glad you are here to vouch for the independence or lack thereof of studies. just a simple guy here, but, based on what I know, not easy to tell who is paying for any study, even with acknowledgments in the study (which you never post anyway)... but if you say that vitamin d studies are "independent" sure that they are... I'm sure its all on the up and up. why wouldn't it be? right... but then, what exactly does "independent" mean. you could really get caught in that. studies paid for by business are techinically independent. so maybe I'm just confused as to what you mean. independent from what? for example, susan g. koman foundation says its independent... but, why does all the money go to things that will never cure cancer. always wondered about that. independent, funny word...