Featured in Weekly Newsletter
Viewpoint: Scientific American has become a ’scientific sewer’, promoting ideological rubbish on the evolution of male-female differences, claims University of Chicago biologist Jerry Coyne
I read this new article in Scientific American claiming that women constituted a high proportion of hunters in early hunter-gatherer ...
Biotechnology timeline: Humans have manipulated genes since the ‘dawn of civilization’
The history of biotechnology shows how humans have been manipulating nature for our benefit for a long time—and how modern ...
How to argue about ‘race’: Charles Murray and Adam Rutherford are not so far apart
Shortly before the killing of George Floyd by a white Minneapolis police officer in May this year, two (now tragically ...
GLP podcast/video: Chemophobia brings left and right together; Scientists should fight disinfo on X; Sudafed scandal explained
Why do so many people on the political left and right, who agree on almost nothing, share a deep-seated fear ...
BBC corrects its misleading educational site hyping the benefits of organic and the alleged environmental problems of GMOs
The BBC has revised misleading and factually inaccurate statements about different farming systems on its exam revision website BBC Bitesize ...
Will AI make biology textbook authors redundant? Here’s one author’s view of ChatGPT
I just used ChatGPT for the first time. Initially, I was concerned about my future as the chatbot near-instantaneously answered ...
How effective and safe are current-generation pesticides?
it is important to balance risks with the benefits that pesticides provide ...
Genetic medical astrology? Nutrigenomic DNA tests: Can you prime your health by tailoring diet and exercise to your biology?
"The promise of genetic testing is that it can tell you more about the way you're built so that you ...
How octopi can edit their own RNA to rapidly respond to environmental changes
How organisms rapidly respond to a challenge: For an octopus, that might be a sudden plunge in water temperature, which ...
‘Quantum shift’: UK regulators replacing science-strangling ultra-precautionary crop biotech regulations to accelerate adoption of CRISPR and other precise breeding technologies
A ‘quantum shift’ by the Food Standards Agency in its planned approach to regulating gene edited food and feed products ...
GLP podcast/video: Artificial wombs coming soon? The dangers of ketamine; Banning glyphosate would be disastrous
Premature babies might complete their gestation in artificial wombs called "biobags" in the coming years. The anesthetic ketamine might be ...
Why worthless drugs sometimes seem to work — What we can learn from the FDA’s withdrawal of the decongestant phenylephrine
Last month, some of the most iconic over-the-counter name brand medicines took a hit. The FDA’s Nonprescription Drug Advisory Committee (NDAC) unanimously ...
6th sense? The mystery of tasting salt is so indecipherable, scientists say we have two separate systems to decode it
We’ve all heard of the five tastes our tongues can detect — sweet, sour, bitter, savory-umami and salty. But the ...
‘Judges as gatekeepers’: Court rejects ‘predatort’ lawyers’ claim that Lexapro used during pregnancy led to children’s autism
Judicial opinions don’t evidence a clear enough understanding of the scientific method and invite push-back from an aggressive bar ...
Unraveling the mystery of who gets lung cancer and why
Why do some heavy smokers never get lung cancer? And why do some people who never smoke get lung cancer? ...
Are neonicotinoid seed treatments critical for protecting crops—or unnecessary, with potential to harm bees?
Neonicotinoids, the world’s most popular class of insecticides, have been making headlines for the last decade due to concerns that ...
Perpetuating the ‘nerd’ stereotype: Why I won’t watch Apple TV+’s ‘Lessons in Chemistry’
Lessons in Chemistry, set to debut on Apple TV+ October 13, is based on the best-selling 2022 novel by Bonnie ...
GLP podcast/video: The case for weight-loss drugs; It’s immoral to oppose CRISPR animals? Bad science and ‘forever chemicals’
We don't always know why anti-depressants and obesity drugs work, but that shouldn't discourage patients from taking medications that can ...
Only 7 African countries commercially grow genetically engineered crops. Here’s a blueprint to unlock the continent’s enormous farm and food potential
The African continent has been home to genetically modified (GM) crops for more than 26 years, beginning in 1996 when ...
Viewpoint: Behind the curtain at the ‘Institute for Integrative Nutrition’ — Health guidance or quack advice?
Health coaching as a profession is exploding. According to a market research firm, in 2021, the industry was worth about ...
Viewpoint: Ketamine for mental health is being abused. We need more regulatory oversight
While some extol the psychological benefits of psychedelics and bemoan their unavailability, at least one FDA-approved agent with psychedelic properties, ...
Are you cranky if you don’t eat? This explains that ‘hangry’ feeling
Neuroscientists think a cluster of cells in the brain that stimulate appetite could be a target for eating disorder therapies ...
GLP podcast/video: Did COVID vaccine mandates work? AI spreads glyphosate misinfo; Africa’s ‘Green Revolution’ has failed? No
Did vaccine mandates slow the spread of COVID on college campuses? A new study says yes. AI-generated articles are already ...
Viewpoint: UK’s The Guardian fearmongers over PFAS ‘forever chemicals’
The Guardian's August 17 headline, “Drinking Water of Millions of Americans Contaminated with Forever Chemicals”, was based on newly released ...
Considering the controversy over the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, is it worth getting the seasonal flu shot this year? How well do they really work?
It's that time of year again. No, I am not referring to the latest COVID-19 vaccines, which are now available ...
Open letter to New York Governor Hochul: ‘The only thing the Birds and Bees Protection Act would protect are seed corn maggots’
Farmers and their allies in New York State are almost unanimous in their opposition to legislation that would sharply limit ...
Podcast: The science and history behind the term “placebo effect”
Henry Beecher’s paper paved the way for sounder drug trials and pushed scientists to better understand how we process painSloppy ...
