February 05, 2010
The Lancet retracts paper
linking MMR vaccines and autism.
The retraction requires a paid subscription, so I'm linking to an article about the retraction.
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It's about time. The knowledge that this study was bogus has been around for a while and I'm curious why it took so long for The Lancet to retract. Isn't this what the peer review process is supposed to prevent?
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Politics, Mr. Noser. Politics.
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People often choose to protect their reputation by not admitting a mistake, rather than protecting their reputation by correcting the mistake. They stay wrong rather than admit wrong.
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I read an account of one British scientist who worked a lifetime on a theory that was made obsolete due to new evidence shortly before his retirement. A bit upsetting no doubt but as a scientist he was doing the right thing by admitting he was wrong. Observing the politics that happen at our local universities sadly demonstrates that reputation or career advancement can and does take precedence over good science.
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Yay for retractions! One less myth for the tin-hat people.
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Speaking of autism: Claire Danes as Temple Grandin Tonight on HBO I watched this last night and it was excellent. I highly recommend it.
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Serious professional misconduct - Andrew Wakefield has been struck from the medical register and will not be able to practice medicine in the UK. Also (cool comic strip of the overall story)
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Which only goes prove that the world prefers a jolly good conspiracy over scientific claptrap any day.
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What's really scary is that the comic strip contains more information in a clear, concise readable format than the 'serious' news article does.
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In other news: Vaccination Rate Lags As an Epidemic Spreads
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Vaccines Not Linked To Autism. Again.
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I've Got Whooping Cough. Thanks a Lot, Jenny McCarthy.
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How Many People Aren’t Vaccinating Their Kids in Your State?
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The worrying rise of the anti-vaccination movement
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You Can't Change an Anti-Vaxxer's Mind: A new study examined multiple strategies for communicating about the safety and importance of vaccines. None of them worked.
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You can't fix stupid.
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Thanks, Anti-Vaxxers. You Just Brought Back Measles in NYC.
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Assholes gonna asshole. And make everybody else sick.
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It Takes More Than a Deadly Outbreak to Improve Vaccination Rates