Bad Science plus Autistic Children equals Big Money

In waging war against disease, modern medicine augments the evolutionarily derived defenses of the human immune system and saves millions of lives. Despite this fact, medical science continues to be plagued by denalism, particularly in regards to the condition known as autism.


Through hundreds of millions of years the process of biological evolution has, through trial and error, refined the vertebrate immune system to an astonishing degree. However, despite these great successes, humans continue to be susceptible to the attacks of bacteria and viruses, as well as to assaults from blunders in our own internal physiological processes. Luckily, through the process of science, which includes clinical evaluation and peer-review, modern medicine augments the natural fortifications of the human immune system as it opposes illness. In the evolutionary arms race against disease, medicine is an essential armament and doctors are very much needed arms dealers. Unfortunately for those on the front lines, not all arms dealers are equally sound.

As a case in point, back in 2005 Diana L. Vargas and other scientists published a paper in which they described the occurrence of neuroinflammation (’neuro’ = brain; ‘inflammation’ = irritated) in the brains of recently deceased patients who had lived with confirmed autism. The brain tissues autopsied in conjunction with the study had been provided by the Autism Tissue Program, and all samples were taken from people who had died of accidental deaths; deaths such as drowning, hyperthermia, trauma, and other non-pathogenic causes. Clinically, neuroinflammation is a symptom that is often associated with immune system disorders and its connection to autism is, for the most part, not yet understood. The potential for misinterpretation and misuse of the paper’s inflammation-to-autism link inspired the researchers to emphasize in the conclusion of the study and elsewhere that although “the role of neuroinflammation in the context of the genetic and other factors that determine the autism phenotype remains an important issue to be investigated.” The paper made clear that treating persons afflicted with autism with protocols for immune dysfunction was not recommended.

And yet since publication of this neuroinflammation paper, it has been used by ‘doctors’ as a rationale for treating children with alternative and non-standard procedures aimed at immune system disorders… Despite the lack of evidence, quacks, particularly those associated with the Defeat Autism Now network, have been promising progress to the parents of autistic children through the use of strong immunosuppressant drugs, hormone treatments, intravenous immunoglobulin, and therapies using hyperbaric oxygen chambers.

Scary stuff… It seems as though ’snake oil’ is abundant resource when there’s money to be made. It’s a real shame that these treatments bring only slight and transient emotional relief to agonized parents. Especially when considering that such harsh treatments bring only pain and suffering to the kids on the receiving end. The victims in this case happen to be diagnosed with autism - a condition that is already widely misrepresented as being brought about by life-saving vaccinations.


Vaccinations are disease preventing medical treatments that stimulate a natural immune response through the bodily introduction of biological molecules. As a product of evolution, the immune system attacks foreign, potentially pathogenic proteins; because the agents introduced during vaccination contain a molecule that is structurally similar to the protein of a disease causing microorganism, the body’s chemistry reacts defensively. The immune system first seeks-out the foreign protein; it then records its identifying characteristics as ‘military intelligence’ for later operations before finely destroying the medically infiltrated invader. Through this process, vaccinations effectively increase the immune system’s repertoire of available defensive tactics, thus reducing the likelihood of serious besiegement when the real pathogen is encountered.


Most medical procedures - including vaccines - have a potential for adverse side effects which can range from minor aches and pains to death; BUT, when compared to the risks inherit to the disease itself there is absolutely no comparison - vaccines are the hands-down best option. Key to the effectiveness of vaccination programs is public participation; this starts with gaining confidence through the elimination of misinformation, which in the case of autism is a substantial quantity…


Although there is no valid, or for that matter even plausible, connection between autism and vaccination, or any reason to treat autism with therapies designed for immune deficiency, the spread of misinformation on these topics is rampant. The resulting distrust of medical science has contributed to numerous illness and deaths that would have otherwise been preventable. Those in the anti-vaccine movement are similar to creationists; they allow personal bias, subjective opinion and their penchant for conspiracy theories to override rationality, facts and morals. In the case of medical science this denialism comes at a tremendous price.

There is a reason why it's called ‘alternative’ medicine – it’s alternative because it doesn’t work.

UPDATE: This post was also posted at the Faster Times - several additional comments can be found there.


A good write-up on the topic can be found at the Timesleader.

