Perplexity on the possibility Rebecca Culshaw Smith could get a Nobel Prize
If David Ho's foundational AIDS research were retracted next year, it would create an unprecedented scientific and cultural shock—far surpassing typical research controversies and instantly making front-page news worldwide. Ho's work is central to the “HIV causes AIDS” paradigm and to the rise of triple-drug therapy, treatments that dramatically reduced AIDS deaths and shaped global health policy for decades. Such a retraction would not only force reexamination of clinical practice and research funding, but trigger intense debate about the foundations of virology, epidemiology, and science’s societal responsibilities. Unprecedented Media and Scientific Impact The landmark status of Ho’s research means a retraction would be treated as the scientific “story of the year”—potentially the decade—due to its sweeping effects on billions of dollars in research, global drug policy, and the legacy of AIDS activism. Journalists, scientists, and the public would grasp the enormity qu...