antibiotics

Using CRISPR to fight antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’

The superbugs are winning the antibiotics wars. CRISPR could turn the tide ...
drvandanashiva

Viewpoint: Fact-checking anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva’s ‘Poison-Free, Fossil-Free’ food lecture

The event was a missed opportunity to have the more nuanced discussion that such an important topic deserves ...
Viewpoint: Evidence or ‘junk science’—Will the Biden Administration ban essential pesticides experts say are safe?

Viewpoint: Evidence or ‘junk science’—Will the Biden Administration ban essential pesticides experts say are safe?

Within days of being sworn in, President Joe Biden elevated the science adviser to the president to Cabinet rank, with ...
Podcast: COVID vaccine—Bible's 'mark of the beast'? Gene guns and GMOs; Growing plants in space

Podcast: COVID vaccine—Bible’s ‘mark of the beast’? Gene guns and GMOs; Growing plants in space

Some fundamentalist Christians allege that COVID vaccines are "the mark of the beast" described in the Biblical book of Revelation ...
Anxious about getting a COVID vaccine because you don't know what's in it? We know a lot more about it than the safety of hot dogs

Anxious about getting a COVID vaccine because you don’t know what’s in it? We know a lot more about it than the safety of hot dogs

“So, you’ve been eatin’ hot dogs and chicken nuggets all your life and you don’t want the vaccine ‘cuz you ...
Vitamin-D and COVID: The polarized, messy debate and whether you should consider taking it

Vitamin-D and COVID: The polarized, messy debate and whether you should consider taking it

Views on Vitamin D are almost as polarized as politics; in fact the whole debate around COVID-19 and vitamin D ...
Earth-friendly beef: How sustainable grazing practices can protect soil, water, and biodiversity

Earth-friendly beef: How sustainable grazing practices can protect soil, water, and biodiversity

I wasn’t one of the lucky kids who got to grow up on a ranch. No one back then would ...
Fighting the next pandemic: Antibiotic resistance

Fighting the next pandemic: Antibiotic resistance

If a two-year-old child living in poverty in India or Bangladesh gets sick with a common bacterial infection, there is ...
Viewpoint: Free speech vs science—Should colleges invite anti-GMO speakers they 'know' spread misinformation?

Viewpoint: Free speech vs science—Should colleges invite anti-GMO speakers they ‘know’ spread misinformation?

In the face of climate change, the expectation for evidence is doubled because of the dramatic implications ...
Cloned animals: A safe, sustainable source of food and medicine?

Cloned animals: A safe, sustainable source of food and medicine?

It's now possible to clone animals and use them to produce a wide variety of valuable products, including staple foods ...
Podcast: Dogology—The science of our four-legged friends

Podcast: Dogology—The science of our four-legged friends

Geneticist Kat Arney brings you some scientific tails as we explore the genetics of dog breeds and behaviour ...
Part 2: Why is Africa the global COVID-19 'cold spot'? — The historical challenge of disentangling genes and environment

Part 2: Why is Africa the global COVID-19 ‘cold spot’? — The historical challenge of disentangling genes and environment

Does greater prior exposure to pathogens, including other recent coronaviruses, help explain why Africa is a COVID-19 cold spot, despite ...
Podcast: Sierra Club endorses biotech chestnut tree; GM salmon coming this April? Downside of genetic engineering

Podcast: Sierra Club endorses biotech chestnut tree; GM salmon coming this April? Downside of genetic engineering

Historically a vocal opponent of genetically engineered crops, the Sierra Club has endorsed the release of a disease-resistant, genetically modified ...
shutterstock

Climate change vs agriculture: Can one farming method—conventional, organic or agroecology—help slow global warming?

Climate change and agriculture appear joined at the hip. Agriculture—through methane, carbon dioxide, and land use—has had an impact on ...
Part 1: Defying all predictions, Africa is the global COVID-19 ‘cold spot’. How come health officials and the media are not honestly exploring why?

Part 1: Defying all predictions, Africa is the global COVID-19 ‘cold spot’. How come health officials and the media are not honestly exploring why?

