It's not really news anymore that Europe is in the middle of a significant measles outbreak. New reports say that there have been 35 measles related deaths in the last year (measles kills about 1 in every 1000 people that contract it) which brings the outbreak in Europe squarely into crisis mode. 

Do you think too much pizza will make you fat, or the chemicals in the box? If you think it's the box, you probably read AlterNet instead of us. And we had more outreach last week

Some developments in the race toward the first vaccine against genital herpes. Genocea's GEN-003 readies for Phase III late this year. 

European researchers have created genetically engineered yeast that are capable of reducing various kinds of heavy metal pollution by 80%.

It's no longer a question if genetically modified organisms will be released in the United States – they will. The new questions are: (1) What will they be? and (2) Where will they be released? With USDA approval of a field trial permit application, it looks like the answers are: Diamondback moths in upstate New York. 

Although his reports on the spurious connections between vaccines and autism have been roundly refuted and his "research" report retracted, Andrew Wakefield's poison continues to harm children. In Minnesota, the continuing outbreak of measles in a Somali community is the latest case in point.

From afar I once watched – and was captivated, actually, by its oddity – as a deer stood before a planting of big, bright identical flowers and began eating.
He would bite into one, chew for a moment – and spit it out. Then he began eating the next, and spit that out. And then again, and again, repeatedly engaging in the same task as if each chomp was his first attempt. I was unable to intercede, but for some reason the occurrence stuck with me, stoking intrigue about a deer's thought process, and about animal cognitive ability in general.  

The Campaign for Accountability accuses Google-funded researchers of undisclosed conflicts of interest. Of course, without disclosing its own.

"Science" took a walk on the wild side in a recent New York Times piece. It tried to tell us that the tiny amount of a class of chemicals found in macaroni and cheese (and everywhere else on Earth) is going to wreak havoc with our sex hormones. It's so bad, it's almost funny.

Our society is woefully illiterate on scientific matters. Yet instead of taking the opportunity to educate customers about the benefits of food science, some companies have chosen to cash in on public ignorance.