The Lancet article was thoroughly unconvincing even if the data behind it was sound. A study on TWELVE children was used to make broad conclusions regarding the safety of the MMR vaccine. Well, it turns out that the fundamentals of this limited study were not sound – they were exaggerations and complete fabrications.

Thanks to Wakefield and the hysteria he created, measles is a resurgent problem in the U.K. According to the Times, in 1998, when Wakefield’s “study” was published, there were 56 cases of measles in the U.K. In 2008, there were 1348. In 2006, a 13 year old boy in northwest England became the first measles DEATH reported in the U.K. in 14 years. We’re starting to have measles outbreaks here because more & more people are delaying or avoiding vaccines based on “science” from attention-seeking cretins like Wakefield.

I certainly hope that this story serves as a wake-up call, but I fear that Wakefield’s lies and their dangerous consequences will unravel far too slowly.

Hat Tip: the Pundit

No matter how you slice it, the vaccine schedule represents a miniscule exposure to antigens and organims compared to what people encounter as part of life. Worrying about the exposure from the vaccine schedule is like worrying about a thimble of water getting you wet when you are swimming in an ocean.

Dr. Mark Crislip, Science-Based Medicine. Dr. Crislip also produces QuackCast.

Check the link and read the whole post. It’s an enlightening exposure of the absurdity of anti-vaccine rhetoric.

Hat Tip: Respectful Insolence.

Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, researchers at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, for their discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Harald zur Hausen, currently at the German Cancer Research Center, for his discovery of human papilloma viruses (HPV) causing cervical cancer.

Congratulations!

Dr. Weller died Saturday, August 23, 2008 … one of the greatest heroes of American history whose name would only register head shakes and quizzical stares from most folks. It’s a great shame that sports legends and actors receive more kudos than this man.

Cheers, Dr. Weller … and thank you so much for your great work.

Hat Tip: the Pundit.

Results of the DNA analysis revealed that 2 out of the 4 restaurants and 6 out of the 10 groceries were selling mislabeled fish. Fearing lawsuits and pointing out that this mistake (or deliberate deception) could have happened at any point along the supply chain, the teens declined to name the sources of the mislabeled sushi.

Caveat emptor.

Not so much. Listen to the data, not the frenzy.

Hat Tip: Marginal Revolution.

A new species of rat the size of a large cat has been found in the remote Foja Mountains of the island of New Guinea by a team of scientists supported by Conservation International. Several other new species were identified as well.

Hat Tip: Retrospectacle.

I’m always looking for ways to reduce discomfort for kids during painful procedures, so this is interesting to me. We’ve known for a long time that sweet taste diminishes pain (breastfeeding during immunizations, Sweet-Ease in the NICU). Now it seems that sweet smells do the same. I’m curious what other scents might work to produce the same effect. I also wonder what aftershave they used!

Hat Tip: Mixing Memory, via Mind Hacks.

Astronomers at the European Southern Observatory in Chile have discovered a potentially habitable planet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581. At 20.4 light years away within the constellation of Libra, Gliese 581 is one of the hundred closest stars to Earth. This planet – right now known only as 581 c – has a theoretical average surface temperature somewhere between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius, allowing for the presence of liquid water and thus the potential to sustain life.

Many questions remain regarding the composition of its atmosphere and other factors that could affect its habitability, but this planet is the first good candidate for an Earth-like world discovered outside our solar system.

How COOL is that???