Science Controversies
Viewpoint: ‘Untold human death and suffering’: What could be the impact of the Trump administration plan to reach herd immunity
“Surrendering to the virus” is not a defensible plan, says Kristian Andersen, an immunologist at the Scripps Research Institute in ...
Will antibody therapies work on patients with severe COVID? Setbacks in new Lilly, Regeneron drugs raise serious doubts
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Eli Lilly have [reported clinical study setbacks, which] raised questions about the effectiveness of antibody therapies in ...
What you should and shouldn’t worry about in the small print when a COVID vaccine is approved
Over the next few months, the companies behind the leading [COVID] vaccine candidates will start releasing the first data from ...
Temper the celebration: 2-shot Pfizer COVID vaccine appears 90% effective but it’s not known for how long or its impact on severe cases
Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine is reportedly successful in preventing 90% of infections according to early data from a Phase 3 ...
With Slovakia and Liverpool opting to test everyone, European countries mull dramatic expansion of COVID testing
Slovakia attempted to test its entire adult population, or every resident between 10 and 65. [COVID] cases have been surging ...
Why the COVID death rate is dropping even as case numbers soar
One recent study looking at the case fatality rate in the New York region from March to August found that the ...
Viewpoint: Why minority groups should be over-represented in COVID-19 vaccine trials
BioNTech SE, Moderna Inc. and Pfizer Inc. have publicly said they’re pushing to enroll a more diverse group of participants in the pivotal ...
Viewpoint: How the cover was blown on the Steve Bannon, FOX-promoted ‘China did it’ COVID conspiracy theory
A respected Chinese virologist appeared on Tucker Carlson's show on Fox News in mid-September to share the results of her just-completed report ...
The 5-minute COVID-19 test is here
Researchers have used CRISPR gene-editing technology to come up with a test that detects the pandemic coronavirus in just 5 ...
Right to protection against infection? Do masks and stay-at-home orders violate the Constitution? Check out the Third Amendment
[P]rotesters have resisted [COVID] safety measures under the belief that they violate constitutionally guaranteed liberties… But a profound historical counter-vision ...
None of the leading COVID vaccine candidates will likely generate protective antibodies for very long. Is there a shot that could?
[S]ome scientists question whether [COVID vaccines currently in testing] will produce a strong and long-lasting immunity, especially if they aren't ...
South Australia rejects 11 proposals to ban GM crops, citing ‘insufficient evidence’ for moratorium
The [South Australian] government passed legislation earlier this year to remove the moratorium on GM crops everywhere except Kangaroo Island ...
Can the CDC recover its credibility in the midst of its COVID debacle?
White House advisers have made line-by-line edits to official health guidance, altering language written by CDC scientists on church choirs, ...
COVID pilot trial: Facing UK’s near highest death toll, Liverpool to test entire city
Everyone living or working in [Liverpool] will be offered [a COVID test], whether or not they have symptoms, with follow-up ...
Long-time pharma rivals unite to fight a common enemy: COVID-19
In the age of Covid-19, old adversaries are uniting around a common enemy: the new coronavirus. Their nascent partnership is ...
Video: Fire Fauci? Trump suggests he will take ‘advice’ of chanting supporters and dismiss America’s infectious disease expert ‘after the election’
Speaking at a campaign rally in Opa-locka, Florida, Trump expressed frustration that the surging cases of the virus that has killed ...
Reaching herd immunity without a vaccine ‘very unlikely’, suggests Wuhan antibody study
Fewer than 4% of adults in Wuhan, China, tested positive for antibodies against COVID-19, putting the possibility of countries developing ...
Next Congress might steer course of CRISPR revolution by setting ethical limits on gene editing of human sperm and eggs
[W]hat if geneticists could sidestep the [human embryo genome editing] controversy by editing sperm and eggs instead? According to a ...
Washington Post 3-part documentary series explores decades of White House preparation preceding the Trump Administration’s failed pandemic response
In a three-part documentary, The Washington Post explores why the Trump administration failed to contain the coronavirus pandemic, despite decades of preparation ...
Infographic: Well before Trump’s February partial ‘China air ban’, COVID had spent January quietly spreading across the US
The Wall Street Journal interviewed disease detectives and reviewed hundreds of pages of new research to piece together how the ...
With Trump preaching ‘America first,’ developing world allies like Mexico are looking to Russia and China for COVID vaccines
At least three U.S. pharmaceutical companies have agreements with the Mexican government that could reduce how long its citizens have ...
Facing a long wait till widespread COVID vaccine availability, Europe focuses on fast antigen tests largely absent in the US
While highly accurate, PCR [COVID] tests are relatively expensive, can be carried out only by certified labs and take between ...
Vaccines free for seniors and the privately insured, but not for those without insurance, Trump administration announces
Seniors and people in private health-insurance plans are among those who won’t be charged for getting a coronavirus vaccine under ...
Face masks—Are they critical or ideology-driven overkill? Here’s the science
Face masks are the ubiquitous symbol of a pandemic that has sickened 35 million people and killed more than 1 ...
Extrachromosomal DNA: The unique clues scientists are using to outfox cancer
Human cells are not supposed to have extra bits of DNA floating around, so [Paul] Mischel described the peculiar substance ...
Viewpoint: ‘It’s not a political statement’ – Former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb calls for nationwide mask mandate
As deaths rise this winter, policy makers will have to take new steps to slow the rate of spread. There ...
Who is the superspreader that infected Trump? There is a genetic tool available to find out if the White House wanted to use it
The [White House Rose Garden] gathering has been described as a superspreader event, as at least a dozen guests have reported ...
