BioData

“To Whom It May Concern:

For all intents and purposes, the SI prefix system has served the scientific community extremely well since its inception. However, we believe there is one significant flaw in the system which demands immediate attention.”

So begins the mission statement of a facebook petition calling for the designation of “hella” as a prefix for 10²⁷. “Hella” means “very” or “a lot of” in North Californian slang.

     In June I commented on the autism – vaccine controversy and the role that Oprah had in promoting it. Seven moths later, I am revisiting this issue. 12 years ago, Andrew Wakefield and his colleagues first published his findings in The Lancet providing ‘evidence’ suggesting they had tracked down a shocking cause of autism – that being the MMR Vaccine. Last week The Lancet published a retraction of Wakefield’s paper stating that “it has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield et al are incorrect.”

     Steven Novella of Science Based Medicine has a detailed article about this which I highly recommend reading. I can only agree with Novella’s conclusion: “I applaud the Lancet for finally retracting the Wakefield study and removing it from the published record. It should not, however, have taken this long.”

     Got to wonder what Jenny McCarthy and her pal, Oprah have to say about this.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of January 10, 2009.

A deadly scorpion provides a safe pesticide: Scorpions deliver a powerful, paralyzing venom – a complex cocktail of poisonous peptides that immobilize animal prey on the spot. Some of the toxins in this cocktail damage only insects, which is why a Tel Aviv University researcher is harnessing them to create a safe and ecologically sound pesticide.

For those of you attending Science Online 2010 (#scio10), Janet Stemwedel (aka Dr. Free-Ride) of Adventures in Ethics and Science poses an interesting question: “For which topic do you expect online civility to collapse the fastest?”

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of January 3, 2009.

Gene identified for canine compulsive disorder: A canine chromosome 7 locus that confers a high risk of compulsive disorder susceptibility has been identified.

Bitesize Bio’s Suzanne Kennedy has put out a list of upcoming conferences in the life sciences located in the USA.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of December 27, 2009.

Arctic could face warmer and ice-free conditions: There is increased evidence that the Arctic could face seasonally ice-free conditions and much warmer temperatures in the future.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of October 11, 2009.

Arctic land and seas account for up to 25 percent of world’s carbon sink: Ecologists estimate that Arctic lands and oceans are responsible for up to 25 percent of the global net sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of September 27, 2009.

A step toward better brain implants using conducting polymer nanotubes: Brain implants that can more clearly record signals from surrounding neurons in rats have been created at the University of Michigan. The findings could eventually lead to more effective treatment of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and paralysis.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of September 20, 2009.

Antigen could speed HIV vaccine creation: U.S. scientists say they have created the first antigen that induces protective antibodies capable of blocking strains of the human immunodeficiency virus.

BioData and BioKM extend our best wishes to all hardworking Postdocs on this first National Postdoc Appreciation Day.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of September 13, 2009.

Birds fly the coop when climate shifts: Biologists studying birds in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains have found that 48 out of 53 species have adjusted to climate change over the last century by moving to sites with more favorable temperature and precipitation conditions.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of September 6, 2009.

After Hubble repair, new images from Space: The pictures and observations from the Hubble telescope were the first since a crew replaced, refurbished and rebuilt its vital components in the spring.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of August 30, 2009.

A stem-cell discovery could help diabetics: Harvard stem-cell scientists have created the first insulin-producing cells from skin cells of Type 1 diabetes patients — and gained a deeper understanding of the disease.

Our weekly compilation of science news for the week of August 23, 2009.

Autonomous underwater robot reduces ship fuel consumption: The Office of Naval Research is a front runner in supporting and bringing forth innovative solutions to fuel consumption challenges.