Science Controversies
Can we engineer soldiers to be immune to chemical attacks?
Despite international bans, some countries, such as Syria, use deadly nerve agents against enemy soldiers and civilians. Existing treatments for these ...
‘We’ve only begun to scratch the surface’: How the cannabis boom opens the door to new medicines and wellness products
Cannabis, and what it might be able to do for human health, inspires me. And I think it can do ...
Pushing back on activist efforts to reinstate South Australia’s GMO crop ban
As fires and drought devastate Australia, scores of protesters call on government to take action on “catastrophic” climate change. Green ...
Tracing the origins of China’s coronavirus: Infectious disease expert explains how it jumped from animals to humans
The Scientist spoke with Peter Daszak, the president of the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance and an infectious disease researcher who’s done extensive research ...
T-cell that can fight all cancers: Scientists discover promising part of our immune system
Our immune system is our body's natural defence against infection, but it also attacks cancerous cells. The scientists were looking ...
Why the US is ‘not nearly as prepared as we need to be’ to deal with China’s coronavirus
Now, with word of the first U.S. patient to contract the new virus that has killed 17 people in China comes the ...
Brain organoids becoming ‘more human’, forcing researchers to grapple with ethical concerns
Though no bigger than a pea, organoids hold enormous promise for improving our understanding of the brain: They can replicate ...
5 ways CRISPR-engineered animals can help combat climate change
Climate change is a man-made problem, but humans aren’t the only animals that will be impacted by warming temperatures and ...
EU officials open to ‘science-based’ decision making on CRISPR crops, USDA’s Sonny Perdue says
When it comes to food, EU policymakers should make science-based decisions if they want to help European their farmers tackle ...
US Senate coalition petitions FDA to end marketing of plant-based ‘imposter products’ as dairy
A bipartisan group of senators is calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to end the labeling of plant-based ...
Food companies may wait until ‘last minute’ to comply with USDA’s bioengineered labeling rules
In grocery store freezer cases, Impossible Foods' ground plant-based meat stands out .... The unique part is on the back ...
Dangers of CAR-T treatments linked to ‘particularily messy’ method of killing tumors
Techniques to genetically modify patient immune cells have revolutionized the fight against hard-to-treat cancers. But they can come with dangerous ...
Viewpoint: India’s proposed CRISPR crop rules could ‘severely constrain’ gene-editing innovation
At long last, [India's] Department of Biotechnology has [published] draft genome editing guidelines on January 9 for month-long public comments ...
Powerful killer T-cell discovery could enable ‘one-size-fits-all’ cancer therapy
Researchers have discovered a new type of killer T-cell that, after testing in a mouse model, could help to forge ...
More science education may not quell consumer fear of GMO, gene-edited crops, Japanese study suggests
A team of researchers [in Japan] conducted a survey to explore the opinions and attitudes of both Japanese experts and ...
Turning old drugs—for things like diabetes and alcoholism—into new cancer treatments
Drugs originally developed to treat diseases ranging from diabetes to alcoholism may have applications in cancer treatment, according to a ...
Post-Brexit UK will follow EU GMO, gene-edited crop rules, but long-term regulatory divergence still possible
On 1 February, responsibility for approving novel foods passes from the European Food Standards Agency (EFSA) to the UK Food ...
Despite biotech expert protest, anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva gives unopposed Stanford speech condemning ‘industrial agriculture’
Environmental activist Vandana Shiva delivered her talk “Soil not Oil: Biodiversity-Based Agriculture to Address the Climate Crisis” on [Jan. 23] ...
Exploring the inaccuracy of mammograms and the threat of false positives
In the spring of 2014, Dominique Berry went to see her doctor to have an irritating skin condition examined. During ...
Lack of minority donors in bone marrow registries ‘one part of a larger, systemic, problem’
People of two or more races are uniquely disadvantaged when it comes to bone marrow matching. Blood diseases such as ...
A video game for ADHD? We’re still waiting to see what the FDA thinks
In mid-2018, the startup Akili Interactive Labs asked the Food and Drug Administration to let it do something that’s never ...
Nigerian anti-GMO groups resume lawsuit alleging biotech crops violate ‘fundamental rights to life’
The Registered Trustees of Health of Mother Earth Foundation and 16 other organisations have resumed a lawsuit against the National ...
Refining CAR-T therapy could halt ‘violent, life-threatening’ immune reactions
CAR-T cells that have been so successful against some leukemias and lymphomas often cause a violent and even life-threatening immune ...
Chronic inflammation a silent threat that can ‘damage DNA and lead to heart disease, cancer’
Chronic inflammation begins without an apparent cause — and doesn’t stop. The immune system becomes activated, but the inflammatory response ...
Philippines legislature advances bill to expedite 65-month-long GMO crop approval process
The House Committee on Science and Technology has approved a bill seeking to eliminate the regulatory complications hampering the commercial ...
Impossible Foods applies for approval to sell GMO plant-based burgers in New Zealand
The American food technology company Impossible Foods has applied to the food safety regulator for approval of its genetically engineered ...
Prop. 65: California proposal to label Tylenol a carcinogen under fire amid glyphosate-cancer lawsuits
A fight is coming to California over whether to list one of the world's most common over-the-counter drugs as a ...
