Washington Post
How the AIDS epidemic came to be
The common narrative holds that the spread of HIV and AIDS among humans can be traced back to one flight ...
Is organic grass-fed beef healthier than grain fed?
Almost always, when I talk to scientists and farmers about food supply issues — whether it’s farm size, organic methods, ...
Obama wants single food safety agency
To understand America’s fragmented food safety inspection system, consider a slice of frozen pizza. The pepperoni is examined by the ...
Washington Post: Denying scientific consensus on GMOs victimizes developing countries
But the biggest gap between public opinion and scientific consensus in the United States is not in the realm of ...
Are genomically recoded organisms needed to keep GMOs on a leash?
Let’s talk about the latest news. Last week we reported on two papers in Nature describing breakthrough techniques in modifying ...
Is there a scientific basis to the paleo diet?
The problem with modern diets is that they rely too heavily on modern, processed foods. If only we emulated the ...
GMO American chestnut tree unique among GM innovations
It was nearly 400 years ago that the Pilgrims sat down with the Wampanoag to share the feast that is ...
Lactose tolerance evolved much later than previously believed
As early humans shifted from hunting and gathering to agriculture, their genomes shifted, too. But according to new research, the ...
Do patents limit GMO research and farmers choice? Only a little
A 1980 Supreme Court decision that allowed patents to be granted to living things kicked off a controversy. The basic ...
Genetic factors make women more susceptible to Alzheimer’s disease than men
Years ago, many scientists assumed that a woman’s heart worked pretty much the same as a man’s. But as more ...
Moving closer to GM cup of coffee
A consortium of scientists announced in Science that they've sequenced the coffee genome for the first time. By determining all of the ...
Both small and large farms are needed for ‘optimal’ sustainable farming system
Small farms are inefficient but are more likely to grow healthful foods and might be more environmentally friendly, while large ...
Lobby money flows into Oregon as GMO labeling vote nears
Oregon’s food fight is just getting started. A ballot measure that would require the labeling of genetically modified foods has ...
Japanese scientist who oversaw retracted stem cell paper found dead in laboratory
On July 2, a taciturn but brilliant Japanese stem-cell scientist named Yoshiki Sasai wrote a plaintive letter in which he expressed profound remorse ...
Birds come from ‘fastest-evolving’ dinosaurs
If almost all dinosaurs had feathers, as recent studies have indicated, what determined which ones would evolve into birds? According to new ...
Plant-based, animal-free cow’s milk soon to be reality with GM yeast
Biohackers Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi are working on crafting a plant-based concoction that’s nearly identical in makeup to what’s ...
Will consumers accept GM yeast that could save our oceans?
Scientists at DuPont have genetically modified a yeast to produce a long-chain omega-3 fatty acid, essential to human health and ...
Most responsible, sustainable agricultural system is hybrid of organic, conventional and GMO
Amy Hepworth, an organic farmer in New York’s Hudson Valley, also believes in the importance of soil health and working ...
Washington Post joins liberal pubs endorsing GMO safety, role feeding hungry, rejecting labels
Over the past year, the editorial boards of a number of major liberal US publications have endorsed the safety of ...
Genetics make some people more vulnerable to repetitive brain injury
Scientists studying head injuries have found something surprising: Genes may make some people more susceptible to concussion and trauma than ...
Vermont’s GMO labeling law could face legal challenges on three grounds
Expect two things to happen now that Vermont’s legislature has passed H.112. Any day now, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) is expected ...
Marker-assisted DNA screening results in new super hybrid crops in record time
Alan Krivanek, a tomato breeder for Monsanto, dons a white protective suit, wipes his feet on a mat of disinfectant ...
Microbiome imbalances may impact seasonal allergies
When we think of allergies, we typically think of the itchy eyes and sneezing fits that are the hallmark of ...
How to dance to show off your genes–and catch a woman’s eye
Want to show off your excellent genetics on the dance floor? Well, biologists have figured out which dance moves are ...
US grants a patent for fradulent stem cell creation method
The 2004 results of Korean scientist Hwang Woo-suk's stem cell creation method were fake, but the U.S. Patent office granted ...
Is it time to take DNA samples from felony arrestees in Utah?
On Monday, I had the chance to testify before Utah’s House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee in support of ...
Genes predispose some toward violence
Brown university professor of political science Rose McDermott has a fascinating guest post over at Political Violence @ a Glance: ...
Ancient amber encases animals and DNA
In the 1993 film “Jurassic Park,” miners discover a mosquito entombed in a red-yellow substance, supposedly carrying the DNA of ...
