Search Results for: cameron+english

$83 trillion in savings — Misguided attacks by ‘organic fundamentalists’ distort the revolutionary advancements of the Green Revolution

| | January 31, 2022
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recent study quantifies some of the previously undocumented benefits of the Green Revolution. The results are nothing short of stunning. Despite a massive increase in population growth and a shrinking amount of arable farmland, food production absolutely exploded beginning in the middle of the 20th century. We owe that progress to major improvements in agriculture, especially … Read more

Viewpoint: Reflecting on science journalism in 2021 — Four trends that need to be reversed for media to regain credibility

| | January 28, 2022
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cience journalism is plagued by several critical problems that jeopardize its credibility. If we want the public to be more science-minded, we have to correct these issues sooner rather than later. Any time I see the phrase “according to fact-checkers” in a headline, I can’t help but roll my eyes. That’s because what follows the … Read more

GLP Podcast: Academic freedom has limits? UK backtracks on neonic ban; ‘Non-GMO’ tearless onions

, | | January 27, 2022
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oes academic freedom protect professors who spread scientific nonsense online? The UK appears to be backtracking on a pesticide ban that has harmed its sugar beet farmers. Tearless, though perhaps less tasty, non-GMO onions are now available in some stores. Join geneticist Kevin Folta and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 152 of Science Facts … Read more

GLP Podcast: 10 ‘stupid’ food memes; COVID drugs are here; What makes someone a narcissist?

, | | January 20, 2022
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eople believe a lot of nonsense about food and farming; let’s debunk the top-10 worst of these “truisms.” The FDA has authorized two anti-virals to treat COVID-19. How do they work, and what’s the difference between them? What makes someone a narcissist? Recent research has led to some surprising insights about this mental disorder. Join … Read more

Viewpoint: If you seriously care about threats posed by climate change, steer clear of organic farming

| | January 17, 2022
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eporters like to lecture the public about the importance of science while promoting obviously unscientific ideas when it suits them. The pandemic brought this contradiction into the spotlight as news outlets like CNN, The Guardian and The Washington Post defended COVID-19 vaccines while routinely publishing sloppy stories about the dangers of pesticides and the blessings of … Read more

YouTube’s anti-vax ban: Necessary public health measure or unjustified censorship?

| | January 14, 2022
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ouTube triggered an uproar [recently], announcing that it would take “down several video channels associated with high-profile anti-vaccine activists including Joseph Mercola and Robert F. Kennedy Jr,” the Washington Post reported on [September 29]. The move is designed to silence controversial voices “experts say are partially responsible for helping seed the skepticism that’s contributed to … Read more

GLP Podcast: CRISPR biosensors; Engineered gut microbes; Anti-GMO groups love the lab-leak theory

| | January 13, 2022
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esearchers have developed a biosensor they say can monitor the activity of CRISPR gene editing in real-time. Synthetic biology is yielding drugs that modify the gut microbiome, offering potential treatments for a variety of diseases. Hoping to revive their campaign against agricultural biotechnology, anti-GMO groups have latched on to the SARS-CoV-2 lab-leak theory. Can scientists … Read more

GLP Podcast: COVID vaccines; Lab leak scandal; UK embraces CRISPR crops—the biggest stories of 2021

, | | January 6, 2022
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he COVID-19 vaccines saved a lot of lives in 2021, but convincing some Americans to take them proved to be a massive hurdle for public health officials. Constant hectoring from the anti-vaccine movement and efforts to mandate the shots only exacerbated the controversy that has yet to die down. What can the intense political battle … Read more

USRTK and other anti-biotechnology groups are using COVID lab-leak theory to spur opposition to life-saving innovations

| | January 3, 2022
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oping to keep their cause alive in the wake of the pandemic, the anti-GMO movement has glommed on to a lab-leak origin story for SARS-CoV-2. Their rhetoric sounds quite reasonable, at least at first glance, and centers around important issues we all should be concerned about. The organic industry-funded outfit US Right to Know, for … Read more

