Top 6
Can we have an open debate about IQ, genes, and group differences? Reassessing the legacy of James Flynn
I once spoke to a human geneticist who declared that the notion of intelligence was quite meaningless, so I tried ...
The glyphosate debacle: How a misleading study about the alleged risks of the weedkiller Roundup and gullible reporters helped fuel a cancer scare
As biotech giant Bayer prepares to spend $10 billion settling thousands of lawsuits alleging its weedkiller Roundup (and its active ...
Dawn beckons as COVID vaccines roll out, but the next few months promise to be the darkest yet, and echoes of the AIDS era
One strange aspect of plagues is that they often finish strong. I learned this the hard way last time around ...
Viewpoint: Pesticides can be harmful—but they’re also ‘vital to human health and global food security’
As much as pesticides are a threat to certain ecosystems, they’re also responsible for providing the planet with food in ...
Gene editing could produce more flavorful decaf coffee — and combat public’s anti-GMO sentiment
Coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks, but that cup can come with a price of jitters or ...
The faux argument of natural vs synthetic
There are many confrontations on the battlefield of cyberspace. Vaccine proponents versus anti-vaxxers. Creationists versus evolutionary biologists. Anti-fluoride activists versus ...
Are Trump and Biden showing early signs of dementia? It’s time to look beyond arm-chair psychiatry and politics to science
In 2020, while the United States was locked in one of the most polarizing presidential elections and post-election period in ...
Uncertain future: Will Europe’s Green Deal encourage or cripple crop gene-editing innovation?
The EU Green Deal and its Farm-to-Fork and Biodiversity Strategies stipulate ambitious policy objectives that will fundamentally impact agricultural businesses ...
When the faster-spreading and more virulent COVID-19 mutant came to my home town, it shook up everyone. Here’s an explainer of what it foreshadows
When a new variant of the COVID-19 virus appeared in the UK as 2020 drew to a close, I didn’t ...
The truth about the COVID vaccines: Everything you need to know about the fastest vaccines ever developed
The COVID-19 vaccine was developed faster than any other vaccine in history, which has caused some concern to those that ...
Inherited blindness has a new cure, thanks to CRISPR
In recent months, even as our attention has been focused on the coronavirus outbreak, there have been a slew of ...
Podcast: Glyphosate boosts cancer risk 41%? How a questionable claim from a flawed study went viral
As a rule, scientific research is relegated to obscure technical journals and goes unnoticed by most people. Every few months, ...
A dangerous stage in the evolution of the novel coronavirus is upon us with the discovery of “escape mutations”. Artificial intelligence may be our best response
Real life with COVID-19 is now scarier than anything a sci-fi writer could envision. So-called “escape mutations” that can turn ...
Viewpoint: Environmental groups attack latest crop gene-editing innovations misusing scientifically outdated 20-year-old anti-GMO arguments
“Gene stacking”—the process of modifying several genes or traits instead of just one—has been around many years. “Golden Rice,” engineered ...
Beepocalypse Myth Handbook: Assessing claims of pollinator collapse
After a decade of debate, the causes of the mid-2000s spike in bee deaths is coming into focus. Culprits are ...
Podcast: How do mRNA vaccines work and why were they developed so fast?
Geneticist Dr Kat Arney takes a look at the discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) and finds out how mRNA vaccines ...
There is a lot of misinformation about COVID, the available vaccines and their effectiveness. These 7 insights will help clear that up.
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been many thousands of articles and commentaries published on almost every ...
Podcast: GMOs = colonialism? CRISPR-edited eggs; sustainable shoes made from fungi
Distribution of genetically engineered crops to developing countries proves that "colonialism in science is still alive and well," alleges one ...
Can Biden’s USDA bring America’s animal gene-editing rules into the 21st century?
I am in perhaps a somewhat rare position regarding the contemplated USDA regulatory framework, as I actually have several animals ...
We are inching towards direct brain control of computers. Here’s when they’ll be ready
Imagine controlling your computer just by thinking. It sounds far-out, but real advances are happening on these so-called brain-computer interfaces ...
Viewpoint: Are GMOs a corporate ploy to colonize developing countries? Is vitamin-A enhanced Golden Rice a plot by ‘Western entities’ to control global agriculture? Here are the facts bungled in Slate commentary.
Western scientists who introduce biotech crops into developing nations are paternalistic colonizers. While they claim to be helping farmers in ...
Regulation gone wrong: A critique of the FDA’s nonsensical animal gene-editing rules
The “Guidance for Industry #187” entitled “Regulation of Intentionally Altered Genomic DNA in Animals” was published in the Federal Register ...
Marketers are beginning to use data mined from consumer DNA tests. Should we be worried?
A woman lingers at a display of coffeemakers. Soon after, images of the very same contraptions festoon her Facebook feed, ...
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Reflecting on ‘The Queen’s Gambit’: Are women genetically hardwired to underperform men in chess?
Unlike the wildly popular Netflix chess-themed series The Queen’s Gambit, female players have struggled to climb to the top of ...
GE animals: While the federal government delays approvals, antibiotic use, animal suffering and food prices increase
They say good things come to those who wait. Well I have been waiting my entire career to eat milk, ...
How COVID deniers are taking pages out of the anti-vaccine movement’s playbook
One of the most notable things about the COVID-19 pandemic has been how fast two science denialist movements made common cause ...
