Featured in Weekly Newsletter
What can sexual pleasure teach us about behavioral learning?
Opiod receptors in our brain are triggered when we have sex. Researching this mechanism can tell us a lot about ...
Prominent anti-GMO NGOs and organic businesses partnered with Russia to ‘smear’ American agriculture
It's no secret that although the Internet has vastly improved our lives in many respects, it has downsides — less ...
Can a genetic test predict risk of opioid addiction?
The opioid crisis is an ongoing tragedy, with fatal overdoses costing thousands of lives each year. Although opioids are an ...
Even as managed honeybee colonies hit record numbers, another threat to their health is identified: Mystery viruses
The quest to figure out what's behind honeybee deaths has become as much a political question as a scientific one. Recent ...
Viewpoint: By ‘shutting the door’ on crop gene editing, Europe shows its biotech regulations deeply flawed
The European Court of Justice has made an important ruling on genetically modified crops. Since 2003, new crop varieties produced by ...
Viewpoint: Stop worrying about intelligent robots taking all the jobs
The coming artificial intelligence revoloution will inevitably change the way the European workforce operates. How should policymakers prepare? ...
Viewpoint: Not all US farmers are yet being hurt by the tariff trade war with China—but the future is shaky
Farmers like to say that you can't count on a harvest until it actually comes in — but I'm ready ...
Why are we afraid of synthetic blood?
Synthetic blood engineered to be superior to our normal blood may be a revolution in the emergency room ...
Science setback? What’s next now that European court rules gene-edited crops are GMOs?
With the European court ruling that CRISPR crops and other gene-edited foods must be treated as classic transgenic GMOs, scientists worry ...
‘Overactive immune system’: Is schizophrenia a body-wide disorder?
While some may believe that schizophrenia is only affects the mind, a new study shows that the disease actually affects ...
Viewpoint: We’re ‘nowhere close’ to being ready to edit human genomes
Genome meddling to cure diseases is often worth the risk, but nothing else is just yet ...
How gene therapy could help astronauts survive deep space deadly radiation
Over the past five decades, space travel advocates have been pushing to expand our footprint in space. They dream about lunar ...
‘Evolution is aimless’: How else do we explain external testicles?
Evolution is a work in progress, so it’s hardly surprising that some of the features it has built into the ...
Did anti-GMO groups plant ‘rogue’ GMO wheat in Canada to deliberately disrupt markets to manipulate public opinion?
In the summer of 2017, a contractor applied the popular weed-killer glyphosate (brand name Roundup®) to clear some weeds along ...
Olympic gender confusion: Woman with too much testosterone required to take estrogen to compete while drug that blocks estrogen is banned
Erik Lief and Chuck Dinerstein have each weighed in with companion pieces about a highly controversial rule by the International Association of ...
Defining gender and questioning the need for a ‘level playing field’ in elite athletics
The context surrounding the study of the impact of testosterone on elite athletes is essential in understanding its underlying hypothesis ...
Why we don’t all need to be vegans in the pursuit of sustainability
Humans are unique in the degree to which they can manipulate their surroundings. And agriculture is one enormous way to ...
Viewpoint: We should just retire the whole ‘feed the world’ thing when it comes to promoting GMOs
How often do we hear something along the lines of "We won't be able to feed 10 billion people by ...
Gender, sex and identity: Sports’ ruling bodies struggle to draw lines to ensure fairness for all
The case of Caster Semenya is as fascinating as it is multi-faceted. And while the debate can be endless due ...
Alternate facts: Why are we still telling women that abortion causes breast cancer?
On June 26th, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of crisis pregnancy centers that were challenging a California law, the Reproductive ...
Déjà vu all over again: Germany’s ‘regulatory stranglehold’ on New Breeding Techniques mirrors its policy on GMOs 20 years ago
Biotechnology applied to agriculture is beginning to yield all manner of products, including fruits and vegetables that are disease-resistant, more ...
Viewpoint: ‘Worrisome conflicts’ created by lack of diversity in biotech research funding
You exit a cramped, hazy subway car with a throng of professionals. As you emerge blinking into Kendall Square in ...
‘Clean meat’: How lab-grown foods can feed us in the future
For long enough, I have been fascinated with the idea of growing stuff in the lab whether it’s milk, egg ...
How to change consumer perception of crop biotechnology and GMO foods
Genetically modified (GM) foods for human consumption have long been a subject of intense public debate, as well as academic ...
Is the key to treating or preventing autism hiding in the gut microbiome?
Studies have connected the brain and the microbiome through what’s becoming known as the “gut-brain-axis.” The mystery of our microbiota ...
This virus is attracted to cancer cells. Will it give us new treatments?
Historically, bacteria, parasites, and viruses have been considered dangerous because they spread infectious diseases. But scientists have started to try ...
Will Africa embrace CRISPR gene editing and the next phase of the biotech revolution?
Scientists around the world are increasingly turning to the promise of CRISPR gene editing to tackle any number of problems ...