Viewpoint: Environmental Working Group on the wrong side of science with simplistic attack on animal agriculture’s impact on climate

| | December 17, 2021
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ith Christmas just around the corner, you’re probably finalizing your dinner plans and wrapping those last few presents before sticking them under the tree. Our friends at the Environmental Working Group (EWG) have another concern this holiday season: the climate horrors caused by meat and milk production: If we stopped burning fossil fuels tomorrow, scientists … Read more

GLP Podcast: Coming soon — USDA ‘bioengineered’ labels; Scientific American strays from science; Schools teach anti-GMO falsehoods

, | | December 16, 2021
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he USDA’s mandatory bioengineered food labels will begin to appear on many more products next month. What can consumers expect during their upcoming trips to the grocery store? Scientific American may be threatening its survival by injecting politics into its science reporting. Meanwhile, one food scientist wants to know why some US high schools and … Read more

Viewpoint: An argument for CRISPR crops — ‘Very little about modern life is natural — and it’s time we all got over it’

| | December 13, 2021
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ife goes on as gene-edited foods begin to hit the market. Japanese consumers have recently started buying tomatoes that fight high blood pressure, and Americans have been consuming soy engineered to produce high amounts of heart-healthy oils for a little over two years. Few people noticed these developments because, as scientists have said for a long time, … Read more

GLP Podcast: Chemical risks doubled in five years? Vaccines from plants; Henrietta Lacks’ stolen cells

, | | December 9, 2021
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recent meta-analysis has alleged that the health risks linked to chemical exposure have doubled in the last five years. Does the evidence actually support that claim? Vaccines of the future may be grown in plants, cutting production costs and giving millions more people access to life-saving drugs. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks visited the hospital to … Read more

GLP Podcast: At-home dementia test raises concerns; mRNA flu vaccines? Chemical-free pesticides

, | | December 2, 2021
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new at-home dementia test may help predict your risk of cognitive impairment late in life, though some experts fear the new diagnostic tool could have harmful unintended consequences. MRNA technology gave us effective COVID-19 vaccines; could the same platform yield better flu shots as well? Advances in gene-silencing techniques could begin to replace chemical pesticides … Read more

GLP Podcast: Monsanto owns farmers? Evolution of pet parenting; Soylent abandons GMO advocacy

, | | November 22, 2021
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oes Monsanto control the seeds Mexico’s farmers can grow? No, but anti-GMO groups do. An increasing number of Americans don’t have children and instead treat their pets like kids. Is there an evolutionary explanation for this phenomenon? Meal-replacement company Soylent once vocally celebrated its use of genetically engineered soy in its products. But the company … Read more

GLP Podcast: Science ‘flip-flops’; Pig-to-human organ transplants; Glyphosate lawsuits and tort reform

, | | November 18, 2021
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n expert advisory panel recently revised the decades-old recommendation to take aspirin daily to prevent a first heart attack or stroke. Is this a flip-flop or scientists just following the evidence wherever it leads? Recent media reports claimed a breakthrough procedure moves us closer to performing animal-to-human organ transplants. Once specialist says that’s “hype and … Read more

GLP Podcast: ‘Fashionable nonsense’ in medicine; Strange history of pregnancy tests; Bayer goes organic

, | | November 10, 2021
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edicine is bowing to academia’s “fashionable nonsense” surrounding a variety of important issues, and the consequences could be serious. Home pregnancy tests are accurate, easy to use and relatively inexpensive—but they weren’t always. Throughout history, prospective parents relied on a number of rather strange methods to confirm a pregnancy. Bayer, one of the largest producers … Read more

GLP Podcast: COVID vaccine skepticism justified? Live long despite your genes; Junk food addiction

, | | November 4, 2021
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any people simply refuse to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Is their skepticism justifiable, or are they plagued by biases that hinder their ability to consider the evidence? Your genetics determine a lot about your health, but developing the right habits can modulate the impact of your genes and extend your lifespan. Can you be “addicted” … Read more

GLP Podcast: Poison ivy vaccine; Exercise doesn’t always cause weight loss; Essential oil videos debunked

, | | October 27, 2021
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oison Ivy plagues outdoor enthusiasts everywhere. Is a vaccine on the horizon? Exercise is great for your health, but a new study shows that working out might not help you lose as much weight as you had hoped. Several new videos promoting essential oil vegetable washes and demonizing pesticides are making the social media rounds. … Read more

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