Science Controversies
Ivermectin conundrum: Why are so many doctors and their patients still pushing this ineffective treatment?
Contrary to scientific evidence and warnings from health agencies, hundreds of doctors nationwide continue to prescribe ivermectin – encouraged by ...
What can be done to overcome vaccine skeptics’ fear and opposition? Here’s how one clinic is meeting that challenge
Vaccine skepticism in Los Angeles County, where 72 percent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated, is bipartisan. Vaccination rates are ...
Biosecurity threats from engineered pathogens is increasing. How vulnerable are we — and what can be done?
A report on pandemic prevention, co-authored by chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, highlights the threat posed by synthetic biology ...
Totally paralyzed but able to walk? Spinal cord implants and electrical stimulation performing miracles
In 2017, Michel Roccati was in a motorbike accident that left his lower body completely paralyzed. In 2020, he walked ...
Gene drives in development could alter mosquito DNA to prevent the spread of disease. That raises ethical concerns
Gene drive research carries great potential for controlling insect vectors of devastating diseases, but there are multiple unresolved ethical concerns ...
Why is gene editing so controversial in food and farming?
Advocates of genome editing, including big seed companies, say the technology is simply speeding up what already happens in nature ...
Why FDA efforts to get children under 5 vaccinated are raising questions among COVID-fighting medical professionals
The Food and Drug Administration’s willingness to consider authorizing a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for children under ...
What are the four factors that increase the chances of long COVID?
It is one of many mysteries about long Covid: Who is more prone to developing it? Are some people more ...
Even though Omicron appears to be peaking, booster shots are still critical. Here’s why
When omicron was first identified in late November and began spreading rapidly in the United States, millions of vaccinated people ...
Divide deepens in states over COVID mask and vaccination mandates
As the [COVID-19] crisis grinds toward its third lethal year, states have shown little letup in their approaches to the ...
Viewpoint: Masking school children to protect against COVID? Why the negatives may outweigh the benefits
The CDC guidance on school masking is far-reaching, recommending “universal indoor masking by all students (age 2 and older), staff, ...
Viewpoint: Vaccine rejectionism totally off the rails — Kansas may become first state to end all requirements, even for polio, diphtheria, measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox
Like every other state, Kansas requires a variety of vaccinations for young children, all designed to prevent deadly diseases — polio, diphtheria, ...
9/11 COVID commission? Bipartisan group of Senators propose overhaul of US pandemic preparations
A powerful, bipartisan duo of senators wants to empower Congress to ensure the government’s response to the next pandemic is ...
Austria poised to become first country to mandate COVID vaccines for adults, with stiff fines for non compliers
Austria is the first Western democracy to mandate Covid vaccinations for nearly its entire adult population, a once-unthinkable move that ...
Vaccine pill? RNA-based capsule could also deliver therapies for gastrointestinal disease
Like most vaccines, RNA vaccines have to be injected, which can be an obstacle for people who fear needles. Now, ...
How COVID vaccine skepticism is morphing into a broader anti-vax movement
Skepticism toward Covid-19 vaccines could be fueling a “worrisome” rise in broader anti-vax sentiment, doctors have said. Professor Liam Smeeth, ...
Viewpoint: Why Europe’s Green Deal Farm to Fork Policy organic embrace is a rejection of green, sustainable agriculture — and will isolate Europe
With its new Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy, the EU plans to expand organic farming, an approach that rules out ...
‘Lockdowns should be rejected out of hand’: Johns Hopkins study finds lockdowns failed to reduce mortalities while increasing domestic violence and economic disruptions
Lockdowns during the first COVID-19 wave in the spring of 2020 only reduced COVID-19 mortality by .2% in the U.S. and Europe, according ...
Genetically modified babies? Turkish-based medical tourism company says they can help you make one
Heal2Go describes itself as “an innovative medical travel platform” with a mission “to make medical traveling easier… We’re working on ...
Viewpoint: ‘Unnatural selection’? The troubling past — and present — of eugenics
Ideas of selective breeding are almost as old as philosophy. Plato proposed a utopian city-state in which elite men and ...
China has produced more research on gene-editing crops than any other country, and now Beijing is poised to reap the benefits
China has published trial rules for the approval of gene-edited plants, paving the way for faster improvements to crops as ...
Post COVID ‘new normal’: How the coronavirus is permanently changing our health care system
A great reckoning is taking place around the globe as, one by one, nations accept a harsh reality. We will ...
40% of children hospitalized from COVID have neurological symptoms
The coronavirus can leave more than 40% of children hospitalized for COVID-19 with headaches and other lingering neurological symptoms, a ...
Europe’s controversial organic-focused Farm to Fork strategy may be headed to independent European Commission review after studies raise sustainability doubts
European agricultural news has partly revolved around the question of the studies on the impact of the Farm to Fork ...
Elixir of life? A $3 billion bet on reversing the process of cellular aging
Startups come and startups go. But few startups start with $3bn in the bank. Yet that is the fortunate position ...
Caste discrimination: What is it — and why are universities moving to ban it?
On paper, the change was subtle ― the word "caste" appearing in parentheses after the term "race and ethnicity." But ...
GOP wedge issue: Republicans broaden attacks on COVID guidelines that factor race into treatment prioritizations
Republicans are accusing the Biden administration of racism — against white people. The administration’s recommendation that race and ethnicity be ...
