Science Controversies
Podcast: Should physicians who spread disinformation about COVID lose their licenses?
Should doctors who spread disinformation lose their medical licenses? Phony cures and/or resistance to public health messaging is nothing new, ...
European science academies issue joint report outlining regulatory path to breaking gene editing impasse
The new ALLEA report “Genome Editing for Crop Improvement” presents the state of the art of scientific evidence in the ...
Why ‘hazard based’ agricultural chemical regulation doesn’t work
In many ways, various governments have passed regulations with a “one size fits all” mentality. More often than not, however, ...
Is DNA data from at-home genetics tests private? Not always, and some states are cracking down
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA, protects individuals’ medical information when it's handled by doctors, hospitals, ...
Weekly injectable weight loss drug Wegovy is a huge hit and in short supply
Patients are flocking to the first new obesity medicine to reach the market in years, boosting returns for drugmaker Novo ...
Vaccinations might reduce likelihood of developing long COVID — and could help some people with lingering symptoms feel better
Millions of people suffer from symptoms of long Covid, doctors estimate. Now, early research is offering some clues about whether ...
Viewpoint: ‘An obsolete, counterproductive legal monster’ — Why Europe’s GMO policies fail farmers and the public
Here is my “Last-minute Johnny” contribution to the public consultation by the European Commission on “Legislation applicable to plants produced ...
99.93% of commonly-studied genes are associated with cancer. Is that creating a bias in research?
Have you ever felt like every week or two a new story comes out saying that something is linked to ...
Equity issues in the science and technology world — An interview with sociologist Alondra Nelson
In January 2021, President Biden appointed sociologist Alondra Nelson, a leading scholar of science, technology, medicine, and social inequality, to ...
Recent flip-flop on aspirin recommendations for heart disease is a sign of good science at work. Here’s why
When it comes to preventive health, few tenets are as entrenched as daily aspirin. For more than 30 years, many ...
Pregnant women carrying male fetuses more susceptible to getting COVID, research finds
In two studies published [October 19] in Science Translational Medicine, the Boston-based research teams found that pregnant and lactating women ...
COVID misinformation epidemic: Nearly 80% of Americans believe or are unsure about at least one false claim about the coronavirus
Misinformation about health care topics is nothing new, but social media, the polarization of news sources, and the pace of ...
Flush from billion-dollar COVID vaccine windfall, Moderna bets big on gene editing
We finally know who Moderna has been courting behind the scenes to make the big jump into gene editing. The ...
Photo series: Nigeria welcomes GMO cowpea
Nigeria is the world’s largest producer and consumer of cowpea, popularly called beans. The country consumes more than 3.6 million ...
Paxlovid vs. Molnupiravir: Comparing the two breakthrough COVID antiviral pills
While Merck was the first to roll out its anti-Covid therapy, called molnupiravir, Pfizer has announced promising results of its ...
Viewpoint: EU’s pro-organic Farm to Fork policies could undermine African food security
“In promoting the transition to a more sustainable European food system, the F2F and Biodiversity Strategy could unintentionally and indirectly ...
Sperm donor controversy: Does everyone have a right to know their biological parents?
In the United States, where anonymous donation is still technically offered, some donor-conceived people are asserting a right to know ...
Gene variation common in South Asians found to double risk of dying from COVID
Scientists identified a specific gene that doubles the risk of respiratory failure from Covid-19 and may go some way to ...
‘Dear Christians’: Newsmax rebukes own correspondent after Tweet falsely claiming COVID vaccines contain ‘bioluminescent tracker’
Right-wing news network Newsmax distanced itself from one of its top reporters [November 4] after she tweeted a bizarre false ...
GMO bean benefits Brazil’s consumers and smallholder farmers
In a win for smallholder farmers and public sector research, Brazil grocery stores are now selling a genetically modified (GM) ...
‘It is hype and bullshit’: Scientist challenges claims that pig-to-human xenotransplantation is close to realization
Steve Holtzman was awoken by a 1 a.m. call from a doctor at Duke University asking if he could put ...
Detroit joins growing list of cities decriminalizing psychedelics
Detroit has joined the growing number of cities and states that have decriminalized entheogenic plants and fungi, more colloquially known ...
Unvaccinated football player Aaron Rodgers flouted NFL coronavirus protocols as his homeopathic ‘immunization’ did not protect him from COVID infection
News that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19, is unvaccinated and will miss this weekend's game ...
Republicans threaten to challenge the Biden administration’s January 4 private sector COVID vaccine mandate
Employers in the private sector will have two months to ensure their workers are fully vaccinated or tested weekly under ...
Workers who refuse COVID vaccines can be required to pay for tests under proposed Biden Administration rules
The Biden administration’s highly anticipated vaccine mandate rule for private-sector employers will allow businesses to force workers who refuse to ...
Public health has taken a huge credibility hit during the COVID pandemic. Here’s what led to this crisis
[P]ublic health has succeeded marvelously by some measures, lengthening life spans and bringing many diseases to heel. But when the ...
Breast cancer vaccine clinical trials begin
Cleveland Clinic researchers have opened a clinical trial for a vaccine that could prevent an aggressive form of breast cancer ...
