GLP podcast: RFK Jr. recycles ‘gay frogs’ pesticide conspiracy; GMO v organic debate is over; Scientist behind gene-edited twins back in the lab

RFK, Jr. has resurrected the long-debunked speculation that atrazine, a low-toxicity weedkiller, causes sexual dysphoria in frogs—and humans. The oft-reported GMO vs. organic agriculture debate is a marketing myth; one farmer says we should quit taking sides in this meaningless dispute. The Chinese scientist who illegally edited the DNA of human embryos in 2018 is out of jail and back in his lab. What sort of experiments is he up to?

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Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 261 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

• Video viewpoint: Humans as frogs? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claims that unsubstantiated but perceived rise in male sexual dysphoria is driven by atrazine in our water supply

More than 20 years ago, a one-off study roiled the world of agriculture by concluding that exposure to low doses of atrazine caused sexual abnormalities in frogs, and may have similar effects in humans. Follow-up research conducted by the EPA and independent experts over the next decade demonstrated that the hormone-disrupting effects of the weedkiller were non-existent, bringing the scandal to an unceremonious end. RFK, Jr. wasn’t convinced, however. “If it’s doing that to frogs, there’s a lot of other evidence that it’s doing it to human beings as well,” he claimed during an interview in late March. Has Kennedy uncovered new evidence, or has he been seduced by anti-chemical campaigners?

• Viewpoint: There’s enough common ground for organic, regenerative, and conventional agriculture to live in harmony

Reporters and environmental activists regularly portray organic and conventional agriculture as warring factions in a pitched battle for control of global food production. The truth is much less pugnacious. In reality, many farmers grow conventional and organic crops; there is also significant overlap between the practices employed in conventional and organic farming. For these reasons, at least one farmer says it’s high time we abandon the adversarial framing that has polluted the public’s understanding of food and farming for so long.

• Challenging bioethical taboos: Chinese scientist He Jiankui who modified the genes of human embryos to protect them from HIV reopens his lab

In 2018, Chinese researcher He Jiankui announced that he had successfully edited the DNA of human embryos during in vitro fertilization. The three babies born following his experiments, including twin girls, were immune to HIV. The announcement shocked the science community and prompted the Chinese government to put Jiankui in prison for three years and fine him $430,000. Out of prison and back in his lab, the once-rogue scientist says he now complies with all domestic and international rules surrounding human gene editing, though he predicts that “society will eventually accept” his controversial embryo editing experiments.

Dr. Liza Dunn is a medical toxicologist and the medical affairs lead at Bayer Crop Science. Follow her on X @DrLizaMD

Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow him on X @camjenglish