Science Controversies
Monsanto Protection Act? Separating the facts from the fury
The so-called "Monsanto Protection Act" is hardly the “most dangerous food act ever” or a “terrifying piece of policy," as ...
Scientists engineer extreme bacteria to make fuel from carbon dioxide
University of Georgia researchers recently used the mighty Pyrococcus furiosus, which usually eats carbohydrates and lives in super-heated waters or ...
GMO opponents rail against the “Monsanto Protection Act”
A new resolution would seem to place the commercial concerns of Monsanto, the world’s largest producer of GM crops and ...
Monsanto v. Monarch butterflies
Monarch butterflies have been on a downward spiral for decades, and the most recent news stories report that monarch numbers ...
De-extinction: Looking past the awe
De-extinction -- the revival of extinct species through biotechnology -- is an intoxicating idea. Who doesn't want the chance to ...
Ghana: Farmers receive education on modern biotechnology
Farmers noted that over the years several interventions of modern technology in increasing production were brought to their doorsteps yet ...
Frankenstein’s Cat: How animal biotechnology informs us about our humanity
Science writer Emily Anthes' new book, Frankenstein’s Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech’s Brave New Beasts provides an animated review of ...
Should the government loosen ethical oversight of stem cell research?
When it comes to stem cell research, we’ve moved from an era of debating the ethics of a technology in ...
Is there really a science-based GMO controversy? False balance captures Discover magazine
Discover's cover story on the anti-biotech movement gives unwarranted weight to anti-GM activists and in the process raises questions about ...
Namibia: Millers promise to strengthen anti-GMO measures
The following is an excerpt. Windhoek — Following revelations that maize meal available on Namibian shelves contain percentages of genetically ...
GMO labeling goes to Washington
Up until now, activists have been counting on state mandates to gain momentum to eventually push through national labeling laws ...
Golden promise: How ‘biofortification’ could soon be saving hundreds of thousands of lives
The following is an edited excerpt. Despite the rapid progress made towards reducing poverty in many developing countries in recent ...
Mark Lynas: ‘Biofortification’ could soon be saving hundreds of thousands of lives
The following is an edited excerpt. Despite the rapid progress made towards reducing poverty in many developing countries in recent ...
Scientists savage each other over ‘Junk DNA’ study while journalists mis-report the science
The "junk DNA isn't junk!" headline ran rampant earlier this year, in the wake of the ENCODE project publishing reams ...
The “BioPiracy” myth at the heart of the Monsanto case
Anti-GMO campaigners and some farmers claim that Monsanto and other corporations use their deep pockets and unfair patent laws to ...
Organic tomatoes accumulate more vitamin C, sugars
The following is an excerpt. Tomatoes grown on organic farms accumulate higher concentrations of sugars, vitamin C and compounds associated ...
Namibians eat unapproved GM maize products
Maize meal sold in some shops in Namibia is derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs), a recent test has revealed ...
Monsanto sues farmer for exploiting loophole in GMO licensing
The following is an excerpt. WASHINGTON — Vernon Hugh Bowman, a free-market capitalist and Indiana farmer, exploited a loophole in ...
Bowman v Monsanto: Genetic innovation in the crosshairs?
This week, the Supreme Court will bear witness to a square-off between a 75-year-old soybean farmer and the world's largest ...
The “GM genocide”: A case of misplaced blame
Approximately 16,000 farmers in India have committed suicide every year since 1995. A theory that blamed GM crops for the ...
Anti-GM activists pounce on viral DNA in transgenic plants
The GLP examines the increasingly desperate efforts of staunch anti-GM activists and journalists to regroup in the face of "defeats" ...
Using genetics to predict succeptibility to depression
Current genetic tests for major depression have more to offer as a curiosity to a diagnostic or preventative tool. This ...
George Church does not want you to have a Neanderthal baby
The following is an excerpt. Harvard Medical School genetics professor George Church found himself at the middle of a viral ...
European association for bioindustries: “Scientific consensus on GM greater than climate change”
The following is an excerpt. “The scientific consensus on genetically modified [GM] crops is even greater than that for climate change”, claims ...
Scientists look to burrowing mice to understand genetics of instinct
A recent study in Nature reveals that the complex burrowing behavior of two sister species of mice is controlled by ...
“The Signal and the Noise” in pharmacogenomics
Nate Silver, author of the 538 blog at the New York Times, has made statistics and quantitative modeling “cool” with ...
Opening minds to science, technology and genetic engineering
Genetic modification is neither good nor bad. Like any technology it is a tool. Like nuclear technology, fracking or advanced ...
