Researcher Resigns After Confessing To Faking AIDS Vaccine Results

An Iowa State University professor has resigned after confessing that he falsified blood samples to make it appear that an AIDS vaccine was working.

Dong-Pyou Han was an assistant professor of biomedical sciences. He resigned in October after admitting responsibility, an ISU spokesman said. The fraudulent results helped an ISU research team gain millions of dollars in federal money, according to James Bradac, who helps oversee AIDS vaccine grants for the National Institutes of Health. Bradac said in a phone interview Monday that Han apparently added human blood components to the rabbit blood to skew experiments' results. He said this was the worst case of research fraud he'd seen in his 24 years at the federal agency. The human blood came from people whose bodies had produced antibodies to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, Bradac said. The presence of these antibodies in the rabbits' blood made it appear that the vaccine was spurring the animals to build defenses against HIV.

Researchers at other labs had become suspicious when they were unable to duplicate the results claimed by Iowa State. (Tipped by JMG reader Birdie)

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Posted in: AIDS,Iowa,medicine,science

Yes, Iowa Still Prosecutes Consenting Adults

We now have an update of a criminal case out of Iowa involving adults. The previous coverage is here. As I suspected, this is a matter of sex between consenting adults and charging them with a crime for that is absurd. Randy M. Cauthron at spenderdailyreporter.com writes...

A preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for today, has been cancelled according to Clay County Attorney Mike Houchins after trial information, in an alleged incest case involving an uncle and a niece, was filed by District Court Judge Charles Borth Tuesday. Felony incest charges were filed against Elizabeth Ann Welch, 18, and Jerrold Marble, 35, Jan. 7, following an investigation initiated by the Department of Human Services and Spencer Police Department just prior to Thanksgiving.

Houchins summed up the basic facts of the investigation associated with the allegations.

"The two individuals were charged with incest. They were relatives and apparently, from the facts, it was consensual. And they were charged," Houchins said.

Let them go! It was consensual. This shouldn't be a crime.

So how did the authorities get involved? This is how...

"Law enforcement were called to the house due to a disturbance," the county attorney continued. "While they were interviewing occupants of the house, information came out that led to the charges."

Laws against consanguinamory are unjust, but they're still in effect in many places. There is nothing wrong with refusing to incriminate yourself, or even lying to avoid an unjust law. There was no need to tell law enforcement what they were doing or have done together.

Houchins indicated he doesn't anticipate any further charges associated with the specific allegations in this case.

Then drop the charges and apologize. There's no victim! Now, if one is beating up on the other, then there should be assault charges. But that's not on the table.

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Posted in: breaking up homes,consanguineous,courts,incest,Iowa,lack of equality harms,law,prosecution,uncle-niece

Yes, Iowa Still Prosecutes Consenting Adults

We now have an update of a criminal case out of Iowa involving adults. The previous coverage is here. As I suspected, this is a matter of sex between consenting adults and charging them with a crime for that is absurd. Randy M. Cauthron at spenderdailyreporter.com writes...

A preliminary hearing, originally scheduled for today, has been cancelled according to Clay County Attorney Mike Houchins after trial information, in an alleged incest case involving an uncle and a niece, was filed by District Court Judge Charles Borth Tuesday. Felony incest charges were filed against Elizabeth Ann Welch, 18, and Jerrold Marble, 35, Jan. 7, following an investigation initiated by the Department of Human Services and Spencer Police Department just prior to Thanksgiving.

Houchins summed up the basic facts of the investigation associated with the allegations.

"The two individuals were charged with incest. They were relatives and apparently, from the facts, it was consensual. And they were charged," Houchins said.

Let them go! It was consensual. This shouldn't be a crime.

So how did the authorities get involved? This is how...

"Law enforcement were called to the house due to a disturbance," the county attorney continued. "While they were interviewing occupants of the house, information came out that led to the charges."

