Today in the News (24 Jul 09)

Fast one tonight. Got some work that I have to get to on other projects.

Evolution:
If you are confused as to why animals of the same species sometimes look very different from each other, biologists in England have an answer. Writing in the latest issue of Evolution, University of York experts have used the term ‘exuberant polymorphisms’ for this natural phenomenon. They also say that they have developed computer models that may help explain how this level of variation arises and persists.

I almost hesitate to put this article up, because IDiots will say that it shows people don't believe in evolution... Sadly they miss the point that all the discussions support evolution, they are just discussing the mechanisms and how we originally thought about it. But it was an interesting read none the less.

Vaccines:
Halting A Pandemic: NIH Mounts Search For A H1N1 Vaccine. Bracing for an outbreak of 2009 H1N1 (swine-origin) flu that a Saint Louis University infectious diseases expert estimates could sicken one in five people this fall, scientists at eight Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) are launching a series of clinical trials this summer to test vaccines to protect against the illness. “Efforts to find an effective vaccine against H1N1 influenza are historic,” said Sharon Frey, M.D., professor of infectious diseases at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and lead investigator for one of the national research studies.

Yep, Swine Flu is still the thing that everyone is talking about with vaccines. Can't seem to get away from it, so here is another article about vaccinating.

Autism:
First on the good news; autism is receiving more funding for research. But pay attention to what Mandell says. "Now every study we have done, suggests that there is no association between vaccines, which is the big environmental thing that people are worried about, and autism. what we are looking at is probably some gene environment interaction." Again, EVERY study says that, so will the nutters lay off? Probably not, and more babies will die as a result.

I found this article that links milk with autism! My baloney detection kit is tingling on this one a bit. I think some conclusions are over stated and deserve more research. Also, note the source of this article. I think the writers themselves may be overstating things to their agenda. However, keep in mind that lactose tolerance is a very recent human evolutionary change (within the past 8000 years), so I'm not going to discard this as nuttery.