Top 6 Five
It started with rocks: How we developed belief, our ‘most creative and destructive’ ability
About 20 years ago, the residents of Padangtegal village in Bali, Indonesia, had a problem. The famous, monkey-filled forest surrounding ...
Podcast: Pesticides prevent cancer. Growing drugs in GMO plants; battling diabetes with CRISPR
Rapid advances in biotechnology could help prevent hundreds of thousands of diabetes deaths every year. Growing drugs in GMO plants ...
‘Sugar is the villain’: Biohacking and synthetic biology do battle against diabetes and heart disease
Here’s a look into the next generation of low-calorie sugar alternatives and continuous glucose monitoring systems set to change the ...
Understanding why the coronavirus can make some people so sick
Why is the coronavirus deadlier than the flu? ...
‘Denial, blame, and conspiratorial thinking’: Anti-vaxxers’ dangerous rhetoric during coronavirus pandemic
So far, the responses from major players wear down a familiar path of conspiratorial thinking and government mistrust ...
Podcast: Twisted history—The true story of how the DNA double helix was discovered
There's more to the story of the double helix than Watson and Crick. We unwind history to uncover some of ...
Gods of genetic engineering: With the end of ‘Homo sapiens naturalis’ approaching, what is our place in nature?
Our society has evolved so much, can we still say that we are part of Nature? If not, should we ...
Can genetics explain the degrees of misery inflicted by the coronavirus?
“The single biggest threat to man's continued dominance on the planet is the virus.” Joshua Lederberg, Nobel Prize in Physiology ...
Viewpoint: Coronavirus journal—Anatomy of a pandemic
The first case of what we now know to be COVID-19 was diagnosed on November 17, 2019 in Hubei province ...
‘Sophie’s Choice’ in the time of coronavirus: Deciding who gets the ventilator
Three otherwise healthy patients go to the emergency department with severe acute respiratory failure. Only one ventilator, required to sustain ...
In pursuit of coronavirus treatments and why we need to be cautious
It's impossible to keep up with entries at ClinicalTrials.gov that include the search term “COVID-19.” Last week when I posted Can ...
From hunger to profitable harvest: How GMO, CRISPR-edited plants can help curb $220 billion in annual crop losses
Innovations in plant genetics are inoculating vital food crops against devastating diseases ...
Podcast: Treating blindness with CRISPR; customized cancer drugs; Beyond Meat v. critics; saving bananas from extinction
As genetic engineering reshapes intimate aspects of our lives, is the public on board? ...
Party drug ‘ecstasy’ could be the answer to years of searching for a PTSD treatment
A once-rejected rave drug finds a new healing purpose ...
Podcast: How ‘anti-CRISPR’ viral proteins can fine-tune gene editing in medicine and agriculture
Researchers hope to exploit this viral countermeasure to regulate gene editing and minimize unintended mutations during the editing process ...
Salt tolerant plants are on the horizon – and critical to address the looming crisis of a shortage of arable farm land
An important study brings us one step closer to cultivating crops in previously infertile soil ...
New ‘DNA clock’ finds that if our genes had their way, humans would have a ‘natural’ lifespan of 38 years
A genetic “clock” lets scientists estimate how long extinct creatures lived ...
‘Monsanto on the attack’: How an aggressive defense contributed to the ‘dicamba debacle’
It's pretty clear that the ag industry has a problem. But what is the nature of it? ...
Plant-based meat critics say it’s not as healthy or sustainable as proponents claim. Let’s look at the nutrition and ecological science.
Education is not enough. Taste, cost, and convenience play dominant roles in shaping food choices ...
Does organic mean ‘pesticide free’? 5 things to know about the USDA organic label
Here's what you're actually getting for that 'organic' premium price ...
Fighting climate change by reprogramming yeast, bacteria to feast on carbon dioxide
An organism easily adapted to different environments and ready to consume any compound would be a valuable tool ...
What’s missing from claims that neonicotinoids are killing bees, birds and fish?
Criticism of pesticides is often undeserved -- and sometimes absolutely bizarre ...
Billion-year-old microbes could give us new food, fuel sources—if we can figure out how to use them
We can’t afford to let this potential biotech breakthrough go to waste ...
Viewpoint: How international anti-biotech activists manipulate year-old Mexican government to block crop GMO innovations
Mexico's leadership should not restrict crop biotechnology based on personal beliefs or scientific misinformation ...
Treating ‘suicidality’ as its own medical condition could spur research, better treatment options
There is no established method of identifying patients in immediate danger of attempting suicide. Some researchers are trying to change ...
Podcast: Epidemiologist Geoffrey Kabat explains how junk science gets published—and how to spot it in the headlines
Bad research can put people's lives at risk, so addressing problems with peer review is essential ...
Will CRISPR’s promise force the organic industry to reconsider its opposition to gene-edited crops?
In addition to better nutrition, CRISPR can produce foods with fewer 'inputs' than conventional and organic foods ...
