Science Controversies
Do asymptomatic carriers spread COVID? Widespread confusion in the early days of the outbreak crippled an effective response
Jan. 24 marks the one-year anniversary of a momentous but largely unnoticed event in the history of the Covid-19 pandemic: ...
Evolution and the pandemic: How COVID could develop resistance to vaccines over time
With the emergence of what seem so far to be safe and effective vaccine candidates, it appears that humanity may be ...
Deadly coalition: Anti-vaxxers merging with anti-mask advocates
Opponents of vaccine requirements have found common ground during the pandemic with people suspicious of drug companies, business shutdowns and ...
Monoclonal antibodies can keep the COVID infected out of the hospital. Why are hospitals not using them?
Monoclonal antibodies — described as “unbelievable” by President Trump, who received the treatment this fall — are designed for patients newly diagnosed with ...
‘Hybrid humanity’: How biotech, robotics and artificial intelligence are changing the ethics of what it means to be ‘human’
New applications of biotech, robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) mean that our hybrid humanity is about to expand exponentially in ...
Why are COVID cases declining dramatically in India?
[Four months after a COVID case surge], India's coronavirus numbers have plummeted. Late last month, on Jan. 26, the country's ...
‘Early warning flags’: COVID vaccination data show that hardest hit communities are less likely to get shots
As vaccine distribution continues, ensuring racial equity will be important for mitigating the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on people of ...
Ultra-sensitive 15-minute COVID test can be read with a smartphone
Rapid PCR tests typically use nasal swab samples and are performed in laboratory settings by highly trained individuals using sophisticated ...
Anti-vaccine fake news quiz: Can you spot the conspiracy misinformation spreading across social media?
1. An Alabama nurse died after taking the coronavirus vaccine. Hover your mouse here for the answer. Learn more about ...
Viewpoint: Why you shouldn’t be worried about potential reactions to COVID vaccines
Anaphylaxis — a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction — is nothing to be ignored. It’s most commonly associated with allergies to ...
Rural America is a hotbed of anti-COVID vaccine sentiment
There are many factors that are associated with an individual’s willingness to get the coronavirus vaccine including their age, level ...
FDA, USDA face off over GE animal regulation: Will agency dispute lead to science-based rules?
[O]n the day before President Biden’s inauguration, USDA released a “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU) in which it was purported that ...
Russia aims to beat the West in so-far successful effort to rollout an effective COVID vaccine
At the time of Sputnik V’s approval, Moderna and Pfizer were months away from announcing the results of their Phase ...
Many Black NBA players wary about getting COVID vaccine. Here’s why
With so many players in need of information and insight [on COVID shots], sources say teams asked league officials for ...
A vaccine for melanoma? It might soon be possible
Unlike vaccines that prevent infections, such as measles and influenza, cancer vaccines are a form of immunotherapy that take down ...
Turkey close to starting human trials on COVID vaccine made from genetically modified plants
The global race has heated up as several countries stated that their vaccines are nearly 100% effective and soon ready ...
Artificial intelligence and urine: New precision tools to diagnose cancer
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men. Patients are determined to have prostate cancer primarily based ...
Why people who have recovered from COVID should still get the vaccine
President Donald Trump famously declared that he was immune after his bout with the disease. Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.), ...
Why the mounting number of coronavirus mutations portends a potentially troubling future
For most of 2020, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 jumped from human to human, accumulating mutations at a steady rate ...
Psychedelics are revolutionizing psychiatry. Here’s what we can expect
Once dismissed as the dangerous dalliances of the counterculture, [psychedelic drugs] are gaining mainstream acceptance. Several states and cities in ...
Can a baby get cancer from a mom’s cervical tumor?
[Japanese] investigators describe lung cancer in two boys that "probably developed" from their respective mothers via vaginal transmission during birth ...
How cultural tribalism is feeding the anti-vaccination and COVID conspiracy movement
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in an intensification of... personal identity as a way to push conspiracy theories, unproven treatments ...
Vaccines appear less effective against virulently mutating COVID strains spreading through UK and South Africa
News that the B.1.1.7 [UK COVID] variant is evolving further mutations is worrying scientists, said Julian Tang, clinical virologist at ...
Fauci: “This phenomenon is quite real and extensive’. More needs to be done to treat COVID ‘long haulers’
In a two-day meeting [January 14-15], the federal government’s first workshop dedicated to long-term Covid-19, public health officials, medical researchers ...
Why taking only one shot of a two-dose COVID vaccine regimen could prove deadly
[H]ow effective is a single dose of each of the Covid-19 vaccines? At a time when the answer is more ...
How the coronavirus is mutating, evolving—and getting more difficult to contain
Each day, [the new UK COVID variant] B.1.1.7 is being found in more people in more places, including all around the United States. Experts ...
Risk and the COVID vaccine: Don’t unduly scare yourself by focusing on the number of infections or potential allergic reactions
There is a symmetry between COVID-19 and the vaccines that is worth noting. It comes from the concept of risk, ...
