Genetic Literacy Project
How microplastics impact our food and our health
Small pieces of plastic, now termed microplastics have infiltrated all ecosystems, posing a severe threat to wildlife…and now us. New research has ...
Debating sustainable agriculture: Weed management and crop biotechnology
Any discussion of crop chemicals must consider the broad sweep of agricultural history, the pivotal moments of technological innovation, and ...
GLP Podcast: Anti-vax doctor claims COVID vaccines ‘shed’; Abandon milk and meat for the environment?
Do mRNA COVID vaccines "shed" particles? This anti-vax myth rears its ugly head yet again. Are milk and meat alternatives ...
Bumblebees threatened by pesticides? Independent German university study finds wild bees ‘relatively resistant’ to even potent chemical cocktails
Bumblebees appear to be quite resistant to common pesticides. This is shown by a new study, the results of which ...
Superintelligence, superlongevity and superhappiness: How billionaire transhumanists want to converge humanity and artificial intelligence
Many prominent people in the tech industry have talked about the increasing convergence between humans and machines in coming decades ...
Viewpoint: US childhood vaccination rates are at a 10-year low. Here’s how fringe science views are seeping into the mainstream
Rates of routine childhood vaccination hit a 10-year low in 2023. That, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ...
Viewpoint: The organic food industry is a $180 billion marketing fraud
As a biomedical scientist, it has never failed to annoy me that the term ‘organic’ has been co-opted to spread ...
Is tilapia a human-made freak that we should avoid — or an evolutionary rockstar?
Posts were appearing on my Facebook feed warning against the dangers of eating tilapia. So I decided to do a ...
Are we facing an ‘Insect Apocalypse’ caused by ‘intensive, industrial’ farming and agricultural chemicals? The media say yes; Science says ‘no’
The media call it the “Insect Apocalypse”. In the past few years, the phrase has become an accepted truth of ...
How taking LSD to relieve anxiety disorder can work for months after the chemicals leave your brain
Psychotropic drugs are all the rage now as a potential treatment of brain diseases. Examples are ketamine and psilocybin for ...
Viewpoint: Do we have to give up beef to limit climate change?
Are cows really a major cause of climate change? Wealthy nations are not pushing people to switch to a plant-based ...
Groundbreaking pineapple-flavored spray vaccine could prevent urinary tract infections for up to 9 years
A breakthrough almost decade-long study of a spray vaccine offers promise for billions of women who suffer from urinary tract ...
GLP podcast: RFK Jr. recycles ‘gay frogs’ pesticide conspiracy; GMO v organic debate is over; Scientist behind gene-edited twins back in the lab
RFK, Jr. has resurrected the long-debunked speculation that atrazine, a low-toxicity weedkiller, causes sexual dysphoria in frogs—and humans. The oft-reported ...
Viewpoint: Public investment in agricultural innovation is woefully inadequate. Here’s what should be done
Doubling government funding for agricultural research and development (R&D) would have tremendous environmental and economic benefits, according to a new ...
Nature’s lost scents: Perfumes made to replicate extinct plants provide an olfactory glimpse into the past
“Meet Invisible Woods: a clean, refreshing scent revived from extinct flower DNA,” beneath an image of “origin flower” Wendlandia angustifolia ...
Viewpoint: Here’s why the EPA needs to relax regulations that make it harder for farmers to access pest-resistant biotech crops
Plant pests and disease have a massive global impact, causing the loss of 20–40% of crop production and costing over USD 220 billion ...
Yet another anti-vax doctor claims vaccines ‘shed’. Where did this myth originate?
It’s been too short a time since I last wrote about the antivaccine myth of “shedding,” particularly in the context of ...
Do the MAOA and CDH13 ‘human warrior genes’ make violent criminals—and what should society do?
What can--or should--be done about genetic predispositions that lead to grim social consequences in only some of the people with ...
Are GMOs causing an increase in allergies?
The potential for allergies from foods with genetically modified ingredients is no higher than that in any food, including organics ...
Viewpoint: ‘Enemy of Science’ — Friends of the Earth renews its organic industry-funded campaign against GM crops
In 1969, a fellow who felt that the eugenicist founders of Sierra Club were not militant enough in their war ...
‘Race’, anti-racism and biology
Using biology to determine the racial ancestry of human remains is racist. Except when it’s done in the name of ...
Video viewpoint: Humans as frogs? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claims that unsubstantiated but perceived rise in male sexual dysphoria is driven by atrazine in our water supply
Conspiracy nut Robert Kennedy, Jr. is desperately trying to convince the American voting populace that he is indeed a serious ...
GLP podcast: Dangers of ‘diet weed’; Making insulin in cow’s milk; The conservative case for genetic enhancement
So-called "diet weed" is slowly gaining popularity across the US. Is this newfangled drug safe to consume? Scientists have successfully ...
Gametes? Embryo? Fetus? There are 17 timepoints when a human life might begin
I wish that I could stop reposting this essay – I do so whenever limitations on women’s reproductive rights become ...
Viewpoint: US regulators are not keeping up with lightning-fast advances in biotechnology. How can that gap be closed?
Improved crop genetics can help protect crops from pests and disease, reduce food waste, increase yields, limit deforestation, and decrease agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Improvements in ...
Viewpoint: Here’s how genetically engineered fruits and vegetables will soon emerge as a grocery store ‘selling point rather than a scare tactic’
Fruits and veggies are nature’s gift to humanity. Chock full of vitamins, delicious and colorful, they deserve a starring role ...
The radical conservative case for genetic enhancement
The conclusion of the sexual revolution is about to be written ...
GLP podcast: GE crops have lived up to the hype; Growing ‘mini’ organs from stem cells; How do we solve right-wing vaccine hesitancy?
Genetically engineered crops are nearly three decades olds at this point. What impacts have they had on agriculture over those ...
