Viewpoint: Do you avoid GM crops because they were ‘made by science' but buy organic food because it’s more ‘natural’? What does naturalness even mean?

Viewpoint: Do you avoid GM crops because they were ‘made by science’ but buy organic food because it’s more ‘natural’? What does naturalness even mean?

Matt Ridley |
Our obsession with products and farming systems perceived to be more natural risks preventing our food from being plentiful, affordable, ...
Podcast: Pollution makes you fat? India approves more GMOs; Biological 'push notifications'

Podcast: Pollution makes you fat? India approves more GMOs; Biological ‘push notifications’

Cameron English, Kevin Folta |
Air pollution harms our health in many ways; does it also encourage obesity? Farmers in India have access to two ...
Kernza — a sustainable, perennial grain — may be a wildcard tool to help address climate change challenges in agriculture. What might limit its effectiveness?

Kernza — a sustainable, perennial grain — may be a wildcard tool to help address climate change challenges in agriculture. What might limit its effectiveness?

Ula Chrobak |
In early April, a storm swept central Montana’s plains with 70-mile-per-hour winds. The gusts clawed at wheat fields, sending soil ...
Neanderthals and human evolution

The increasingly bushy human family tree and five other paradigm-altering changes in our understanding of human evolution

Penny Spikins |
From archaeological reconstructions of Neanderthals as stooped, hairy and brutish, to “cavemen” movies, our ancient ancestors got a bad press ...
nz fi

New Zealand’s commitment to removing invasive animal predators opens the door to reconsidering its 20-year rejection of genetic modification

Jacqueline Rowarth, Jon Entine |
Aotearoa New Zealand, the Land of the Long White Cloud, is the first place to see the sunrise on a ...
Podcast: Seralini's infamous rat study 10 years later — Looking back at the retracted research linking GM corn and glyphosate to cancer

Podcast: Seralini’s infamous rat study 10 years later — Looking back at the retracted research linking GM corn and glyphosate to cancer

Kevin Folta |
Ten years ago the biotech world froze and horrific images of three tumor-ridden rats penetrated the media. Social media erupted ...
Viewpoint: ‘Adapt or else…’ — Why Britain is shaking off shackles of European crop biotechnology science-rejectionism and embracing gene editing

Viewpoint: ‘Adapt or else…’ — Why Britain is shaking off shackles of European crop biotechnology science-rejectionism and embracing gene editing

Garland West |
This summer, the United Kingdom took the issue of biotechnology and genomics out of the shadows and back into the ...
David Zaruk Part Left Brand x branded minified

Precautionary Politics: Europe Moves Backward into a Fear-Based ‘Dark Ages’ in Regulating Agriculture and Cancer Risks

David Zaruk |
David Zaruk, Founder of GreenFacts, Environmental-Health Risk Governance Analyst, Professor at Odisee University College | July 25, 2018 Highlights: The ...
Podcast: 'Regenerative' farming—a green fad; Gene-edited bacteria destroy tumors; Banana-flavored beer

Podcast: ‘Regenerative’ farming—a green fad; Gene-edited bacteria destroy tumors; Banana-flavored beer

Cameron English, Kevin Folta |
So-called "regenerative" farming is gaining traction as a method of sustainable food production. Does it live up to the hype ...
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Viewpoint: Human insulin saga: Anomalous, successful 40-year history of the first genetically-modified medicine underscores how regulators can scuttle innovation

Henry Miller |
October 29th marks the 40th anniversary of one of biotechnology’s most significant milestones — the approval by the FDA of ...
Viewpoint: Chronicling anti-biotechnology activist Vandana Shiva’s green organic farming delusions that helped drive economic collapse in Sri Lanka

Viewpoint: Chronicling anti-biotechnology activist Vandana Shiva’s green organic farming delusions that helped drive economic collapse in Sri Lanka

Myles Power |
rganic farming was not the singular cause for the crisis which Sri Lanka is currently facing, but the sudden agro-chemical ...
modern homo sapiens

Here is when and how humans attained ‘behavioral modernity’

Nick Longrich |
For 200,000-300,000 years after Homo sapiens first appeared, tools and artefacts remained surprisingly simple, little better than Neanderthal technology, and simpler than ...
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Viewpoint: Anti-GMO activists, from Organic Consumers Association to Joe Mercola to Vandana Shiva, formed an alliance. Why this is good news for biotech and science supporters

