— The Lancet has retracted Andrew Wakefield’s study that claimed a link between MMR vaccination and autism, five days after the UK General Medical Council ruled his actions as unethical. The retraction comes nearly 12 years after the paper was published. (Reuters)

— Scientists claim that a small group of colleagues are blocking peer-review journals from publishing innovative stem-cell research. In an open letter to editors of various journals, the scientists push for providing anonymous reviewer comments in the supplementary information section of published papers. (BBC)

– The US Food and Drug Administration will get a 23% boost to its overall budget in 2011 – topping $4 billion — thanks to Obama’s proposed increase and various fees. Among the agency’s top priorities, with more than $100 million in funds, is improving medical product regulation. And if the FDA’s warnings over product promotions — 41 last year, up from 21 in 2008 — are any sign, the agency is ready to bare its teeth. (WaPo)

— Use of a vaccine could cut tuberculosis cases by nearly two-fifths among HIV-infected Africans, researchers say. In a study of 2,000 Tanzanians, the vaccinated population had 39% fewer cases of TB, the most common cause of death among HIV-positive people in Africa. (BBC)