Science Controversies
Did Monsanto engineer campaign to get controversial 2012 Seralini rat study retracted?
A trove of internal documents from Monsanto, recently unsealed in a lawsuit against the agricultural biotech giant, has revealed the ...
Video: How are GMO plants made?
How are genetically modified organisms (GMOs) made? Are they safe to eat? Molly heads to the Van Eck Lab at ...
Autism severity and brain size linked to genetic ‘glitch’ that disrupts sociability circuits
Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) all have problems socialising, but beyond that their disorders can be vastly different. That ...
Genetic Literacy Project’s Top 6 Stories for the Week – August 14, 2017
Ideological hypocrisy? Environmentalists once supported land-based aquaculture—until it included genetically modified fish | Andrew Porterfield Have the BRCA mutation? Debating a precautionary ...
First US genetically engineered tree, freeze-tolerant eucalyptus, near approval—but opponents claim environmental concerns
A genetically engineered, freeze-tolerant eucalyptus tree is moving closer to receiving approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, amid concerns ...
Artificial oncologist? IBM’s Watson supercomputer targets precision cancer treatments
IBM's Watson beat real-life contestants on Jeopardy. Now researchers are hoping this icon of artificial intelligence will help people with ...
11 things CRISPR gene editing has helped us achieve this year
The CRISPR//Cas9 gene editing tool has quickly earned a reputation as a revolutionary technology, and its merits support the clout ...
Monsanto played role in ‘independent’ safety review of glyphosate herbicide, emails show
Dozens of internal Monsanto emails, released on Aug. 1 by plaintiffs’ lawyers who are suing the company, reveal how Monsanto worked ...
Harvard’s George Church: CRISPR could give us pig-to-human organ transplants within 2 years
In a bold scientific step that helps open the door to organ transplants from animals, researchers at Harvard and a ...
Study: Food products from livestock raised on GMO feed no different than those fed conventional grain
This review summarizes the available scientific literature on the detection of dietary DNA and protein in animal products and briefly ...
Impossible Burger blowback: Will irrational fears of biotechnology block introduction of sustainable foods?
Two entities that seem like they should be on the same page — a coalition of environmental groups and a ...
The Impossible Burger wouldn’t be possible without genetic engineering
[Editor's note: Read a San Francisco Chronicle article about this controversy and letter from the CEO of Impossible Foods here.] ...
Ebola ‘family tree’ suggests virus becomes more deadly as it evolves
From 2013 to 2016, western Africa faced an enormous outbreak of Ebola in which 28,616 people fell ill and 11,310 ...
FDA questions safety of Impossible Burger’s veggie patties made with genetically engineered yeast
One of the chief selling points of the Impossible Burger, a much ballyhooed plant-based burger patty, is its resemblance to ...
CRISPR revolution: How scientists are turning gene-editing hype into food and medical breakthroughs
The powerful gene-editing tool is becoming ubiquitous, appearing in the media with ever increasing frequency. But it's more than just ...
Did the National Cancer Institute withhold data showing no links between glyphosate and cancer?
The chairman of a congressional committee has asked the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to explain why its National ...
Controversy over GMO labeling has not increased public health concerns, survey finds
The Food Demand Survey has been conducted nationwide and monthly since May of 2013. In November of 2014, two states ...
Kenya to provide farmers with insect resistant Bt cotton seeds in pilot trials
A genetically modified cotton seed variety with high resistance to the Boll worm infestation is due to be released to ...
Conventional and biotech breeding methods together could revive the American chestnut tree
American chestnuts once dominated the Eastern woodlands. They were beautiful, tall trees with wide canopies and large white flowers. ...
Have the BRCA mutation? Debating a precautionary mastectomy? Your genes may provide a guide
A new study offers a better understanding of the risks, by age, associated with the BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. It ...
Genetically engineered coral might bring bleached coral reefs back to life
A coral reef takes thousands of years to build, yet can vanish in an instant. The culprit is usually coral ...
Ecomodernist podcast: Food Evolution film about ‘confirmation bias’ in foodie and anti-GMO community
One of the more surprising reactions to the documentary--and disappointing to scientists--came from organic and agroecology supporters who called it ...
We each have 3 billion base pairs in our genome. Artificial intelligence can help us sort it out.
Genes carry the information that make you you. So it's fitting that, when sequenced and stored in a computer, your ...
Frankenfood paradox: Why are (sometimes organic) seedless watermelons — chemical-created mutants — sold without a label?
[Did] you know that seedless watermelons are genetically modified, using a toxic chemical, even though they’re considered non-GMO ? If ...
End of allergies? Researchers identify cells that trigger reactions
Allergies stem from mistaken identity, when some of our immune cells respond to benign substances—known as allergens—that include pollen, mold ...
Cerebral organoids: How can we know if cells collected as ‘mini-brains’ are conscious?
[Editor's note: Mike Klymkowsky is a Professor of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder.] The ...
Dannon embraces controversial Non-GMO label for all its products, claiming ‘transparency’
By the end of 2018, all Danimals, Dannon and Oikos branded products for sale in the U.S. will feature the ...