Andrew Porterfield |
Alliances and networks is the new game plan among anti-GM activists. Recently, Organic Consumers Association [read GLP profile head Ronnie ...
Viewpoint: Exploiting children to promote anti-science ideology — Activists peddle overwrought claims that kids are endangered by crop pesticides

Viewpoint: Exploiting children to promote anti-science ideology — Activists peddle overwrought claims that kids are endangered by crop pesticides

Cameron English |
As a new dad, there's no one I love more than my son. I want to protect him from danger, ...
Genetic basis of mental illness: Individual genetics and ‘racial’ ancestry impact mental illness, but most studies have focused only on white people

Genetic basis of mental illness: Individual genetics and ‘racial’ ancestry impact mental illness, but most studies have focused only on white people

Hailiang Huang |
Mental illness is a growing public health problem. In 2019, an estimated 1 in 8 people around the world were affected ...
Oldest known human skeleton suggests humans began walking on two feet 7 million years ago in break from our ape-like common ancestors

Oldest known human skeleton suggests humans began walking on two feet 7 million years ago in break from our ape-like common ancestors

The study of present-day species has delivered a clear verdict on humanity’s place in the living world: right alongside chimpanzees ...
Viewpoint: Why Washington should sharply increase funding for intensive agricultural to address climate change, spur sustainability

Viewpoint: Why Washington should sharply increase funding for intensive agricultural to address climate change, spur sustainability

Alex Smith, Dan Blaustein-Rejto |
The 20th century was a time of massive changes in US agriculture. From farmers scraping a living out of the ...
Podcast: 'Botched' nutrition reporting; Alcohol abstinence boosts brain health; What causes acne?

Podcast: ‘Botched’ nutrition reporting; Alcohol abstinence boosts brain health; What causes acne?

Cameron English, Kevin Folta |
Reporters continue to exaggerate the results of low-quality nutrition studies. Their desire to attract readers with dramatic headlines may be ...
Viewpoint: 'Pro-science lobby’? Europe’s continued failure to keep up with crop biotechnology innovation suggests a new approach is needed

Viewpoint: ‘Pro-science lobby’? Europe’s continued failure to keep up with crop biotechnology innovation suggests a new approach is needed

David Zaruk |
In a recent Politico Brussels debate on the future of new plant breeding technologies within the EU’s Farm2Fork strategy, a ...
aging

Rethinking human enhancement: Is aging a disease?

Raiany Romanni |
In 1851, blacks throughout the US were reported to suffer from a disease called “drapetomania.” The symptoms—a white physician argued—were bouts ...
Diversity, inclusion and the Human Pangenome Project: Why capturing human genome diversity in our 4-letter language is such a big deal

Diversity, inclusion and the Human Pangenome Project: Why capturing human genome diversity in our 4-letter language is such a big deal

Ricki Lewis |
“Pan” has several meanings. As a noun, it refers to “a round metal container that often has a long handle ...
Viewpoint: ‘Regenerative’ is replacing ‘organic’ as the latest green farming fad. Here’s why the reality falls far short of the hype

Viewpoint: ‘Regenerative’ is replacing ‘organic’ as the latest green farming fad. Here’s why the reality falls far short of the hype

Cameron English |
Politicians have a complicated relationship with science. When they think the evidence comports with their political goals, they love scientists ...
Here’s why humans grow two sets of teeth

Here’s why humans grow two sets of teeth

Qamariya Nasrullah |
You only get 52 teeth in your lifetime: 20 baby teeth, followed by 32 adult teeth. It’s not like that ...
Viewpoint: COVID misinformation inspires sense of 'deja vu' for survivors of HIV/AIDS crisis

Viewpoint: COVID misinformation inspires sense of ‘deja vu’ for survivors of HIV/AIDS crisis

Cristian Apetrei |
Since health officials confirmed the first COVID-19 cases, misinformation has spread just as quickly as the virus ...
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Viewpoint: Ideology not science — Here’s why NBC News’ factually inaccurate reporting on the ‘dangers’ of the weedkiller glyphosate sets a dangerous precedent

Jon Entine, Kevin Folta |
What happens when an online information resource leans into clickbait? It’s annoying but generally harmless entertainment. When it’s a resource ...
Podcast: Science Facts and Fallacies host debates body positivity activists on 'Dr. Phil'

Podcast: Science Facts and Fallacies host debates body positivity activists on ‘Dr. Phil’

Cameron English, Kevin Folta |
Science Facts and Fallacies host Cameron English recently appeared on the Dr. Phil show to tackle an incendiary question: Has ...