(February 1, 2008 - Insidermedicine) From Rochester - A new study has shown that thimerosal, the mercury-containing preservative found in childhood vaccines, is excreted rapidly from the body and therefore cannot build to toxic levels. Researchers found that the half-life of ethyl mercury in the blood was 3.7 days, compared to 44 days for the kind of mercury found in fish. This is yet more evidence that thimerosal is not a cause of autism, and childhood vaccinations should be strongly encouraged.

From France - Iatrogenic events, or incidents of unintended harm caused by health care, to newborn babies are frequent and often preventable. A prospective study in a neonatal centre in southern France showed that a third of all IEs and more than a quarter of severe IEs were preventable, compared to adults and children where 40 to 60% of adverse events were preventable. This study highlights the need for implementing effective error-prevention strategies in pediatric medicine.

And finally, from South Carolina - You may want to think twice before double dipping. Just in time for the Super Bowl, a new study from Clemson University found that for 3 double dips of a cracker into dip, about 10,000 bacteria are transferred from a person's mouth into the remaining dip. According to the researchers, double dipping is tantamount to kissing a person, due to the transfer of saliva.

For Insidermedicine in 60, I'm Allison Chow from Queen's University.