Am I full of hot air, crazy, or could I be on to something?
I would like to compare and contrast some recent Tumblr comments regarding my posts about the “demise of the standard model used to described higher chromosome structure like our own. This started with the post on (06/28/26) when a Tumblr user called “@pussytalks” went into what might be considered an essay instead of a normal Tumblr post. I will assume this person is a female. The post was meticulously designed to discredit everything I have been saying about chromosome structure using typical trolling techniques like vague professional sounding accusations containing no actual content. She said my arguments were flawed without providing any details. She even stated that she was being coached by a scientist, thus protecting both her and the “scientist” from any responses by me. She also seemed to be protected by Tumblr as well, because my responses to her on that platform seemed to be missing at times. Eventually, she proceeded to question my credentials as a scientist and finally ended by questioning my sanity. I have little doubt I haven’t heard the last from her. Only time will tell.
Now let me explain my position as concisely as I can. Yes, I have models I designed using current scientific literature and my own laboratory results. I have presented them on my site in detail as powerpoints and pdf’s. There has been a substantial number of downloads from my site including manuscripts and my dissertation. Video links are also available. If I presented any of this material as if it were gospel, I apologize for that. The last time I checked, presenting scientific models and ideas was not considered an act of blasphemy to be condemned and ridiculed, including personal attacks on my sanity and integrity. They are there to be examined by others. Constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated. After all, we’re talking about science here, not religion! Right?… uh, right?
Hmmm…Maybe questioning dogmatic models like chromosome structure is considered blasphemy, after all. Why else would scientists (excluding troll “scientists”) refuse any in-depth dialog with me for over 30 years? Recent trolling is not the first encounter I’ve had when presenting even the most modest of models that strayed from the “party” line. I don’t wish to belabor the point so I’ll focus on one salient example: Back when I was working on my Ph.D, my advisor Dr. Ralph Stephens gave me an opportunity to switch out in mid-stream to a more “conventional” advisor by the name of Dr. Elio Vanin (now deceased). All three of us had a meeting in Ralph’s office where Dr. Vanin presented his work. One thing he was highly possessive of was his cell line in which a long DNA deletion had occurred. He refused to share it with other labs for fear of being “scooped” in the future. I mentioned to him that his deletion was actually a DNA domain deletion picked from an attachment site on the chromosome like a grape from a vine (paraphrasing). At that time, I had yet to discover the beaded circles on which my posts are based. He looked like a deer in headlights as Ralph shot him a look to see what he would say next. I don’t remember what he said but it had to be small talk because the meeting was now over. When Dr. Vanin and I exited Ralph’s office and the door closed he turned on me like a wounded predator. I will never forget what he said to me: “They will kill you for this!” he hissed. Needless to say, I was dumbfounded and speechless. I guess he was right, at least metaphorically.
So why do I keep doing this? Why do I ask for contributions to start up my old research? The answer is simple. No one other than me has any clue what these DNA-laden beaded circles are. All trolls can say is they are not what I say they are. My models may be wrong but that is not the point. These circles are as real as the chromosomes from which they came. Nobody discusses this in any public forum. I assume they hope it will simply go away from lack of interest. Now I ask you, what kind of “science” is this? It’s not science at all. It’s a cover-up, complete with troll-baiting.
What I am asking for is not unreasonable. It’s not some kind of a scam. I wouldn’t even be asking if it weren’t for the fact that nobody is following up on my research, or worse still, followed up and didn’t want to report what they found. This is not a long, drawn out, “money pit” of a project. It’s a relatively low cost one time pilot project based upon my findings. The first step is to reproduce what I did and tighten up the protocols if needed so anyone can repeat it. The second step is to set up immunoassays on these circles to see if they contain DNA sequences relating to origins of replication, splice sites, enhancers, and promoters. If that doesn’t get someone’s attention, it’s time to get out the jungle drums and go back to worshipping the god of anti-science.
I have yet to set up a way to receive contributions because, frankly, I detest the idea. Even if I did and received enough funding, I couldn’t guarantee the results, i.e., laboratories may not take the money for whatever reason, most likely out of fear of becoming castigated for doing business with me.
So there you have it, folks. You can move on to the next post now or get involved with getting this research up and running. All non-trolling ideas will be welcomed. Send me an email and tell me what you think or want to discuss.
Thank you for reading all of this,
Frank W. Abernathy, Ph.D.
Source: Am I full of hot air, crazy, or could I be on to something?
There was a time when academia was society’s refuge for the eccentric, brilliant, and impractical. No longer. It is now the domain of professional self-marketers. As for the eccentric, brilliant, and impractical: it would seem society now has no place for them at all.
If all this is true in the social sciences, where research is still carried out largely by individuals, with minimal overhead, one can only imagine how much worse it is for physicists. And indeed, as one physicist has recently warned students pondering a career in the sciences, even when one does emerge from the usual decade-long period languishing as someone else’s flunky, one can expect one’s best ideas to be stymied at every point.
"You [will] spend your time writing proposals rather than doing research. Worse, because your proposals are judged by your competitors you cannot follow your curiosity, but must spend your effort and talents on anticipating and deflecting criticism rather than on solving the important scientific problems … It is proverbial that original ideas are the kiss of death for a proposal; because they have not yet been proved to work."
That pretty much answers the question of why we don’t have teleportation devices or antigravity shoes. Common sense dictates that if you want to maximize scientific creativity, you find some bright people, give them the resources they need to pursue whatever idea comes into their heads, and then leave them alone for a while. Most will probably turn up nothing, but one or two may well discover something completely unexpected. If you want to minimize the possibility of unexpected breakthroughs, tell those same people they will receive no resources at all unless they spend the bulk of their time competing against each other to convince you they already know what they are going to discover.
That’s pretty much the system we have now.
-The Utopia of Rules
