Science Controversies
One man’s junk: What non-coding DNA really means
Genomes are like books of life. But until recently, their covers were locked. Finally we can now open the books ...
FDA ethically off base in opposition to direct-to-consumer genetic testing
Bioethicist argues that regulating direct-to-consumer genetic testing violates personal autonomy and protects against nothing ...
Scientists add new letters to genetic alphabet: What does it mean?
A 15-year effort has yielded a bacterium that can use two 'alien' base pairs in its genetic code, expanding the ...
Culture wars threaten synthetic biology’s future: Debate on open source versus closed door
Synbio will soon be weathering legal and ethical challenges as its advances enter people's everyday lives. In order to mature, ...
Genetic analysis of polar bears adds species to list of those younger than we thought
Polar bears diverged from brown bears surprisingly recently — within the past 500,000 years, researchers report today in Cell1. Previous ...
Public debate reignites in China following investigation of illegal GMO corn and cotton
A war of words in China has reignited public debate over just how far genetically modified food - still mostly ...
RNAi technology promising in developing gluten-free wheat
Genetic modification of wheat genes to 'silence' protein fractions toxic to those with celiac disease holds promise for cereal development, ...
Regulatory delays and ‘Jurassic Park’ may have ruined prospects for AquaBounty GE salmon
The Maynard-based biotech company AquaBounty has been working to get a genetically altered salmon that grows faster than conventional, Atlantic ...
Food Fight: Anti-GMO Friends of the Earth attacks study on deceptively marketed organic foods
This article was written by Kari Hamerschlag, a former Latin studies major, who now works for the anti-GMO advocacy organization Friends ...
Crops deliver less nutrition with more carbon dioxide in air, biofortification in GE crops can help
Feeding everybody in the world has always been a challenge. Feeding them well just got even tougher. Some of the ...
Big Food needs to get behind GMO labeling standard to prevent ‘hodgepodge’ of state bills
Tiny Vermont is on the verge of giving Big Food a huge headache. Late last month, the Vermont legislature passed ...
Genes guide brain’s response to stress
It is probably cliché at this point to mention that the world seems to be getting crazier/faster/more stressful. Stress can ...
Nigeria needs to adopt latest technology in farming to achieve food sufficiency by 2015
The advice was that Nigerian should learn to key into world best practices by adopting the latest technology if they ...
Video: Inside Vermont’s GMO labeling controversy
Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin is expected to sign a bill on Thursday mandating the labeling of genetically modified foods. That ...
Renewed push to suspend agreement prohibiting GM crop production in Nicoya, Costa Rica
The Federation of Guanacaste Municipalities (FEMUGA – Federación de Municipalidades de Guanacaste) has requested that Nicoya’s Municipal Council suspend the ...
Vermont’s GMO labeling bill is a “mess”
Before most legislatures built in their own capacity for doing deep analyses of bills before they’re passed, we used to ...
Why the love for new technology in gadgets but not new technology in farming?
Thinking about the March Against Monsanto, what do people do to vent their frustrations at corporations like this one? They ...
Do Michael Pollan’s criticisms of GMOs make science sense? (Answer: No)
Michael Pollan, a UC-Berkeley journalism professor, activist, author, and journalist, is often portrayed as a civil debater who can fairly argue ...
GMO critic NY Times foodie Mark Bittman says dangers of crop biotechnology “overrated”
In a reversal, New York Times food writer, Mark Bittman--a frequent critic--says the dangers of GMOs is exaggerated. He contends ...
DNA alphabet expanded, opens up new possibilities for synthetic drugs
Way back in Biology 101, we learned that DNA is encoded through the nucleotide pairings of adenine to thymine and ...
Further evidence stem cells injected into heart don’t grow new cardiac muscle
C-kit cells, which are found in the heart and supposedly act as cardiac stem cells, are the basis of a ...
DNA-destorying spray marketed, will criminals purchase?
Everywhere you go you run the risk of leaving traces of your DNA behind – from fingerprints, to skin, hair ...
Video: Ohio tenth grader’s anti-GMO mini-doc wins C-Span award
Most people looking for answers about genetically modified organisms will simply take to the Internet. Andrew Demeter, a 10th grade student at Notre ...
Pace of biomedical research not sustainable without funding changes
In the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), four distinguished scientists make an urgent ...
Leukemia type can be detected by the shape of DNA’s packaging in nucleus
When someone has leukaemia, differences in how their genome is folded up into the nucleus of their cells can reveal ...
Food industry should support and help guide GM labeling law to diffuse debate
Food production is a complicated, messy system. Labeling is easy to call for, but hard to actually work out. But the ...
Indian farmer suicides: Compelling media narrative with no basis
In his Collide-a-Scape column, Keith Kloor quotes from The Economist’s Demography and Development blog, several months ago: Facts can be stubborn – and ...
