Genetic Literacy Project
Viewpoint: How politics pollutes the FDA’s genetically modified animal regulations and stifles innovation
AquaBounty's fast-growing salmon and Oxitec's disease-fighting mosquitos are two examples of why genetically modified animals should be regulated by the ...
Talking Biotech: The genetic factors that makes sweet corn sweet
Geneticist Curt Hannah: Sweet corn was specifically discovered and selected because of its sweetness. But how does a kernel of ...
Here’s what we really know about transgender genetics—so far
The week started strangely. On [March 19], the author of a new book on transgender identity emailed me, asking about ...
The human cost of the anti-GMO movement: Why one scientist is quitting GE crop research
Constantly confronting people who think my research will harm them is profoundly distressing ...
Viewpoint: We have much to gain from questioning the theory that humans evolved in Africa
The African origin theory reigns supreme. Every attempt to disprove the theory offers a chance to consider the evidence all ...
‘Boneless watermelons’? What this new ‘hot fruit’ can teach us about non-GMO labels and fear-based marketing
Nowadays labels extol the absence of something that never was there in the first place. Such marketing schemes manipulate the ...
Talking Biotech: How USAID uses GMO crops to improve food security around the world
USAID science advisor Angela Records: Disease-resistant GMO cassava, bananas show promise in improving food security in developing countries ...
Fertility clinic meltdown: What happens when slumbering eggs are awakened early
Fragile spindle apparatuses are an integral part to embryonic growth. What happened to embryo structures when they were thawed and ...
Viewpoint: Will the crop biotechnology revolution pass Nigeria by?
The Fourth Industrial Revolution is creating a new era, fusing the physical, digital and biological worlds. Breakthroughs in different fields ...
Viewpoint: How Germany’s anti-GMO, pro-organic politics benefit US ag companies
Editor's note: The following is a satirical letter written by Reinhard Szibor, professor emeritus of human genetics and forensic medicine at the ...
Facing extreme danger, are you ‘wired’ to fight or take flight?
"Fight or flight" reactions are much more complicated than we were taught in school. That fact has implications for reacting ...
Modern Victor Frankenstein? What synthetic biologists can learn from the classic cautionary tale
Mary Shelley was 20 when she published “Frankenstein” in 1818. Two hundred years on, the book remains thrilling, challenging and ...
How ‘open source’ seed producers from the US to India are changing global food production
Around the world, plant breeders are resisting what they see as corporate control of the food supply by making seeds ...
Did the EPA and Monsanto conspire to hide glyphosate’s health risks?
A recent op-ed in the Sacramento Bee repeated the debunked conspiracy theory that Monsanto manipulated the EPA to hide evidence ...
Space astronaut twin’s DNA ‘changed’? How some reports botched the story, and what we really know
When the Today Show reported on March 15 that the DNA of Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the ...
Far more toxic than glyphosate: Copper sulfate, used by organic and conventional farmers, cruises to European reauthorization
Over the past months, the European Union and several member nations have vigorously debated re-authorizing glyphosate, the herbicide maligned by ...
Fertility quest: How technology has fueled quantum leaps
Nanotech, artificial intelligence, wearables and biological engineering are among the new high tech ways to knock you up, stop your ...
Viewpoint: Unlikely alliance between environmentalists, farmers and big ag companies aims to improve soil health
Here are three startling facts about the planet Earth: It currently hosts seven and a half billion people. Its carrying ...
Here’s what potential Mars colonists really need from Earth: A large gene pool
Establishment of a Mars colony will depend on genetic diversity, meaning we must send tens of thousands of colonists ...
Should we worry about trace pesticides on fruits and vegetables?
An anti-GMO funded study promoted by Vani Hari--Food Babe--that found parts per billion trace residues of the herbicide glyphosate in ...
Waaa! How do babies experience pain?
Researchers continue to look for ways to assess the pain experienced by babies. One recent study suggests that babies are ...
Europe missed out on GMO biotech revolution. What’s going to happen with gene editing?
As a plant geneticist in Europe, I must carefully pick my way through some of the most onerous constraints to ...
Viewpoint: Devastating flu season reminds us about the danger of vaccine skepticism
The 2017-2018 flu season is being called the worst since 2009 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and ...
Viewpoint: Gene editing poised to revolutionize agriculture—if we can fix biotech regulations
In his speech at the recent American Farm Bureau convention, President Trump said his administration was "streamlining regulations that have blocked cutting-edge ...
Good and potentially bad about FDA’s greenlighting of 23andMe direct-to-consumer BRCA mutation tests
News that consumers will soon be able to purchase a genetic test for three BRCA mutations may seem like déjà ...
Uganda’s researchers ready to taste test their GMO vitamin A-enriched banana
The East African cooking banana is one of the major food crops eaten by the people living in central Uganda ...
Supercharged brains and the quest to think better and faster
For those seeking to enhance cognitive function based on hard evidence, the starting point is worked aimed at improving mental ...
Are humans genetically loaded for extinction?
Genetic load--the idea that we've had too many mutations to thrive--is making a comeback. A debate's brewing over whether it's ...
