Today in the News (11 May 09)

Today is another news update, so let's get right to it.

Vaccines:
Well, imagine this, a study links outbreaks of disease to parents opting out from vaccines. Again, it's not just the unvaccinated children that are at risk, but everyone that they come in contact with. As I posted in yesterday's blog, if you can watch that video where the Australian baby died as a result of other people's negligence and not feel something, you just aren't human. It's exactly that which we are striving to prevent with vaccines.

Since most of us who are adults now are the product of a post-vaccination society, we really didn't have to face many of the diseases our parents were afraid of. As such we really don't know about them, and feel as if they don't apply to us. With new vaccines becoming available for things though, many adults also forgo vaccines for things they are vulnerable to because they think of these things as just childhood issues. One also has to wonder if adults are willing to risk their children's lives just because again, they have no familiarity with the devastation of these preventable diseases!

Autism:
There seems to be A LOT of bunk out there about autism that needs debunking. I found this brief write up from a mother of an autistic child. As the father of an autistic child, I must say that I agree with her completely.

Since I haven't blogged it here, I want to highlight the article that has traced a genetic link to autism. While we have been researching this disorder for the past 65 years (according to the article), keep in mind that most of the advances are in fields that are barely a decade old. We have a long way to go yet!

Evolution:
If anyone is planning a trip to Africa, they can go to the point where the human species originated. It's really cool how we can track this sort of stuff down with our better understanding of evolutionary biology and genetics! Again, even though Darwin's On the Origin of Species is 150 years old, most of the sciences involved are less than a decade old. (Hey, didn't I just type that in the preceding paragraph?) And they are so intertwined that I am still bemused by those who would deny it.

The folks of Cincinnati have a treat in their area, a Darwin Exhibition. This is more a focus on the human being himself though as opposed to his work. Could provide an interesting insight. I'd appreciate any news anyone can pass on about this.

Thank you for reading.