Science Controversies
Podcast: USDA official examines future of GMO labeling, CRISPR gene-editing regulations in US
[USDA Under Secretary for marketing and regulatory programs Greg] Ibach discusses some of [the] issues he’s been dealing with in ...
Searching for tuberculosis ‘super-spreaders’ by sampling breathed air
In Masiphumelele, an informal settlement of tin shacks, squat brick buildings, and narrow lanes south of Cape Town, 23,000 people ...
Japan finalizes CRISPR-edited crop rules, suggesting gene-edited foods could hit stores in 2019
An expert panel of the health ministry finalized a report on creating rules for genome-edited agricultural and marine products on ...
US agriculture official slams EU’s ‘backward-looking’ GMO crop import rules
A U.S. agriculture official took a swipe at the European Union’s import policies in agriculture, a sector America has been ...
Viewpoint: Elective, unproven IV therapies create ‘perfect storm of risks’
We don’t have to look very far these days to find wellness facilities touting this or that intravenous (IV) infusion for “detoxification” and ...
Greenlighting of AquAdvantage salmon could ‘pave the way’ to disease resistant pigs and other GMO animals
[In March 2019], the Food and Drug Administration cleared the last hurdle for the genetically engineered "AquaAdvantage" salmon—the first (and ...
Japan wants to use stem cells to treat paralysis—but ethical questions remain
On February 18, 2019, The Asahi Shimbun reported, “Ministry [of Health, Labor and Welfare in Japan] OKs 1st iPS [induced pluripotent ...
Union of Concerned Scientists, Ricardo Salvador mulled endorsing anti-GMO campaign in exchange for contributions, violating UCS’ ethics policy
In a response to anti-GMO campaigners requesting endorsement, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) promised to look into it in ...
‘Paradigm shifting’: Monthly injections could replace daily pills for HIV patients
Long-acting medicines have proved as effective as daily pills in preventing HIV from replicating, according to results from twin trials ...
Farm groups push USDA oversight of gene-edited animals, potentially sparking new regulatory battle with FDA
Livestock groups are aggressively pushing for regulation of the budding sector of gene-edited animals to be moved from FDA to ...
Growing malaria drug resistance worldwide threatens to be ‘disastrous’
It’s not clear why, but the Greater Mekong Subregion—Cambodia, southern China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam—is a major source of ...
Viewpoint: Call for moratorium on heritable gene editing reminds us of gene therapy’s troubled early days
A group of influential scientists have urged that clinical use of CRISPR be put on hold in the wake of ...
Can this pill protect us against ‘wide range’ of flu viruses?
The flu season is at its height in the Northern Hemisphere, but—as many are discovering—seasonal flu vaccines don’t always provide ...
How are anti-GMO groups influencing German school science curriculum?
Since 2010, the genetic engineering information service Genetic Engineering has been offering teaching materials and teaching suggestions to teachers and secondary ...
Viewpoint: To fix the FDA, we need these qualities—including a commitment to regulatory reform — in its new leader
With the just-announced resignation of FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the White House and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex ...
Top CRISPR researchers want global moratorium on heritable gene editing
After the first International Summit on Human Gene Editing in December 2015, a statement was released. The organizers were unanimous ...
US researchers moving abroad to avoid FDA’s CRISPR-edited animal regulations
Alison Van Eenennaam offers a critical look at stifling US animal gene-editing rules ...
US approves immunotherapy for breast cancer for first time
Roche’s cancer immunotherapy Tecentriq (atezolizumab), a PD-L1 inhibitor, scored its fifth Food and Drug Administration approval on [March 8], for advanced triple-negative ...
Using ketamine for depression or recreation: What’s the difference?
[G]iven ketamine’s long-standing reputation as a recreational drug—so notorious that users talk about entering a “K-hole” after taking it—you might ...
Why EU gene-edited crop rules may not be as ‘far-reaching’ as scientists fear
Gene editing is the biggest technical advance in bioscience since the discovery of “recombinant DNA” technology....[t]hat....led to the commercialization of ...
How much did the Chinese government know about controversial CRISPR babies research?
When scientist He Jiankui announced he’d conducted an experiment that led to the birth of twin girls with CRISPR-edited genomes in November, ...
As AquAdvantage salmon heads for US, Sen. Lisa Murkowski vows continued GMO labeling fight
More than three years after FDA approved genetically engineered salmon as safe for human consumption, it looks like the product ...
How ‘smart toilets’ and other technologies could help detect cancer before it’s too late
I believe we should be more aggressively pursuing precision health: ways to prevent disease and, when that isn’t possible, intercept and ...
Among questions lingering after CRISPR-babies controversy: When will it happen again?
In the three months since He Jiankui announced the birth of twin girls with edited genomes, the questions facing the ...
India’s move to cut Monsanto’s GMO cotton royalties may discourage biotech industry investment
India has cut the royalties that local seed companies pay to German drugmaker Bayer AG’s Monsanto unit for the third ...
Gene editing police? World Health Organization may take on the job
Who’s going to police CRISPR? That was the cry of many scientists after news broke at the end of last ...
USDA bioengineered labeling rules reignite GMO transparency debate
Farm groups and food companies are pleased with a new United States labeling law governing genetically modified organisms, but non-GMO ...
