Science Controversies
Genetic testing pitfall: Major genetic company missed 50,000 cancer screenings
As fun as it is to find out where your great-great-great grandparents came from, the real promise of genetic testing ...
Left and right share anti-science instincts, rooted in fears of ideological misuse
Anti-science views have been increasingly embraced by political factions, left and right. Both harbor deep suspicions of government, industry and ...
‘Food Evolution’ movie tackles ‘frankenfood’ myths by putting GMOs in global perspective
[Filmmaker Scott Hamilton Kennedy] and his fellow producer, Brooklynite Trace Sheehan, decided to delve into one issue: GMOs, or genetically ...
Viewpoint: Proposed GMO labeling laws too vague to benefit consumers
Knowing simply whether a food is modified does not actually protect consumers...Different crops and modifications come with different biological, health, ...
‘Designer babies’ just around the corner? More scare than science
As CRISPR technology advances, old fears about 'designer babies' resurface. But we are a long way from being able to ...
Indian scientists say anti-GMO activist groups undermine use of modern farming techniques
Days after a Parliamentary panel raised certain doubts over the Center's impending move to give its green signal to commercial ...
New pathway for spread of antibiotic resistance: ‘Membrane blebbing’
Unlike animals, bacteria can readily share genetic information with other bacteria, even those of entirely different species. [...] For decades, ...
Genetic Literacy Project’s Top 6 Stories for the Week – Sept. 18, 2017
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO online series promotes fear and ‘less sustainable’ farming | Alison Van Eenennaam Will the public embrace CRISPR to ‘edit ...
9 misdirected arguments against GMOs
When discussing GMOs, many arguments are put forth on why they are “bad” and should be avoided. A molecular geneticist ...
How the ‘DNA revolution’ might change the animal breeding and meat industry
The changes that have occurred in the last three months in the genetics and genomics world have probably equaled the changes in ...
Why do gene therapy treatments cost so much?
The first gene therapy treatment in the United States was approved recently by the Food and Drug Administration, heralding a new ...
GMOs for humans blocked in Germany by activist groups, but livestock industry widely uses them
[Note: This report on the Germany's agricultural industry is published annually by the USDA.] Public rejection of genetically engineered (GE) ...
Why is type 2 diabetes difficult to diagnose in African Americans?
One of the tests used to diagnose type 2 diabetes and monitor blood sugar control is influenced by 60 genetic ...
Artificial intelligence uses facial features to detect sexual orientation
AI’s power to pick out patterns is now turning to more intimate matters. Research at Stanford University by Michal Kosinski and Yilun ...
How glyphosate-resistant weeds led to Monsanto’s dicamba herbicide crisis
[In] the 1990s, Monsanto began selling a series of patented, genetically modified, “RoundUp”-ready seeds. Monsanto had altered crop seeds...to be ...
Some antibiotic resistance in humans may trace to feeding strategies at fish farms
The mucky sediment below fish farms usually teems with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The presence of such bacteria is a cause of ...
Public education about QR codes important to success of proposed federal GMO label, study finds
The study, the release of which was the subject of a now-moot lawsuit from the Center for Food Safety last ...
Viewpoint: Organic industry misleads consumers with fear, unethical sales tactics
[Editor’s note: Michelle Miller, the "Farm Babe", is an Iowa-based farmer, public speaker and writer.] While acting like the “little guy” ...
Italy’s GMO corn ban unlawful, European Union court rules
The European Union court ruled Wednesday (September 13] in favor of an Italian activist farmer who has defied his nation's ...
Viewpoint: Anti-GMO online series promotes fear and ‘less sustainable’ farming
Works like the recently released "GMOs Revealed" are making it more difficult for new agricultural techniques to gain widespread acceptance ...
How the Netherlands became a high tech farming center
Almost two decades ago, the Dutch made a national commitment to sustainable agriculture under the rallying cry “Twice as much ...
Monsanto targets bee-killing varroa mites through RNA interference
The 11th annual national survey of honey bee colonies was recently released and reports of seasonal honey bee losses across ...
Is brain hacking possible?
Accessing the human brain to enable functional connections with electronic technology may sound incredibly futuristic, but a handful of entrepreneurs, ...
Netherlands wants CRISPR gene-edited crops exempt from Europe’s GMO laws
The Netherlands believes the new plant breeding techniques should not come under the GMO legislation as they are as safe ...
Disease-resistant cassava research advances could help African farmers
Why are these two cassava varieties—Namikonga and Albert—grown by farmers in Tanzania, able to withstand the devastating Cassava Brown Streak ...
New generation of biotechnology could unlock brain mysteries
Though genetics has fundamentally changed the pace of drug development for many therapeutic areas, the brain has been slow to reveal ...
Could discovery of boron on Mars bring us closer to finding alien life?
Using data from NASA’s Curiosity rover, a team of interdisciplinary scientists has found boron in the Gale Crater. Gale was probably once a lake, and ...