The first confirmed COVID-19 case in Africa was on February 14, 2020 in Egypt. The first in sub-Saharan Africa appeared ...
shutterstock x

‘Clean’ seafood? The global struggle to make aquaculture a sustainable source of protein

Tim Sprinkle | Genetic Literacy Project |
Surprising to many, over half of the fish we eat comes from fish farms. But some farms, particularly from parts ...
Witch Hunt for Alternative Practitioners

Podcast: GMO ‘terminator’ seeds debunked; ‘Alternative medicine’ harms women; Cancer-fighting CRISPR beer?

Anti-GMO advocates have for years warned about the dangers of genetically modified, sterile "terminator" seeds. But there's a problem: these ...
GMO salmon two months from introduction: AquaBounty fights anti-biotechnology misinformation as it gears up for April launch of fast-growing, sustainable AquAdvantage salmon

GMO salmon two months from introduction: AquaBounty fights anti-biotechnology misinformation as it gears up for April launch of fast-growing, sustainable AquAdvantage salmon

AquaBounty's genetically engineered, fast-growing salmon could be sold at US restaurants and grocery stores as soon as this April. The ...
Coffee reduces risk of heart failure? What are we to make of a new study based on artificial intelligence (AI)

Coffee reduces risk of heart failure? What are we to make of a new study based on artificial intelligence (AI)

When I was starting out in epidemiology in the early 1980’s I attended a lecture by Thomas Pearson, a cardiologist, ...
Viewpoint: Eco-hypocrisy—Mexico bans GM corn and glyphosate to promote sustainability while subsidizing fossil fuels

Viewpoint: Eco-hypocrisy—Mexico bans GM corn and glyphosate to promote sustainability while subsidizing fossil fuels

Luis Ventura | Genetic Literacy Project |
Imagine for a moment that the US government banned smart phones and tablets and forced everyone to use home telephones ...
Catching COVID from food: A year’s worth of research dispels panic

Catching COVID from food: A year’s worth of research dispels panic

When the COVID-19 pandemic began, not much was known about SARS-CoV-2 (the coronavirus) and its survival in food, on various materials ...
Viewpoint: Challenging organic myths — Big Ag doesn't 'control the food supply' with patented GMO seeds, patented seeds are planted on organic farms, too

Viewpoint: Challenging organic myths — Big Ag doesn’t ‘control the food supply’ with patented GMO seeds, patented seeds are planted on organic farms, too

GMO critics demonize the concept of seed patents, equating it with 'Big Ag' and what they see as a takeover ...
Podcast: When science and politics collide: How JBS Haldane's radical views clouded his scientific mind

Podcast: When science and politics collide: How JBS Haldane’s radical views clouded his scientific mind

Dr Kat Arney explores the life and complex legacy of JBS Haldane, whose work, writing and dominant personality made him ...
wheatfarmer lead

Podcast: ‘Greedy’ factory farms? Milk without cows; Vaccine for melanoma

Farms are larger today than ever before, but it's not because they're "greedy factory farms." Milk of the future might ...
Viewpoint: Promoting science with ideology — Pro-GMO vegans use animal rights advocacy to boost vaccine, biotech acceptance

Viewpoint: Promoting science with ideology — Pro-GMO vegans use animal rights advocacy to boost vaccine, biotech acceptance

Luis Ventura | Genetic Literacy Project |
The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that we are part of a living, evolving ecosystem and often at its mercy ...
breeding technology x x

GMO FAQs: What are CRISPR and other New Breeding Techniques (NBTs)?

GMO FAQs | Genetic Literacy Project |
Newer techniques that easily and accurately guide breeding of plants and animals, and help treat or prevent diseases, are revolutionizing ...
Gene-edited crops may be coming to Europe—if scientists can avoid the PR mistakes of the GMO debate

Gene-edited crops may be coming to Europe—if scientists can avoid the PR mistakes of the GMO debate

Once the UK left the EU, it would be free to invest in gene editing of crops and livestock to “feed ...