Genetic Literacy Project
Viewpoint: Organic farming and sustainable agriculture are often in conflict. Here’s why
hen it comes to denying science, California leads America, and sometimes the world. In early 2020, for example, when the ...
Regulatory death march: As the avian flu crosses the species barrier and targets animals and humans, a gene editing solution is in focus. Here’s why it’s unlikely US regulators will embrace the moment
Avian influenza is surging again, but with an even deadlier twist: the scourge that has led to hundreds of millions ...
Effort to rescue the almost-extinct American chestnut tree hits a snag, as rift develops between major sponsoring organizations over gene-editing techniques
The American Chestnut Foundation, a nonprofit where [Jared] Westbrook is director of science, has poured years of work into a ...
Viewpoint: Anti-biotechnology, pro-organic dark money web — Tort lawyer-funded, Charles Benbrook-created Heartland Health Research Alliance co-opts academic and government institutions to subvert independent science
The Heartland Health Research Alliance (HHRA) an ideologically-focused research groups funded by ‘dark money’ support from the organic industry and ...
Viewpoint: Crop biotechnology and chemical pseudo-science exposed — Here’s how the ‘dark money’, tort-lawyer funded Heartland Study dupes journalists and co-ops universities
Until the 1990s, research was often low-budget, done in government agencies or industry funded. But as universities acquired expensive analytical ...
GLP podcast/video: ‘Paraquat Papers’ — Latest pesticide scandal wrongly links weedkiller to Parkinson’s
Thousands of pending lawsuits allege that the weedkiller paraquat causes Parkinson's Disease (PD), a connection its manufacturer tried to hide ...
Viewpoint: The ‘culture wars’ infection of anthropology and archaeology grows
In 1941, at the height of World War 2, troops stationed on Hoy in the remote Scottish Orkney Islands made ...
Phony Whistleblower Gambit: This is how far some environmental activist groups are willing to go to corrupt science for money and ideological gain
Environmental activists rely on several go-to tactics when fomenting fear of pesticides. One of their favorite methods is recruiting fake ...
Viewpoint: Here’s what happens when legislators pander to activists by over-regulating science and medical practice in an ill-advised effort to ‘protect the public’
It is bad enough when unqualified pundits offer dumb opinions about science, but bad legislation can cause real damage. The COVID ...
Viewpoint: Without measurable metrics, ‘regenerative agriculture’ is often little more than a data-less claim and a form of greenwashing. Here’s how to make it more science based and sustainable
In a previous column for SSA, just under a year ago, I highlighted concerns that the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI), a ...
Dissecting claims about Monsanto suing farmers for accidentally planting patented seeds
Much to the dismay of anti-GMO activists, courts around the world including SCOTUS have consistently upheld the rights of companies ...
Viewpoint: While environmentalists and journalists look the other way, anti-vax, pro-organic ‘dark money whore’ US Right to Know partners with organic food and tort lawyer hustlers to undermine science
In the introduction to this Firebreak series on how foundations fund activists, I noted there were a wide variety of foundations: ...
Another lesson from the news coverage of COVID: How poorly-written headlines can adversely impact the lives of readers
Two friends independently emailed me a recent article from CNN’s website with this headline, which prompted both to ask whether they should ...
GLP podcast/video: Dangers of slanted science coverage; Media falsely claims glyphosate could harm pregnant women
Exaggerated media coverage distorts the public's understanding of critically important scientific issues, and the consequences can be dire. How do ...
Nether region science—What’s the allure for cats of fellow feline rear ends?
Anyone who lives with more than one member of Felis catus knows that our beloved felines love to smell each other’s ...
Race, gender and science: Should positionality statement ‘identity biographies’ be mandatory on science research papers?
In Defense of Universalism in Science In a November article in Science magazine, journalist Rachael Zamzow informs us that many ...
Does the recently approved Novavax COVID vaccine offer any unique benefits?
Erin Kissane, a co-founder of the COVID Tracking Project, rolled up her sleeve for the Novavax covid-19 vaccine in mid-October ...
Viewpoint: Are ESG — environmental, social and governance — goals the next step in corporate citizenship or an activist imposition?
Corporate ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) performance measurements have recently polarised the business community. Many see it as the next ...
Cousin marriages: ‘If you ever want to see some fascinating genetic disorders, you should all travel to Pakistan’
The link between cousin marriages and genetic disorders in offspring is a growing problem in several countries ...
Viewpoint: Never heard of the Heartland Health Research Alliance? Here’s how the organic- and tort-lawyer funded sham research center generates disinformation about glyphosate and other farm chemicals
Where would science be if an influential institute today was established by tort lawyers to produce research solely for use ...
GLP podcast/video: What causes autism? Treating PTSD with psychedelics; Alcoholism could be in our genes
Speculation persists about the causes of autism thanks to an explosion in the number of cases that have been diagnosed ...
Environmental activists claim neonicotinoid and glyphosate pesticides threaten bees. Here are the facts
"The honeybee is in no way endangered. If there’s a top ten list of what’s killing honey bee colonies, I’d ...
‘Perhaps GMOs are closer to natural processes than we think’: How genetic modification mimics natural evolution of plants
Genetically modified (GM) crops may be controversial, but similar processes happen naturally with wild plants. However, scientists have long been ...
Can coffee drinking prevent COVID infection?
Coffee has undergone a dramatic rehabilitation since it was designated as a “possible” bladder carcinogen by the International Agency for ...
Newest Alzheimer’s drug slows disease — but costs over $25,000 per year. Who will pay for it?
The first drug purporting to slow the advance of Alzheimer’s disease is likely to cost the U.S. health care system ...
Glyphosate can harm pregnant women living near farms? Carelessly-written article based on the same authors’ more sober academic study shows how misinformation metastasizes
Authors claim glyphosate “health concerns”- but what do the data actually say? ...
Are pesticide residues on food something to worry about?
Just like anything that goes into your body, it’s the dose (the amount) that matters ...
Will England emerge as a world innovator in gene-edited crops?
Brexit has been a disaster for the UK. It has not spurred the great economic revival that many of the ...
