The case of Robert Gallo seems to have a life of its own and has dragged on with the perverse complexity of the O.J. Simpson story or the Dreyfus affair. The recent intervention of hitherto uninvolved individuals who seem compelled to create a reputation for integrity for National Institutes of Health scientists (J. Boa and D. Birch, Baltimore Sun, Nov. 4, 1995, page 1A) is just the latest chapter in a decade of accusation. It seems to me that the blame (if any) has been misplaced.
When the first major accusative article regarding the Gallo laboratory appeared in the New Scientist in 1987 (S. Connor, 1547:49-54; 55-58, Feb. 12, 1987), it would have seemed that the executives of the Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service should have made an immediate decision about the fitness of the director of the laboratory. Failing that, the then director...
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