Podcast: Should you clone your pets? Drought-tolerant crops work; We really need more antibiotics

• ‘He’s more than just his DNA’: Cloning a beloved pet costs up to $500,000 — but there’s no guarantees when it comes to personality

The death of a family pet is a brutal experience for most of us. If you’ve ever wished that you could hit the reset button and give your dog, cat or even your prized bull a second chance—and you have anywhere from $50,000 to $500,000 laying around—there are companies that will harvest your pet’s cells and use them to produce a clone of your fury family member. The problem? With just a 20 percent success rate, the process is hardly foolproof. And even if it works, Lassie 2.0 may not behave as you expect. It’s a stark reminder that genetics doesn’t dictate personality—even in our pets.

• Viewpoint: GM drought-tolerant crops: Here is one biotech innovation that only anti-GMO science rejectionists can demonize

Drought-tolerant biotech crops exist. Varieties of corn, wheat and soy have been developed and farmers around the world grow them every year. Why, then, do anti-GMO groups persist in claiming that biotechnology can’t produce plants with drought tolerance? They’re either unaware of the evidence or they just deny it. Neither option paints a flattering picture of these activist groups.

• We haven’t approved a new type of antibiotic in nearly 40 years — and bacteria are taking advantage of this blind spot

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria infect thousands of people every year. Public health officials, scientists and physicians are keenly aware of how serious this problem is, so why haven’t we developed a new antibiotic in close to four decades? It comes down to money. New drugs carry hefty price tags—typically north of $1 billion. How do we spur the necessary investments to get new antibiotics on the market?