"…according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): children are increasingly not being vaccinated against the highly contagious virus because of fears that ingredients in the injection may cause autism…..but new research by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health did not find a connection. "We are confident that there is no link between [the measles vaccine] and autism," says lead study author W. Ian Lipkin, an epidemiologist. The researchers hope their findings published in the journal PLoS ONE will put the issue to rest and persuade parents to vaccinate their children—a move that could stop measles and other previously controlled serious illnesses such as mumps and whooping cough from making comebacks." Article by Nikhil Swaminathan Scientific American (3rd November 2008)