And in related autism and vaccine news

CNN reports that the special vaccine court has ruled that autism isn't caused by vaccines, sortof.

A special court ruled Thursday that parents of autistic children are not entitled to compensation in their contention that certain vaccines caused autism in their children.

"I must decide this case not on sentiment, but by analyzing the evidence," one of the "special masters" hearing the case said in denying the families' claims, ruling that the families had not presented sufficient evidence to prove their allegations.

While I feel badly for the parents, most of whom probably believe that the vaccinations caused their childrens' autism, this sort of ruling is a good step. Judicial rulings should never be seen as settling any scientific question, but when there is very little evidence that vaccines cause autism the court should be ruling on the side of the scientific consensus.

While it may be valuable for scientists to continue to investigate all avenues to determine the factors leading to autism, including vaccines, any public, realistic response that weakens the relationship between the two in the public eye is probably a step in the right direction.