Economist
Key to treating autism could be hiding in the gut
Autism affects people’s social behaviour and communication, and may impair their ability to learn things. All this is well known. Less ...
Glyphosate-cancer lawsuits spur farmers to embrace ‘precision farming’ to help reduce chemical inputs
American juries are well known for the generosity of their awards in civil cases .... So Bayer, a German chemicals ...
Viewpoint: Obstructionist governments have kept the ‘green revolution’ out of Africa
A green revolution—the increase in agricultural yields seen in most parts of the poor world apart from Africa since the ...
Downside to ‘real AI’: Who wants to talk to a smart robot?
[On June 19, IBM] announced that it had brought us one step closer to “real AI” (an intelligence as smart as ...
Using robots for the ‘donkey work’ of genetic research
In the basement of Imperial College sits the London DNA Foundry. ... This foundry is, however, determinedly modern. Liquid is ...
Herbicides make sweet corn sweeter and boost crop’s beneficial mineral levels, study finds
New work shows [that] changes in treated crops are substantial enough to change both their nutritional value and flavour. [The ...
Why wheat genome has over 5 times more DNA than humans
The domestication of wheat and other staple crops in the Levant some 10,000 years ago allowed for persistent settlement above ...
Could GMO crops stymie Africa’s fall armyworm invasion?
When just a hungry caterpillar, the fall armyworm will happily munch on more than 80 plant species. But its favourite ...
Long neglected by breeders, Africa’s staple ‘orphan crops’ undergoing a genetic revolution
Cassava and sweet potatoes. Lablab beans and water berries. Bitter gourds and sickle sennas. Elephant ears and African locusts. ... All ...
Simulated ‘cellular suicide’ could help control chronic inflammation
Inflammation, in particular, is vital to fighting infection or healing wounds. If it lingers, however, it can cause more harm ...
Artificial intelligence uses facial features to detect sexual orientation
AI’s power to pick out patterns is now turning to more intimate matters. Research at Stanford University by Michal Kosinski and Yilun ...
Some antibiotic resistance in humans may trace to feeding strategies at fish farms
The mucky sediment below fish farms usually teems with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The presence of such bacteria is a cause of ...
Canakinumab not the ‘miracle’ heart attack and cancer prevention drug as hyped
On August 27th the results of a trial of an anti-inflammatory medicine called canakinumab were released at a meeting, in ...
Finding and destroying tumors with microscopic ‘spasers’
[Research by] Vladimir Zharov of the University of Arkansas and Mark Stockman of Georgia State University, in Atlanta involves injecting ...
Making leather without animals: Genetically engineered leather made from modified yeast is here
The whole leather industry, based as it is on animal hides, is vulnerable these days to sensibilities about the relationship ...
Reckless men? Increased testosterone linked to impulsive decisions
Impulsiveness can be measured in many ways. That chosen by Dr Nave and Dr Nadler was mathematical. In the largest ...
Can we stop drug addiction with vaccines?
Between 2000 and 2015 half a million people in America alone died of drug overdoses...On August 8th Tom Price, the ...
Information is power? Why insurance companies are concerned about the boom in consumer genetic tests
If a genetic test could tell whether you are at increased risk of getting cancer or Alzheimer’s, would you take ...
Are transfusions of ‘young blood’ the answer to longer, healthier lives?
The blood of young animals, it seems, may be able to ameliorate at least some of the effects of ageing ...
Gene ‘silencer’: GM crop technology could help stop spread of herbicide resistance
Introducing genes for herbicide resistance into a crop permits it to be sprayed with weedkiller that really does then kill nothing ...
What’s driving the wave of agrichemical company mergers?
After a decade without any big deals, since 2015 three mega-mergers, collectively worth around $240bn, have been proposed. When they ...
What is ‘cell-free biotechnology’ and how could it revolutionize our lives?
The stuff of life comes wrapped in tiny bags called cells. Inside are DNA molecules that carry the instructions for ...
Value pricing? Should effectiveness determine what patients pay for cancer drugs?
THE debate in rich countries about the high price of drugs is a furious and frustrating one.... Making a mistake ...
Paralysis relief? Brain signals used to regain control of patient’s paralyzed arm
[Editor's note: William Kochevar was paralyzed from the shoulders down in a 2006 bike accident.] Now, with the help of ...
Cow eugenics: Colombian ranchers breed cattle to stand their ground against big cat predators
If big cats don’t kill livestock, farmers won’t shoot them. ... Panthera, a charity that manages “corridors” for jaguars that ...
CRISPR gene editing could eliminate AIDS virus
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. ... The problem faced ...
Why haven’t we cured cancer?
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. MEDICINE has done a ...
Scientists aim to genetically tweak photosynthesis in rice, increase yield by 50%
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. C4 photosynthesis is so ...
