BioBlog

No link between MMR vaccination and autism

Alison Campbell • Mar 05, 2019

• autism,
• immunisation,
• measles,
• MMR,
• vaccination,
• Wakefield

One of the myths (and there are a lot of them) continually pushed by those opposed to vaccination, is that “the MMR vaccine causes autism” – often coupled with claims that “there are no studies comparing the health of vaccinated & unvaccinated children”. (That’s another myth, by the way.) The origins of this claim can be laid squarely … Read More

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Measles, and myths in the comments sections

Alison Campbell • Mar 02, 2019

• herd immunity,
• immunisation,
• measles,
• MMR,
• vaccination

Measles is making a come-back on the global stage (Madagascar, the Philippines, Japan, Europe, and the US). And, sadly, this vaccine-preventable disease is popping up again in New Zealand:  most recently in the Waikato, Christchurch, Dunedin, and now Auckland. New Zealand, like the US, hasn’t had ‘home-grown’ cases of measles … Read More

SS4C – school strike 4 climate

Alison Campbell • Feb 28, 2019

• climate change,
• environmetal activism,
• Science

The news that school students from across New Zealand are organising the School Strike for Climate on March 15 has been all over the media lately. See this story, for example, which includes the comment that: Globally, their message is clear. They are sick of waiting for adults to save their world so they are going to do … Read More

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Ardipithecus and bipedal walking

Alison Campbell • Feb 25, 2019

• bipedalism,
• evolution,
• fossils,
• Human,
• walking

The hominid known as “Ardi” (a specimen of Ardipithecus ramidus) was discovered in 1994, at a site near Ethiopia’s Awash River. Once excavated, it turned out that this was – for its age – a remarkably complete specimen: 125 fossilised bones, comprising most of the skull, teeth, hands & feet, pelvis, and the lower sections of the arms & legs.  This … Read More

Smallpox stories & shill accusations

Alison Campbell • Feb 01, 2019

• smallpox,
• vaccination

A couple of days ago Newsroom published an article about smallpox, by Farah Hancock. It’s a very good story that covers the nature of smallpox and the history of efforts to develop a vaccine for this particularly nasty disease. And it’s the first of a science-based series about vaccines. Smallpox is a disease that’s extinct in the wild, with … Read More

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Measles outbreaks and the role of anti-vax misinformation

Alison Campbell • Jan 28, 2019

• anti-vaccination,
• herd immunity,
• measles,
• vaccination

Recently Grant Jacobs discussed a paper which indicates that many people strongly opposed to genetic modification think they are well-informed, but in reality know little about the subject. On current evidence, the same applies to those opposed to vaccination. I originally sat down to write about this piece of nonsense, but it can wait. Instead – NZ readers will probably … Read More

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Ocean acidification may have unexpected impacts

Alison Campbell • Jan 20, 2019

• Carbon dioxide,
• climate change,
• ocean acidification,
• shellfish

A substantial proportion of the CO2 we release into the atmosphere, via burning fossil fuels, ends up dissolved in the ocean. The impact of this is a change in the ocean’s acidity: the pH drops. According to the Smithsonian, oceans have become substantially more acidic over the last 200 years (the period of the Industrial Revolution) – waaaay … Read More

WHO: ‘vaccine hesitancy’ is one of the top 10 health threats in 2019

Alison Campbell • Jan 17, 2019

• Health,
• immunisation,
• vaccine hesitancy,
• vaccines,
• WHO

You read that right. Vaccine hesitancy – “the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines” – is viewed by the World Health Organisation as one of the top 10 health threats we face in 2019. And worse, that hesitancy will have an effect on other threats in that top 10 list. Ebola and the potential … Read More

Human evolution and attention-grabbing headlines

Alison Campbell • Jan 16, 2019

• critical thinking,
• evolution,
• nature of science,
• Science,
• science and society

Every so often there’s a new story claiming that a study has overturned our understanding of human evolution. (Or something along those lines.) I’ve just come across another one**, & thought I’d write this post as a warning to year 13 biology students. As Carl Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence – something that’s lacking in this particular … Read More

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The sad state of science learning in primary school

Alison Campbell • Dec 06, 2018

• primary education,
• science education,
• teachers

In 2011, Sir Peter Gluckman released his report, Looking ahead: science education for the 21st century. In it, he noted the need to improve science teaching in primary schools, commenting that: there should be an attempt to improve the confidence [my emphasis] of all teachers within primary schools to assist in science and that all primary schools should be encouraged to develop a … Read More

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