship around. We need science to come back to telling the truth and helping people," Heckenlively remarked.
Cutting Through the Hell of the Medical-Industrial Complex
