Genetic Literacy Project
Viewpoint: The U.S. Congress needs to dramatically and quickly overhaul its regulation of agricultural biotechnology
Since the 1986 release of the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology almost 40 years ago, there have been two ...
Viewpoint—Chemophobia: The alliance of environmental activists and lawyers
From tampons to tap water, from cereal boxes to vaccines, nearly every modern health scare rests on the same myth: ...
Quirks of evolution: Human vs ape testicle size and why we are the only animal with chins
The human body is a machine whose many parts – from the microscopic details of our cells to our limbs, ...
Viewpoint: Misrepresentation by journalists and activists of the science of chemicals, processed food, and fossil fuels is corroding America’s future
In 50 years from now, our great-grandchildren will study how affluent societies in the 2020s willfully threw out advanced technologies ...
Tripping through loopholes: Ketamine, Musk and America’s regulation blackout
After trying unsuccessfully to treat his depression with medication over several decades, Noel Farris, a 43-year-old web developer based in ...
Our ancestors balanced eating and fasting as a survival mechanism. It still has benefits today
Ever worried that skipping breakfast might leave you foggy at work? Or that intermittent fasting would make you irritable, distracted ...
GLP podcast: Cookies addictive like heroin? Toxicologist dismantles ‘food addiction’
Enjoying delicious food is a fundamental part of the human experience. Few of us would deny the enjoyment we get ...
The link between signature size and narcissism. What does President Trump’s signature say
For years, Donald Trump’s distinctive, large and bold signature has captured the public’s attention. Not only did it recently come ...
An effective safety net for vaccines and the people who need them—and why RFK Jr. is poised to cut it
For nearly four decades, Americans who believe they have been harmed by a vaccine have had access to a little-known ...
How tasty does dinner look? How healthy? Our brains work this out faster than conscious thought
Imagine you’re at the grocery store, standing before a selection of snacks. Seemingly without thinking, you skip over the rice ...
Challenging misinformation: No, Mr. Kennedy, fragments of DNA do not persist in the body
People are still debating whether the mRNA from COVID-19 vaccines remains in the body longer than it should. Some say ...
About “genetic losers” and “mad genes”: My encounter with one of the most brilliant and controversial scientists of the genome era
The recent death of James Watson, co-discoverer with Francis Crick of the three-dimensional structure of the genetic material DNA, brought ...
Power, culture, and identity: How did milk get caught in the crosshairs of the culture wars
Milk is one of the most familiar things in the world – comforting, wholesome, ordinary. But beneath this common perception ...
Viewpoint—Toxic Narratives: The lucrative environmentalist–tort lawyer-media disinformation network driving drug and chemical scares
Is aspartame, used in thousands of products, from Diet Coke to Trident Gum to Log Cabin Sugar-Free Syrup, potentially cancer-causing? ...
GLP podcast: Evolutionary biologist debunks the ‘sex spectrum’
The science is settled: biological sex is not a spectrum but a binary, and the evidence is undeniable to anyone ...
mRNA is ground zero in RFK, Jr. and MAHA’s war on expertise
We messaged each other with just three words: "Did you see?" We both knew what the other meant. After years ...
Viewpoint: Race and sex: The danger of oversimplifying the spectrum of human differences
In 2021, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz compared critical race theory — an academic subfield that examines the role of racism in American institutions, laws, ...
With global temperatures rising, it’s time to take a fresh look at geoengineering. Is it feasible and affordable?
In July 2012, a renegade American businessman, Russ George, took a ship off the coast of British Columbia and dumped ...
Can you really become addicted to food?
People often joke that their favorite snack is “like crack” or call themselves “chocoholics” in jest. But can someone really ...
Viewpoint: Tort lawyer and HHS Secretary RFK, Jr. falsely claim thimerosal—used safely in vaccines for 90 years—contains dangerous mercury
RFK Jr. released a video addressed to the Minamata Convention on Mercury where he lied about vaccines. Again. And again ...
The emerging state-by-state patchwork of food additive bans raises concerns among food regulatory scientists
A coalition of major food companies and industry associations launched Americans for Ingredient Transparency (AFIT), aimed at stopping the growing trend ...
Viewpoint: Newly-formed non-profits are the ‘dark money’ foundation of the activist environmental movement
Time was that non-profits were funded by their membership dues or individual donations, loose change drums at airports and clipboard ...
GLP podcast: Obesity—Disease or Choice? Ozempic’s Triumph Reignites the Debate
US obesity rates are falling from a record high after steadily climbing since the 1960s, dropping to 37 percent this ...
Viewpoint: Do chemicals in common plastics really kill
Three hundred fifty thousand of you are predicted to die every year from heart disease caused by exposure to plastics, ...
Is Vitamin D the anti-aging pill we’ve been looking for?
Vitamin D supplements could help protect the caps on our chromosomes that slow ageing, sparking hopes the sunshine vitamin might ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr. and vaccines — here’s what a prominent physician says he gets dangerously wrong
In the months since he began serving as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy ...
California takes on the thorny challenge to define what constitutes a nutritious lunch for school children. How is it doing?
California has once again stepped to the front of the regulatory line—this time in the school cafeteria. While Washington dithers ...
Treating Huntington’s
During my neurology rotation as a medical student, one of my first patients was in the middle stage of much-dreaded ...