Vargas, D., Nascimbene, C., Krishnan, C., Zimmerman, A., & Pardo, C. (2005). Neuroglial activation and neuroinflammation in the brain of patients with autism Annals of Neurology, 57 (1), 67-81 DOI: 10.1002/ana.20315

Image of human blood from Wikipedia

The Sexy Stench of the Opposite Sex’s Genes

Also posted to The Faster Times

There are many ways to attract potential sexual partners. Some animals show-off with elaborately choreographed song and dance routines, others entice through the display of brilliant coloration, and yet others forego personal flare and solicit the opposite sex by bribing them with food or real-estate. Although the methods utilized to attract mates vary widely, the drive to reproduce is hard-wired in all of life. The genetic compliment held by each organism extends its reach into the external world with aspirations of replication and conquest. According to some recently published research, females of one primate species use their nose to select those sexual partners hosting the most apt of these aspirant genes.

Generally speaking, the female gender of a species is often better positioned to be the ‘chooser’ when selecting potential sexual partners; they have the final say as to how far a relationship proceeds. Females are conferred the gift of mate-preference because they, unlike males, take on the costly biologic and energetic burdens associated with pregnancy and the rearing of young. In the natural world, toting around offspring and locating ample food-stuffs to feed those progeny represent liabilities to the mother. Because she endures these hazards, she is provided the opportunity to decide with which males to mate. But given that females are the ‘deciders,’ on what grounds are their mate-selections made, and what criteria do they weigh and measure prior to committing to a costly reproductive venture?

‘Choose, but choose wisely’ is the mantra of the discriminating female when seeking-out male suitors. Through selecting only the most fit, well-matched mates, females are able to reap the benefits of their own inclusive fecundity and be better enabled to garner the evolutionary dividends of more numerous and healthy offspring. In regards to the beastly species known as Homo sapiens, human fertility clinics can utilize modern molecular techniques to perform genetic assessments; however, ‘good genes’ typically aren’t identified by non-human kinfolk in laboratory settings. Rather than admission to fertility clinics, in the wild evaluation of mates is undertaken on the fly using an organism’s innate sensory capabilities.

In its simplest form, avoidance of certain physiological cues such as developmental deformities can aid a female in filtering-out unworthy genetic sets. Unusual appearances, irregular gaits or abnormal vocalizations of male callers tend to stand-out to females and are almost always avoided. In other cases, elaborate courtship rituals, male-to-male fighting or induced ovulation tactics may be summoned into play as means of determining the superlative mate. Some primate species, like the mandrill for example, use their nose to guide their choice of sexual partners.

Mandrills are a variety of Old-world monkeys that inhabit parts of Equatorial Africa. They are highly social primates and can be found living in troops consisting of more than 1000 individuals. Recent research conducted jointly by scientists from the United Kingdom, France and Gabon suggests that the female mandrill is able to read the genome of potential mates through her nose. Because the male mandrills don’t offer anything to the females as a direct benefit – like the before mentioned tactic of bribing with food – the females endeavor to mate with those males possessing different, though complimentary, genetic characteristics.

By reproducing with partners holding diverse genomes the female improves the robustness of her line’s immune system. More specifically, the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a multi-gene family found within the genome of vertebrates that plays a key role in facilitating the immune system’s response to disease. Basically, by possessing greater diversity in the MHC, an animal’s immune system is more enabled to combat a larger range of foreign proteins. Through reproducing with male mandrills having a differing MHC, the female mandrill enhances her offspring’s capacity to thwart illness and disease. This ability to stave sickness is critical for an animal that resides in a hot, wet habitat with an abundance of bacteria and parasites. As stated previously, she distinguishes diverse MHCs through application of her olfactory apparatus – her sense of smell.

Male mandrills attract the females by rubbing their scent-glands against trees and rocks throughout their home territory. This effectively publicizes their MHC for the female’s review. If after assessing the male’s advertised MHC the female determines that the male possess sufficiently aspirant genes, she will choose him as a sexual partner.


SETCHELL, J., CHARPENTIER, M., ABBOTT, K., WICKINGS, E., & KNAPP, L. (2009). Opposites attract: MHC-associated mate choice in a polygynous primate Journal of Evolutionary Biology DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2009.01880.x

Photo Courtesy of Joyrex