Science Controversies
‘A new way of life’: UK launches COVID-19 contact tracing system with voluntary self-isolation
A test-and-trace system to find and isolate people who come into contact with coronavirus will be launched in the U.K ...
USDA revised regulations of GMO and gene edited plants. Here’s what it means.
The long-awaited updates from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to its genetically engineered (GE) organism regulation have been ...
Intriguing links between blood types and COVID-19 outcomes
Why do some people infected with the coronavirus suffer only mild symptoms, while others become deathly ill? Geneticists have been ...
Certified organic? ‘Lax’ USDA regulations encourage fraud in profitable organic food sector
An organic chicken can cost more than twice a conventional one. For some shoppers, that upcharge is worth it—the circular ...
Farmers scramble to find herbicide alternatives after court overturns EPA dicamba weedkiller approval
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision [June 3] vacating the registrations of three dicamba ...
Hydroxychloroquine found ‘no better than placebo pills’ in preventing COVID-19 in high risk people, New England Journal of Medicine study finds
A malaria drug President Donald Trump took to try to prevent COVID-19 proved ineffective for that in the first large, ...
Lancet medical journal retracts much-questioned COVID-19 ‘observational study’ that raised safety alarms about hydroxychloroquine
The Lancet, one of the world’s top medical journals, on [June 4] retracted an influential study that raised alarms about ...
Viewpoint: At-home test detects cervical cancer early. It should be available to all women
I’m a public health nurse who has spent a career studying ways to better test women for the human papillomavirus ...
Appeals court overturns EPA approval of drift-prone weedkiller dicamba, citing ‘substantially understated’ risks
In a stunning rebuke of the Environmental Protection Agency, a federal court on [June 3] overturned the agency’s approval of ...
‘Make technology available’: Farmers in India set to plant illegal GMO seeds for second year in a row
Farmers in Maharashtra are gearing up to sow non-approved Genetically Modified (GM) seeds of crops like cotton, maize, soyabean, and ...
Herd immunity alone isn’t enough to save us. Why a vaccine is critical
[G]etting to herd immunity without a vaccine isn’t as simple as the idea itself. A number of variables can affect ...
Nestlé ‘Incredible’ plant-based burger violates Impossible Foods’ patent, EU court rules
Nestlé SA must stop branding its plant-based burger “Incredible” after a European court ruled the language infringed on Impossible Foods ...
US hospitals have ‘pulled way back’ on hydroxychloroquine use after studies identify safety risks
U.S. hospitals said they have pulled way back on the use of hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug touted by President Donald ...
After illegal seed planting in 2019, Indian farmers again demand access to GMO herbicide-tolerant cotton
Cotton growers in Maharashtra are once again demanding permission to sow seeds of herbicide tolerant (Ht) genetically modified (GM) cotton ...
Top 5 most promising COVID-19 vaccine candidates
More than 100 vaccine efforts are currently underway in the global push to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the ...
Analysis: Is COVID-19 a blessing or a curse to Africa?
The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has left no corner of the world untouched. Since the first case of the disease was ...
Infographic: Most Americans still trust scientists
It’s easy to look around right now and conclude that popular public opinion has turned against scientists. Twitter hashtags have ...
Fighting malaria: Genetically modified parasites offer promising but incomplete protection
Two clinical trials, in which subjects were vaccinated with genetically engineered Plasmodium parasites and later exposed to the malaria-causing microbe, ...
First glyphosate-cancer trial appeal could give Bayer ‘significant leverage’ in settlement talks with over 50,000 plaintiffs
A California appeals court on [June 2] will hear oral arguments in agrochemical giant Monsanto’s bid to toss a $78.5 ...
Is hydroxychloroquine useless and dangerous, or not? Major study released last week dissing therapy now under scrutiny
Does President Trump’s favored coronavirus treatment, the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, make you more likely to die of Covid-19? That was ...
Adverse reactions in COVID-19 vaccine trial illustrates rocky road to developing therapies for diverse populations
Patients in clinical trials are usually faceless. But as the experimental Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Moderna Therapeutics has begun ...
GMO high oleic acid soy doesn’t raise health or environmental concerns, EU Food Safety Authority finds
Following the submission .... from Monsanto Company (hereafter referred to as ‘the applicant’), the Panel on Genetically Modified Organisms of ...
Coronavirus rekindles age-old debate: Should human genes be patentable?
The sudden surge in the demand for a vaccine has seen the biotechnology industry rush to innovation and testing, which, ...
Infographic: Racing to create affordable at-home test for COVID-19
To stretch beyond the lab, test developers are racing to produce next-stage technologies that could allow for rapid widespread testing ...
USDA just updated its 30-year-old biotech crop rules: Here’s what you should know
Continuing its efforts to update and modernize its regulations applicable to certain genetically engineered (GE) organisms, the U.S. Department of ...
Hydroxychloroquine trials halted after World Health Organization cites ‘significantly higher risk of death’ for COVID-19 patients
The World Health Organization has suspended testing of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine after a study published in The Lancet reported ...
Accidental side effect: COVID-19 pandemic could give polio ‘a fresh start’
The world’s total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases is closing in on 5 million. But an accidental side effect of ...
