Science Controversies
$500K gene therapy treatment? Some see a bargain
The idea behind gene therapy is that genetic material is used as a “living drug” to treat disease. Scientists have been ...
‘Information bottleneck’ theory could help crack human learning mysteries
Even as machines known as “deep neural networks” have learned to converse, drive cars, beat video games and Go champions, dream, paint pictures ...
Syngenta settles with Minnesota farmers in GMO corn lawsuit
Syngenta AG reached an in-trial settlement with a group of about 22,000 Minnesota farmers who claimed the company carelessly marketed its ...
Seeking human consciousness at the cellular level
To define human consciousness at the neuronal level is among the most difficult of tasks for neuroscience. Still, researchers have ...
Oregon court reaffirms decision to block Josephine County’s proposed GMO ban
The Oregon Court of Appeals has decided to keep blocking a voter-approved initiative that bans genetically engineered crops in Josephine ...
Hulu acquires exclusive rights to stream Neil deGrasse Tyson-narrated GMO film ‘Food Evolution’
Hulu has acquired the exclusive US [Video-on-Demand] rights to Food Evolution from Academy Award-nominated director Scott Hamilton Kennedy. The highly ...
Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide crisis divides farmers on pesticide regulations
Farmers planted a new kind of seed on 25 million acres of soybean and cotton fields this year. Developed by ...
Viewpoint: EU court’s finding that GMOs are safe contrasts with public’s ‘unfounded prejudice’
[Editor’s note: Roberto Defez is a molecular microbiologist at the Institute of Bioscience and BioResources, Italian National Research Council. Dennis ...
Farmers hope gene editing can provide boost to stagnating wheat yields
[Rick Seimer], the president of Siemer Milling in Teutopolis, Ill., has seen the recent data showing the fewest number of ...
Upchuck factor: Alcoholism targeted with novel gene therapy
Researchers are exploring the use of a naturally occurring mutation that causes people to get sick after drinking alcohol. The ...
Air pollution, while abating in most places, poses ‘greatest threat to public health?’
Even with vast improvements in air quality since the ’70s, people haven’t stopped dying from the air they breathe. An ...
Mini ‘brains’ aid study of dementia and mental illness
[A] brain organoid begins as a single skin cell taken from an adult. With the right biochemical prodding, that cell ...
Tale of two neonicotinoid bumble bee studies—And how science can be massaged
Are neonics dangerous for bees? Two studies published on the same day reached sharply different conclusions. Guess which one got ...
Hive coup? Why queen bees are sometimes killed by workers
[Editor's note: James Gilbert is a lecturer in zoology at the University of Hull.] A new study has shown that some bee workers ...
Second Green Revolution: Stress-tolerant rice varieties increase crop yields, food security
According to [International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)], the global rice demand is estimated to increase from 439 million tons in ...
Kenya’s leading scientists urge government to approve GMO corn
[Kenya’s] leading scientists have written to the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) seeking permission to release the first ever Genetically Modified ...
Genetic cancer screenings based on family history may not go far enough
Simultaneous sequencing of tumor DNA and normal tissue for a broad panel of cancer-related genes may detect more potentially clinically ...
Oxitec to produce one billion Zika-fighting mosquito eggs each week
Plans to produce one billion mosquito eggs in the UK every week have been announced by a company working to ...
Calculating odds of destroying humanity with genetic engineering
How likely is it that humanity will destroy itself? Various scientists have studied this probability, and the basic calculation is ...
How much can you make on a successful cancer drug? Billions
[Editor's note: Dr. Jamie Wells, MD, FAAP, is a Board-Certified physician and the Director of Medicine at the American Council on Science and ...
Alzheimer’s ‘brain health’ quiz likely to scare more than help
Critics question the integrity of a risk assessment sent to prospective patients by NorthShore University Health System's Center for Brain ...
Food Evolution movie changing people’s minds about GMOs in Australia
Food for thought and central to [Food Evolution’s] central theme of changing peoples’ minds and choosing facts over emotional logic ...
Talking Biotech: Using GMO insects instead of pesticides to fight diamondback moth, other crop-killing pests
Cornell entomologist Tony Shelton: Using GMO insects to control diamondback moths—a global pest that quickly evolves resistance to insecticides ...
How genetics improves sheep immunity and meat quality
Professor David Hume of the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute studies sheep, and says that fresh insights into their genetic ...
Lab-grown fried chicken? ‘Alternative’ meat company adds poultry options
In April, Memphis Meats [offered] taste samplings of fried chicken and Duck a l’Orange, both made by growing animal cells ...
Genetic Literacy Project’s Top 6 Stories for the Week – Sept. 25, 2017
Intensive modern farming, not organics, credited with reducing greenhouse gases | Andrew Porterfield CRISPR opens window into early stages of human ...
Targeting weeds at the genetic level aids battle against herbicide resistance
Understanding how weeds evolve to become invasive and herbicide-resistant at the genetic level can help scientists design better weed controls ...
