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Viewpoint: The unreported dark side of James Watson’s DNA structure discovery
For the past several years, I have taught a seminar called The Literature of Science to a dozen or so honors ...
Inherited blindness has a new cure, thanks to CRISPR
In recent months, even as our attention has been focused on the coronavirus outbreak, there have been a slew of ...
Podcast: Glyphosate boosts cancer risk 41%? How a questionable claim from a flawed study went viral
As a rule, scientific research is relegated to obscure technical journals and goes unnoticed by most people. Every few months, ...
A dangerous stage in the evolution of the novel coronavirus is upon us with the discovery of “escape mutations”. Artificial intelligence may be our best response
Real life with COVID-19 is now scarier than anything a sci-fi writer could envision. So-called “escape mutations” that can turn ...
Viewpoint: Environmental groups attack latest crop gene-editing innovations misusing scientifically outdated 20-year-old anti-GMO arguments
“Gene stacking”—the process of modifying several genes or traits instead of just one—has been around many years. “Golden Rice,” engineered ...
Genetically engineered, blight-resistant potato could help East Africa beat hunger and move towards food self-sufficiency
Imagine being a potato farmer in Ethiopia, Kenya or Nigeria. On a small piece of land, which you depend on ...
Gattaca or life-saving? Can we—should we—use CRISPR to edit human embryos, sperm or eggs to cure diseases?
The startling announcement by He Jiankui [two years] ago that he had created the first genetically modified human beings unleashed a ...
Podcast: How do mRNA vaccines work and why were they developed so fast?
Geneticist Dr Kat Arney takes a look at the discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) and finds out how mRNA vaccines ...
Synthetic DNA barcodes on fruits and vegetables could open the door to food and agricultural transparency
Few technologies can transform the relationship between growers and consumers like the promise of transparency. And with Covid, many of ...
There is a lot of misinformation about COVID, the available vaccines and their effectiveness. These 7 insights will help clear that up.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been many thousands of articles and commentaries published on almost every ...
Podcast: GMOs = colonialism? CRISPR-edited eggs; sustainable shoes made from fungi
Distribution of genetically engineered crops to developing countries proves that "colonialism in science is still alive and well," alleges one ...
Viewpoint: Promoting CRISPR crops at the expense of GMOs to appease activists undermines both technologies
In the span of a few short years, gene editing has allowed scientists to begin rapidly and cheaply improving food ...
Can Biden’s USDA bring America’s animal gene-editing rules into the 21st century?
I am in perhaps a somewhat rare position regarding the contemplated USDA regulatory framework, as I actually have several animals ...
Viewpoint: COVID vaccine successes have made headway in rebutting facile arguments about the dangers of biotechnology
It turns out that, despite the destruction and heartbreak caused by the COVID pandemic, there is a silver lining: Scientists ...
Sketchy vegan-promoting physicians group produces study attacking ‘blood type’ diet – and it’s surprisingly rigorous and convincing
Nearly every sort of diet has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list by now, all claiming to have ...
‘Back to the future’: The case for returning to risk-based animal gene-editing regulations
So what is the USDA’s proposal for the regulation of genetically engineered animals? In a nutshell, it proposes moving regulation ...
We are inching towards direct brain control of computers. Here’s when they’ll be ready
Imagine controlling your computer just by thinking. It sounds far-out, but real advances are happening on these so-called brain-computer interfaces ...
Viewpoint: Are GMOs a corporate ploy to colonize developing countries? Is vitamin-A enhanced Golden Rice a plot by ‘Western entities’ to control global agriculture? Here are the facts bungled in Slate commentary.
Western scientists who introduce biotech crops into developing nations are paternalistic colonizers. While they claim to be helping farmers in ...
Podcast: Unreliable COVID tests; Amazon’s creepy Halo health band; Celebrate pesticides?
How do COVID-19 tests work, and are their results reliable? Recent media reports have raised some concerning questions. Amazon's Halo ...
Regulation gone wrong: A critique of the FDA’s nonsensical animal gene-editing rules
The “Guidance for Industry #187” entitled “Regulation of Intentionally Altered Genomic DNA in Animals” was published in the Federal Register ...
Marketers are beginning to use data mined from consumer DNA tests. Should we be worried?
A woman lingers at a display of coffeemakers. Soon after, images of the very same contraptions festoon her Facebook feed, ...
Viewpoint: ‘Regulatory creep’—How the FDA’s evolving rules hindered the introduction of gene-edited animals
Ever since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its plans to regulate genomic alterations in genome edited animals ...
Reflecting on ‘The Queen’s Gambit’: Are women genetically hardwired to underperform men in chess?
Unlike the wildly popular Netflix chess-themed series The Queen’s Gambit, female players have struggled to climb to the top of ...
GE animals: While the federal government delays approvals, antibiotic use, animal suffering and food prices increase
They say good things come to those who wait. Well I have been waiting my entire career to eat milk, ...
How COVID deniers are taking pages out of the anti-vaccine movement’s playbook
One of the most notable things about the COVID-19 pandemic has been how fast two science denialist movements made common cause ...
Viewpoint: Impossible and Beyond Burgers are delicious, but are they good for you?
The leading companies offering fake meat are mission-driven, with vegan roots. Any benefits to human health are icing on the ...
More or less deadly? Which way is SARS-CoV-2 evolving?
No lethal pandemic lasts forever. The 1918 flu, for example, crisscrossed the globe and claimed tens of millions of lives, ...
