Science Controversies
‘It’s life-creating, life-enabling’: Uterus transplants are now a reality for the lucky few, with a wider rollout soon possible
The idea of uterus transplantation to treat infertility caused by the lack of a functional uterus is less than 25 ...
How AI could supercharge the development of new drugs
Understanding the shapes of proteins is critical for advancing medicine, but until now, only a fraction of these have been ...
EPA approval requested in California for Oxitec GM disease-reducing mosquito release, following successful implementation in Florida
Climate change has allowed disease-transmitting mosquitoes to advance into new regions throughout the Western U.S., posing a threat to tens ...
Tik Tok and social media influencers join White House campaign to soften vaccine hesitancy
Fewer than half of all Americans age 18 to 39 are fully vaccinated, compared with more than two-thirds of those ...
Food label primer: What does ‘organic’, ‘natural’ and ‘non-GMO’ mean?
The organic, natural, and non-GMO food marketing labels differ in terms of what they mean and whether they are certified ...
Corporations split over whether to impose vaccine mandates or offer incentives
Business leaders broadly agree they need to get more workers vaccinated to keep the U.S. economy humming in the face ...
Delta strain prompts NFL players to recommend tighter coronavirus restrictions
The NFL Players Association told its membership [August 4] that it will propose re-tightening the sport’s coronavirus protocols and testing ...
Pentagon poised to require COVID vaccinations for all military personnel
Members of the U.S. military will be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine beginning next month under a plan laid ...
Drug companies often deny patients access to experimental treatments for rare diseases. Here’s why
Even with experimental treatments on the rise, patients with rare diseases frequently face an unwillingness by drug companies to provide ...
Brain chips can help us thrive in the world of the future — but there are downsides to cyborgism
[M]achines have a lot of apparent advantages over us mere flesh bags, as [Stephen] Hawking alluded to. They’re faster thinkers, ...
Viewpoint: Greenpeace’s failed attempts to derail Philippines Golden Rice approval illustrates its heartless ideology
The Philippines has finally approved Golden Rice, a genetically engineered crop designed to combat vitamin A deficiency. Greenpeace, never content ...
From biowelfare to bioweapons: There are many sides to the biotechnology revolution, and not all of them bode well for the future
Global collection of genetic data and genetic manipulation of humans, animals, plants, destructive insects and deadly microbes is of dual ...
COVID vaccine mandates at public universities legally challenged after George Mason professor files suit
A law-school professor filed a lawsuit [August 4] challenging George Mason University’s coronavirus vaccine mandate, arguing it is unnecessarily coercive ...
As hesitancy over COVID vaccine mandates reaches fever pitch, fears grow teenagers will forego another life-saving shot: The HPV vaccine
While states and districts decide whether children should have to receive the COVID-19 vaccine before returning to the classroom, it ...
Could gene editing and gene drives alter bats to prevent future pandemics?
Amid the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, two researchers are proposing a drastic way to stop future pandemics: using a technology called ...
Wealthy countries brush aside WHO pleas to hold off on booster shots until vaccination rates in poorer nations dramatically increase
French President Emanuel Macron said [August 5] his country would join the handful of nations that plan to offer a ...
Dramatic success of mRNA COVID vaccines opens the door to slew of new cancer treatments
Back when people first heard about Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines, the mRNA technology behind them sounded like the stuff ...
The world’s largest prenatal test company, BGI, collaborates with China’s military to study millions of pregnant women’s genetic data and ‘improve population quality.’ Should we be concerned?
A Chinese gene company selling prenatal tests around the world developed them in collaboration with the country's military and is ...
Mexico is banning US GMO corn — but not enforcing it? What’s really going on?
On the last day of 2020, Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, issued a decree that has sparked a great ...
Is the COVID vaccine dangerous? Many unvaccinated Americans, mostly Republicans, falsely believe the vaccine is more hazardous than the coronavirus, survey finds
The latest KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor finds roughly two-thirds of U.S. adults (67%) saying they have received at least one ...
Convincing vaccine holdouts: Europe barrels forward, instituting vaccine passports and restrictions for non-compliers
In most [places in Europe,] vaccination still isn’t obligatory, with a few exceptions such as healthcare workers in Italy. Yet ...
Misinformation is undermining door-to-door COVID vaccine outreach effort. Here’s how it really works
For local groups working to get people vaccinated, door-knocking and neighborhood canvassing have been a key tool in reaching people ...
Kenya greenlights disease-resistant genetically modified cassava
Kenya will soon start planting Genetically Modified (GM) and disease-resistant cassava after the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) approved the release ...
‘Injury-healing pill’ that halts naturally degenerative effects of aging? US Defense Department launches human performance nutraceutical tests
U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), the organization that administers America’s Spec Ops forces, says it will soon start clinical trials ...
Delta COVID fallout: Vaccine mandates are becoming the new normal
[Recently,] dozens of influential organizations decided it’s time for vaccine mandates. [July 29,] President Joe Biden announced vaccine rules for ...
COVID fake news chronicles: Here’s a week of denial, distortion and misinformation from the dark side of social media
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these ...
Kids and masks: Separating myths from science
[A recently retracted study in JAMA Pediatrics] purported to show that wearing face masks was dangerous for children because it ...
