Featured in Weekly Newsletter
Scrambled DNA fragments could open doors to higher crop yields, new herbicides
Plants have shown a wide range of reactions after being edited with random bits of genetic material. Some grow faster ...
Viewpoint: Will FDA finally crack down on ‘false and misleading’ Non-GMO Project labels?
How much will mega food companies care until FDA decides to enforce the law? ...
Searching for genetic answers: What makes monkeys different from humans?
Less than 50 of our 20,000 genes are unique to humans. What separates us from monkeys? ...
Viewpoint: We should be careful about ‘crossing the germline’ in gene editing humans
CRISPR gene editing has the possibility to transform disease management, but we can't be scared of editing somatic cells ...
Golden Rice, Part 2: Will nutritionally enhanced rice work and help solve malnutrition in developing countries?
For more than a quarter of a century, vitamin A deficiency (VAD) has been recognized by the United Nations as ...
Why synthetic biology is about much more than resurrecting woolly mammoths
Synthetic biology...Simply mentioning this term — whether at a cocktail party or on a pop culture TV show — evokes ...
Why conservatives should embrace evolution ‘as a jewel’ of modern Western civilization
It is a crowning achievement of Western civilization and a rejoinder to the modern myths of the Left ...
Viewpoint: Why we can’t seem to bridge the gulf that divides pro- and anti-GMO forces
The opposition to GMOs is based not on scientific evidence, but on personal values and ideology. In effect, the two ...
Summer is coming: Just how much sun can your DNA take before being damaged?
We're entering sunscreen season, which means 'high alert' for sun-related skin damage. How does our DNA impact our susceptibility? ...
Viewpoint: Lab-grown meat should replace farm animals as food
Why so many people resist cultured meat -- and why they shouldn't ...
A matter of trust: Why anti-vaxxers are wary of Big Pharma
Vaccine opponents often share a conviction that the health care system is more interested in profits and power than helping ...
Viewpoint: What defines a female athlete? Law professor, former runner’s case for why Caster Semenya’s testosterone levels critical in determining if she should compete with women
The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled that intersex athletes must reduce their testosterone to within accepted female levels ...
Golden Rice, Part 1: The story of a GMO crop that could benefit billions of children a year
For billions of people, the stakes could not be higher ...
Viewpoint: Regulators should embrace the Vatican’s decade-old endorsement of GMOs
If only legislators and regulators would “get religion" and take the Pontifical Academy’s decade-old recommendations to heart ...
Geopolitics of gene editing
For a handful of countries, gene editing is key to their future power ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO forces in Nigeria have abandoned reason and the nation’s best interests
Protecting health and and food security is best done through dialogue and education, not threats and smear campaigns ...
Was our brain growth kick-started by ancestors scavenging bone marrow from animal carcasses?
A new theory challenges assumptions about when and how our ancestors altered their behaviors to boost brainpower ...
Worried about low T? Treatments may be a costly placebo—and could even hurt you
Testosterone therapy does little to counter the effects of aging. But it does have the potential to be harmful for ...
Why the ‘chemical free’ organic industry has a ‘pesticide problem’
The organic label is often touted as meaning "pesticide free" and has become a rallying cry for anti-GMO activists. But ...
Viewpoint: How my cancer treatment turned me into a living, breathing GMO
Whether in cancer cells or apples, GMOs are improving lives ...
Genetically engineered trees could save our forests—but it won’t be an easy fix
A biotech tree could simultaneously increase and decrease the wildness of a forest ...
Dissecting the cannabis genome in the quest for a better bud and effective medicines
Cannabis cultivators have little firm knowledge about the genetics of the plant. Researchers hope to change that ...
How this promising gene therapy for a rare neuromuscular disease was fueled by passionate parents and a dog
The gene therapy will be too late for Joshua Frase. But it will be his legacy ...
Sex robots create a lot of questions, including this one: Does it count as cheating on your human partner?
In “Turned On,” a computer scientist and sex researcher explores the surprisingly serious business of sexual companion robots (no snickering, ...
Uganda’s anti-GMO activists blamed for stonewalling nation’s new biosafety rules
A campaign by non-governmental organizations is determined to keep Uganda free of GMOs ...
Does Big Ag control farmers through seeds patents? Farmers don’t think so.
Farmers have a wide range of choices for seeds, including conventional and GMO. And most, for economic and performance rather ...
Weak links? How partial DNA matches can muddle criminal investigations
Using DNA collected from a crime scene, police can identify relatives of unidentified suspects through partial, or familial, matches. Legal ...
