Science of the Future
AI activists rethink their strategy, focusing on the future of work
[Recently] the AI Now Institute, a think tank that studies the social implications of artificial intelligence, published a sweeping report ...
The disabled, the elderly and the poor: Trump administration flirts with eugenics
Trump has deployed in his administration and in his relationships with billionaires a group of the old and new eugenicists ...
AI hallucinations: They’re getting worse
More than two years after the arrival of ChatGPT, tech companies, office workers and everyday consumers are using A.I. bots ...
Biology junkie? Here are some great summer reads
One of my favorite summer chores is finding a new book to take from the beach to the pool. ...
When European politicians and ‘experts’ debate the future of farming, they listen to everyone but farmers
Georges Clemenceau once said war was too important to be left to the generals. Today, in Brussels, agriculture is too ...
Electric respiration: Bacteria that ‘breathe’ electricity could revolutionize wastewater treatment and biomanufacturing
A team led by Rice University bioscientist Caroline Ajo-Franklin has discovered how certain bacteria breathe by generating electricity, using a natural ...
Risk averse, precautionary Europe is missing out on the technology revolution
The world’s technology revolution is leaving Europe behind. Europe lacks any homegrown alternatives to the likes of Google, Amazon or Meta. Apple’s market value is ...
‘Humanized mice’: Chimeras fuel quest to treat chronic diseases, cancer and even COVID-19
Some medical conditions can't be ethically investigated in humans, so researchers are finding interesting ways to grow people parts in ...
Gene editing embryos: Crypto billionaire Brian Armstrong funding ethically controversial project
Brian Armstrong, the billionaire CEO of the cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, says he’s ready to fund a US startup focused on ...
FaceAge AI uses snapshots to predict biological age and help oncologists tailor treatments
A new artificial intelligence tool developed by researchers at Mass General Brigham and Harvard Medical School uses a snapshot of a patient’s face to ...
Climate change challenge: How to ‘future proof’ crops
In a review in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Stephen Long, a professor of crop sciences and of plant biology at ...
AI can read plant DNA. That could transform agriculture and help feed the world
Plant DNA has become a frontier for artificial intelligence, with large language models turning genetic sequences into interpretable content for ...
Bioterrorism experts not buying Trump’s FBI administration claims that Chinese students smuggled in fungus for a bioweapon
Fungus already widespread in U.S., poses little food safety risk, experts say Experts say it would be ineffective as agricultural ...
Gene editing holds the potential of suppressing mosquito species that carry deadly diseases — and raises ethical concerns
[S]ome doctors and scientists say it is time to take the extraordinary step of unleashing gene editing to suppress mosquitoes ...
How biotech shapes climate-smart agriculture in Asia and Australasia
“We’re in a race against time.” This is the alarming call of Silvia Restrepo, President of the Boyce Thompson Institute ...
Organic yields significantly lag conventional farming output. That gap will increase as gene editing accelerates in the U.S.
A lack of sufficient nutrient application and the limited ability to control weeds, insects, and plant diseases, results in organic ...
AI and machine learning could accelerate and mainstream the culture meat revolution
Cultured meat (CM), known by many names including “cell-based” or “cultivated” meat, is an emerging technology that uses tissue engineering ...
Can Africa’s indigenous ‘orphan crops’ play a meaningful role in improving the continent’s food security?
In 2021, the small village of Kanaani in eastern Kenya faced a devastating drought. For months, rain was scarce, leaving ...
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Report on Pediatric Gender Dysphoria and Gender Conversion Efforts
Last month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and ...
‘White genocide’: Ask Elon Musk’s Grok AI bot about sports or Medicare and it changes the subject to ‘oppressed’ South African whites
A chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s multibillion-dollar artificial intelligence startup xAI appeared to be suffering from a glitch [on May ...
Viewpoint: Ethical questions about embryo screening and eugenics
Orchid and other start-ups like it take embryos produced by IVF and subject those embryos to polygenic screening. This process ...
Plant biotechnology is an indispensable tool for enhancing crop resilience to droughts and floods
As climate change intensifies extreme weather events, the agriculture sector is faced with the arduous task of finding ways to ...
AI and terrorism: How bioterrorists could easily fake an attack
While I am deeply concerned about the long-term existential threat of AI and synthetic biology to create new or modified ...
India approves its first gene edited crop—rice that uses less water, reduces carbon emissions and increases yields
India has made a historic leap in Sustainable Farming by unveiling the world’s first Genome-Edited Rice varieties. “Pusa DST Rice ...
The science of sitting—and why walking may be better for our bodies than running
In today’s world, exercise is often elevated to near-religious status. It’s hard to go a day without encountering the latest ...
Science brain drain begins: Europe announces program to actively recruit disenchanted U.S. young scientists
The European Research Council (ERC) decision to increase its support for leading researchers moving to Europe has today been formally ...
The growing role of AI, automation and renewables in agriculture
The use of artificial intelligence in agriculture is revolutionizing how people grow food. AI-powered systems can analyze vast amounts of ...
