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When journalists say really stupid stuff about genetic engineering
The following is an edited excerpt. I’ve been arguing that the worst misinformation and myths about genetically modified foods has ...
Why genetic modification myths are so appealing and powerful
The following is an edited excerpt. While I admire this optimism and agree that we should continue to engage in ...
The forecast on the race, genetics, and intelligence debate
The following is an editorial summary. It is often said that race is a social fact and a biological fiction ...
10,000 hours may gain you little if you have no talent
The following is an excerpt. A few years ago Malcolm Gladwell made the “10,000 hour rule” famous in his book Outliers. In practice (e.g., discussions ...
Why race as a biological construct matters
The following is an excerpt of a longer story. My own inclination has been to not get bogged down in ...
Anti-biotech activist Jeffrey Smith peddles pseudo-science
The following is an edited excerpt. When the definitive history of the GMO debate is written, Jeffrey Smith is going ...
Kloor blog deconstructs crop biotech labeling debate
The following is an edited excerpt. There are two camps that favor labeling genetically modified [GM] foods: 1) The “Right ...
Nature’s must-read issue on genetically modified organisms
Keith Kloor dissects and summarizes Nature magazine's special issue on genetically modified organisms ...
Why scientists and science advocates shouldn’t fight the GM-labeling movement
Ramez Naam, a GLP contributor, makes the argument that -- despite the scientific evidence for the safety of genetically modified ...
Why GMO supporters should embrace labels
The following is an excerpt. Keith Kloor has graciously given me the opportunity to guest post here again. So let ...
Grandma’s experiences leave a mark on your genes
The following is an excerpt. For over a hundred years, those two views — nature or nurture, biology or psychology ...
If GM crops provide more food, that’s a good thing, right?
The following is an excerpt. What drives opposition to genetically modified crops? Well, there are a bunch of enduring myths, ...
Don’t forget parents share genes with their offspring
The following is an excerpt. In 2002 I read The Blank Slate. With all due respect to Steven Pinker one of ...
Why a foolish instinct for love?
The following is an edited excerpt. I remember the specific moment when I was 13 that I became aware ...
An NYU panel debate on GMO labeling
The following is an edited excerpt. Last Thursday, the NYU Global Center for Academic & Spiritual Life, in conjunction with GMO ...
Anti-GMO attitudes on the left and right
The following is an excerpt. If you follow public debate on genetically modified foods, you know that Monsanto is routinely ...
Anti-GMO attitudes and political leanings
GMO opponents come from both ends of the political spectrum, but Kloor writes that denialist arguments are more likely to ...
The inevitability of eugenics as preventative health
The following is an edited excerpt. The real fundamental issue here is that genes are at least somewhat in the ...
Schizophrenia about genetics
The following is an edited excerpt. The genetics of schizophrenia is a fertile if fraught topic. But I won’t be discussing that ...
Pigmentation: the simplest of complex traits not so simple?
The following is an excerpt. One of the pitfalls about talking about genetics, especially human genetics, is that the public wants ...
GM bacteria produce valuable compounds
The following is an edited excerpt. When Michigan State University artist Adam Brown learned of a type of bacteria,Cupriavidus metallidurans, ...
When newspapers con the public
The following is an edited excerpt. Now let’s turn to the Guardian, and this video on genetically modified crops it recently posted on ...
A month without Monsanto?
The following is an edited excerpt. April Dávila, a writer for Yes! magazine, tired to see if she could go one month “without consuming any ...
GMO labeling is clever marketing
The following is an excerpt. I find it amusing that this whole GMO labeling campaign has been framed as some ...
Gene therapy could prevent arthritis
The following is an edited excerpt. Most people who live to old age will suffer from arthritis. The condition’s prevalence ...
The real seeds of deception
The following is an edited excerpt. In October, Dan Charles, NPR’s food and agriculture correspondent, wrote an excellent piece headlined: ...
Genes are not esoteric knowledge
The following is an edited excerpt. Over at Slate the advice columnist received an email from a man who found out that his wife ...
Why culture is chunky and genes are creamy
The following is an excerpt. My daughter has four grandparents. Genetically she is a little over 25 percent her paternal ...
