Science Controversies
‘Plandemic’ viral video gives anti-vaccination conspiracy movement a booster shot
In a video posted to YouTube on [May 4], a woman animatedly described an unsubstantiated secret plot by global elites ...
Tracking down the missing link in the coronavirus transmission chain
It was a matter of "when not if" an animal passed the coronavirus from wild bats to humans, scientists say ...
Are we facing a ‘more transmissible’ coronavirus strain? Not so fast, researchers say
As if the pandemic weren’t bad enough, on April 30, a team led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory ...
Twins study bolsters theory that genetics play a role in coronavirus symptom severity
Symptoms of Covid-19 appear to be partly down to genetic makeup, researchers at King’s College London have discovered. The finding ...
If coronavirus vaccines don’t work, what’s plan B?
As countries lie frozen in lockdown and billions of people lose their livelihoods, public figures are teasing a breakthrough that ...
Global expert survey reveals how regulation can help or hurt crop gene-editing innovation
The adoption of genome editing depends among others, on a clear and navigable regulatory framework that renders consistent decisions. Some ...
Is climate change dampening our ability to fight the coronavirus and other diseases?
Scientists have long known that the rise in average global temperatures is expanding the geographical presence of vector-borne diseases such ...
‘Fragments of dead virus’ preventing recovered coronavirus patients from donating plasma
Close to four weeks after recovering from a Covid-19 infection, Jennie Novakovic went to her local hospital hoping to donate ...
Experimental cancer blood test shows promise, but also hits some snags
A blood test has detected cancer in individuals who had no history or symptoms of cancer. A trial of the ...
Viewpoint: EU opposition to CRISPR crops threatens sustainable farming in developing world
Agricultural economist Dr. Matin Qaim of the University of Göttingen in Germany recommends that regulatory reforms and a more science-based ...
Viewpoint: Medical ethics shouldn’t stop coronavirus vaccine researchers from experimenting on healthy people
The pandemic has thrown previous moral assumptions into disarray. ... Research ethics normally prohibits exposing human subjects to significant risk ...
Infographic: 3 factors affecting how viruses jump from animals to humans
Raina Plowright of Montana State University is working with infectious disease experts, ecologists, and a range of other scientists to ...
Coronavirus vaccine in months, instead of years? Genetic engineering could make it possible
On January 10, when Chinese researchers published the genome of a mysterious, fast-spreading, virus, it confirmed Dan Barouch’s greatest worry ...
Solving coronavirus medical supply and equipment shortages with cryptocurrency technology
Blockchain technology projects are being developed by companies such as International Business Machines Corp. and Ernst & Young LLC to ...
‘Money being made from people’s suffering’: Selling blood samples from coronavirus survivors
Some biotech companies are cashing in on the race to produce coronavirus antibody tests, taking blood samples from people who ...
No, the coronavirus was not genetically engineered in a Wuhan lab, scientists believe
You could be forgiven for wondering how a disease as fast-moving and deadly as COVID-19 could just appear naturally, out ...
Africa’s smallholder farmers need support to build resiliency and sustainability
The world is at a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the smallholder farmers who feed millions of Africans ...
‘Impenetrable medical jargon’: Why retooling ClinicalTrials.gov should be a priority
Millions of people visit ClinicalTrials.gov each year to find a trial that they or a loved one might be eligible ...
Viewpoint: We can reopen the economy, but won’t get ‘back to normal’ without a coronavirus vaccine
During his time at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Farzad Mostashari, M.D., investigated infectious disease outbreaks. Mostashari also ...
COVID-19, climate change may accelerate public acceptance of CRISPR-edited food
Gene editing, like genetic modification, is a technology that has attracted a fair amount of skepticism from European regulators and ...
Genetic tracking helps contain Ebola outbreaks. Why hasn’t it worked with the coronavirus?
The first sign that viral genomics might transform epidemiology came in the wake of the 2013-16 Ebola epidemic in West ...
Are coronavirus antigen tests the key to finding a way out of the pandemic crisis?
PCR testing isn’t perfect, but it’s seen as the most accurate form of testing available for viruses. Unfortunately, it takes ...
Infographic: Tracking coronavirus strains with genetic ‘barcodes’
Drexel University researchers have reported a method to quickly identify and label mutated versions of the virus that causes COVID-19 ...
Regulation and anti-GMO activism: Roadblocks on the way to saving the American chestnut tree
In traditional plant breeding .... farmers .... cross varieties with desired traits .... and select promising mixtures for sought-after qualities ...
Speeding up coronavirus vaccine development by intentionally infecting the healthy? Volunteers are lining up
Momentum is building to speed the development of coronavirus vaccines by intentionally infecting healthy, young volunteers with the virus. A ...
Smartphone DNA testing app offers ‘ultra-portable’ health and environmental monitoring tool
On-the-spot DNA tests could prove invaluable to doctors, farmers, and officials responsible for food safety or environmental monitoring. Now Chinese ...
Taming the body’s immune response could offer treatment option for coronavirus
Among the many outstanding questions about COVID-19 is how the same virus, SARS-CoV-2, can kill some patients and leave others ...
