Science Controversies
BAPCO: A new theory explains why autism numbers are growing
A unifying explanation of the cause of autism and the reason for its rising prevalence has eluded scientists for decades, ...
When we get COVID-19 under control, here’s what it might turn into
The coronavirus is here to stay, but once most adults are immune — following natural infection or vaccination — the ...
‘Absolute race’: Will the US vaccine effort outrun mutant COVID strains?
With multiple new coronavirus strains spreading across the country, the US is in an "absolute race" to vaccinate Americans before ...
Viewpoint: How might the Biden Administration regulate heritable human gene editing?
The new Biden-Harris Administration faces a number of harrowing challenges in which science and technology policies will be critical. Along ...
Here’s how we might develop life-saving vaccines even faster
So far, every spillover of a pathogen from wildlife to humans — from SARS in 2003 to the H1N1 avian flu in 2009, ...
Infographic: ‘You’re not going to wipe this thing out by achieving herd immunity.’ Vaccines alone will not contain COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic in the United States has raged almost uncontrollably for so long that even if millions of people ...
India may hold the key for manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines for the developing world
Ask [billionaire Adar Poonawalla] about the race for a coronavirus vaccine and he will offer some unvarnished opinions. One prominent ...
Viewpoint: Biden Administration should push back against ‘troubling innovations in bioweapons research’
Genetically engineered bioweapons are not a fictional or far-fetched notion. Many countries around the world, including the United States, have ...
Viewpoint: The Holocaust throws a long shadow over human gene editing research
The scientific racism and eugenic delusions that led to the Holocaust are widely eschewed by members of human genetics and ...
Anti-vaccine activists ‘fabricating deaths’ linked to COVID shots to promote conspiracy agendas
Anti-vaccine groups have falsely claimed for decades that childhood vaccines cause autism, weaving fantastic conspiracy theories involving government, Big Business ...
Moderna tweaking COVID vaccine to target evasive new variants
[A] highly transmissible variant first detected in people who had recently traveled to Brazil was discovered in Minnesota. Moderna, the ...
Viewpoint: Longstanding campaign to smear GM crops now fuels public’s COVID vaccine fears
Authorities in North America and Europe, in particular, are fighting [a] tide of anti-vaccination sentiment as the death toll and ...
Politics, science and the coronavirus under the Trump Administration: Fauci outlines pattern of censorship and interference
[Infectious disease expert Anthony] Fauci recounted on “The Rachel Maddow Show” on [January 22] that officials under former President Trump ...
Anti-GMO group Food Sovereignty Ghana sues government to block GM, insect-resistant cowpea distribution
Food Sovereignty Ghana (FSG) [appeared January 27] before the Human Rights High Court One of the Republic of Ghana at ...
It’s okay to mix Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines in ‘exceptional circumstances’, says CDC
[The CDC] updated its guidance on the coronavirus vaccines in circulation, green-lighting doctors to mix shots from Pfizer and Moderna ...
AI is reengineering what it means to be ‘human’
We have come together to fight Covid-19 and AI was a key enabler to bring to market vaccines, in unprecedented ...
A video claiming to show dangerous COVID vaccine side-effects has gone viral – but scientists are skeptical
[W]e are now living in a post-social media world. Information, even medical or scientific information, may get to the public ...
Nearly 60% of COVID-19 cases spread by asymptomatic carriers, CDC finds
Regardless of whether you feel ill, wear a mask, wash your hands, stay socially distant and get a coronavirus test ...
Coronavirus treatment breakthrough? Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody drug shows promise in preventing COVID-19 spread
In November, the antibody bamlanivimab was authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration in treating patients with ...
‘Rare event’: Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine does not pose major danger of allergic reactions
Among 4,041,396 [Moderna COVID vaccine] doses given over 21 days, a total of 10 cases of anaphylaxis were confirmed by ...
Here’s the skinny on the mutating coronavirus strains complicating the vaccine response
The new coronavirus has likely mutated countless times without attracting the attention of epidemiologists. But new strains identified in the ...
Biotech experts praise France for challenging Europe’s ‘obsolete’ crop gene-editing rules
The French Association of Plant Biotechnologies (AFBV), which brings together a hundred researchers and experts in the field of green ...
HIV patients can now get monthly, FDA-approved injections, replacing multiple daily treatments
The Food and Drug Administration on [January 21] approved a combination of two monthly shots for treatment of H.I.V. in ...
Challenging conventional medical wisdom: Surgery after chemotherapy may boost breast cancer survival rates
Women with advanced breast cancer who undergo surgery to remove the tumor after chemotherapy or another type of systemic treatment ...
African countries appear ill prepared for crash vaccine distribution effort
According to [a World Health Organization] analysis, based on countries’ self-reporting, the African region has an average score of 33 ...
Empathy fatigue: The quickly rising global COVID death toll is too much for our brains to process
More tragedy doesn’t always elicit more empathy; it can counterintuitively bring about apathy. The magnitude of the death toll can ...
COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor: Kaiser Family Foundation tracks public confidence in vaccine distribution
Using a combination of surveys and qualitative research, [the Kaiser Family Foundation COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor] tracks the dynamic nature of ...