Laws against consanguinamory are unjust, but they're still in effect in many places. There is nothing wrong with refusing to incriminate yourself, or even lying to avoid an unjust law. There was no need to tell law enforcement what they were doing or have done together.

Houchins indicated he doesn't anticipate any further charges associated with the specific allegations in this case.

Then drop the charges and apologize. There's no victim! Now, if one is beating up on the other, then there should be assault charges. But that's not on the table.

Read more »

Posted in: breaking up homes,consanguineous,courts,incest,Iowa,lack of equality harms,law,prosecution,uncle-niece

Does Iowa Still Prosecute Consenting Adults?

Breaking news out of the state of Iowa, and the details are scant. At spencerdailyreporter.com we are told in the headline that a "Spencer pair" was "charged with incest."

Two Spencer residents were booked into Clay County Jail on Sunday, each charged with incest. Jerrold Marble, 35, and Elizabeth Welch, 18, were each arrested and charged in the matter.

The blurb go on to say that investigation is ongoing and that more information will provided after completion of the investigation.

Three things I noted from the scant information provided:

1. These people are both adults.
2. Their pictures were included in the online article.
3. They have different last names.

I did find a Facebook page that appears to be Elizabeth's, and one of her "friends" is someone by the name of Jerrold Marble, though he has no picture displayed on the Facebook page. I also found a second Facebook page with the name and picture of Elizabeth Welch connected to the other one as a "sister," but I think they are the same person. An additional name is also provided at that page, and again that name is different than Marble's, while plenty of other family members are listed. Marble is not listed as a family member.

So, my experienced speculation based on this information is that we should either expect there is an underage victim we have yet to hear about, or, more likely, this is a matter of consensual sex between the adults named and pictured, making it a victimless "crime." After all, the news wouldn't print the name and picture of a sex crime victim, right? Given the information available, I think it is entirely possible this was a case of Genetic Sexual Attraction.

If this is a matter of consensual sex between adults, I urge law enforcement, including Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson, to stop wasting taxpayer resources. Drop the case and set them free, with apologies. If they want to be together, there is no good reason to keep them apart.


If this pair abused a minor, that is a far different matter.

I will track this story.

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Posted in: consanguineous,father-daughter,GSA,incest,Iowa,law,media,prejudice,prosecution

Does Iowa Still Prosecute Consenting Adults?

Breaking news out of the state of Iowa, and the details are scant. At spencerdailyreporter.com we are told in the headline that a "Spencer pair" was "charged with incest."

Two Spencer residents were booked into Clay County Jail on Sunday, each charged with incest. Jerrold Marble, 35, and Elizabeth Welch, 18, were each arrested and charged in the matter.

The blurb go on to say that investigation is ongoing and that more information will provided after completion of the investigation.

Three things I noted from the scant information provided:

1. These people are both adults.
2. Their pictures were included in the online article.
3. They have different last names.

I did find a Facebook page that appears to be Elizabeth's, and one of her "friends" is someone by the name of Jerrold Marble, though he has no picture displayed on the Facebook page. I also found a second Facebook page with the name and picture of Elizabeth Welch connected to the other one as a "sister," but I think they are the same person. An additional name is also provided at that page, and again that name is different than Marble's, while plenty of other family members are listed. Marble is not listed as a family member.

So, my experienced speculation based on this information is that we should either expect there is an underage victim we have yet to hear about, or, more likely, this is a matter of consensual sex between the adults named and pictured, making it a victimless "crime." After all, the news wouldn't print the name and picture of a sex crime victim, right? Given the information available, I think it is entirely possible this was a case of Genetic Sexual Attraction.

If this is a matter of consensual sex between adults, I urge law enforcement, including Spencer Police Chief Mark Lawson, to stop wasting taxpayer resources. Drop the case and set them free, with apologies. If they want to be together, there is no good reason to keep them apart.


If this pair abused a minor, that is a far different matter.

I will track this story.

Read more »

Posted in: consanguineous,father-daughter,GSA,incest,Iowa,law,media,prejudice,prosecution