What's New Robert L. Park 13 June 2012

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 13 Jun 2012    Washington, DC=20

1. VACCINATION: THERE IS NO INOCULATION AGAINST INCOMPETENCE.=20
Vaccination programs prevent more human suffering than any other branch o=
f=20
medicine.  Their success depends on public confidence in their safety.  B=
ut=20
according to a report released last Wednesday by the U.S. Department of=20=

Health, spot checks by the Office of the Inspector General finds that fre=
e=20
vaccines, provided under the nationwide Vaccines for Children program, ar=
e=20
often stored at the wrong temperature, which can render them ineffective.=
=20=20
The first generation to receive MMR vaccinations are now parents. They ha=
ve=20
been spared not only the direct misery of the illness, but also serious=20=

side effects that can show up many years later.  They should be the first=
=20
to demand strict standards of safety and effectiveness in administering=20=

vaccines. Someday perhaps, eradication of pathogenic diseases will be=20
routine, but were not there yet.  What prevents it?=20=20

2. ERADICATION: FIRST WE MUST CURE THE WORLD OF ITS SUPERSTITIONS.
In 1977, smallpox, the most deadly and persistent human pathogenic diseas=
e,=20
was eradicated from Earth by the World Health Organization following an=20=

unprecedented agreement allowing quick-response teams to freely cross eve=
ry=20
a border to administer vaccine in case of an outbreak.  It was a moving=20=

demonstration of what can be achieved by world cooperation, and was quick=
ly=20
followed by calls to eradicate poliomyelitis.  Polio eradication was=20
undertaken by WHO in 1988 with help from private organizations, but=20
although the number of polio cases diagnosed each year has plummeted, fin=
al=20
eradication remains elusive.  Opposition by Muslim fundamentalists is sai=
d=20
to be the major factor in the failure of polio immunization programs.   I=
n=20
Pakistan and Afghanistan the Taliban issued fatwa opposing vaccination as=
=20
an attempt to avert Allah's will, while others saw it as an American plot=
=20
to sterilize Muslims.  Some conservative Christian groups oppose=20
vaccination for diseases that are transmitted spread by sexual contact,=20=

arguing that the possibility of disease deters risky sexual contact.  It=20=

doesn=92t.=20

3. NUSTAR: NASA'S NUCLEAR SPECTROSCOPIC TELESCOPE ARRAY.
Set to launch today from a carrier plane, the NuStar telescope will image=
=20
high-energy X-rays from black holes, supernova and our own sun. It is the=
=20
eleventh mission of the NASA Small Explorer Satellite program and the fir=
st=20
space-based direct-imaging X-ray telescope at energies beyond those of th=
e=20
Chandra X-ray Observatory. The project is overseen by Caltech professor=20=

Fiona Harrison.=20

4. ACHENBLOG: THE RAY BRADBURY SPACE TELESCOPE?
Joel Achenbach, who writes for the Washington Post, proposed in yesterday=
=92s=20
Post that NASA name a Hubble-class space telescope after the late Ray=20
Bradbury. It's a really, really bad idea.  Joel is a nice guy and a good=20=

writer, but he is not a scientist; neither was Ray Bradbury. There aren't=
=20
many scientists relative to shoe salesmen and dog catchers. But like it o=
r=20
not, science is the principal driving force for change in today=92s world=
.=20
Science is too important to leave it to scientists, but don't confuse it=20=

with fiction writers.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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