Top 6 Six
Censorship of biotech researchers? Geneticist Kevin Folta excluded from gardening workshop after orchestrated anti-GMO social media attacks
Folta says this incident is typical of the harassment biotech researchers have experienced at the hands of US-RTK and other ...
Exploring the havoc that can be unleashed by consumer ancestry tests
On what fraction of a human genome do the consumer DNA companies base these deductions that can shatter lives? ...
Tracing the birth of new languages—as older tongues fade away
Anthropologists and linguists are working to understand how complex systems of communication emerge—and what they reveal about how to keep ...
Do participants in genetics research studies have the right to know—or not know—about troubling DNA results?
Is it possible to know too much about our own genetic profile? ...
‘Dramatic’ skull chunk discovery could tell us more about the mysterious Denisovans
Fragments of a hominin skull add to the sparse collection from our obscure cousins ...
Have humans reached the end of evolution? Not under these 3 scenarios
Is natural selection still a major force in human evolution? Or have vaccines, water purification, modern medical care and other ...
Using genetic engineering to turn annual crops into perennials could bolster global food production
One of the ways we could increase yields--and improve sustainability--would be to convert key grain crops into perennials, allowing them ...
‘Creative misbehavior’: When ingenuity takes a dark turn
Misbehavior is a form of creative thinking ...
Predatort Part II: How predatory lawyers, activist scientists hijacked IARC—International Agency for Research on Cancer—for personal profit and ideological vanity
How the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has forsaken academic integrity and knowingly contributes to the Predatort litigation ...
Is gender identity fluid or fixed? What we know about other animals might help inform the debate.
Distinguishing between sex and gender is a vital first step in understanding gender identity ...
Yes, genes do shape our behavior, but in complicated ways
Are psychological traits definitely determined by genes? ...
Only 18% of people with breast and ovarian cancer genes knew they were carriers, study found. How can we make DNA screening work better?
New research shows that only 18% of those who tested positive for breast cancer genes knew they had them ...
Viewpoint: Developing nations face onslaught of ‘fake news’ targeting GMOs
A recent article co-authored by a prominent Malaysian economist propagated several popular myths about GMOs. A Malaysian scientist and communicator ...
Searching through diets, medications and supplements for the Holy Grail of weight loss. Hint: There is no panacea
A quick review of some of the most effective and ineffective approaches to weight loss ...
We’ve long neglected the human virome—now we need to figure out what all those viruses do
A continuous war is fought on our body surfaces, and we haven’t a clue who’s winning ...
Why you could be genetically programmed to respond to placebos
Confounding drug research, some people appear genetically programmed to believe the placebo they take during drug trials actually works ...
Onto the grill: But are consumers ready to embrace—and eat—lab-grown meat?
It’s been a busy summer for food-based biotech. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration made headlines when it approved the ...
Viewpoint: UN should reject a proposed ban on gene drives
A draft resolution would revise the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity to call on governments to "refrain from" releasing organisms containing engineered ...
Let’s say we can force the mosquito into extinction — should we do it?
Not many people like mosquitoes. So why not eliminate them? Newer techniques like CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing may make this possible ...
13 nations say it’s time to end ‘political posturing’ and embrace crop gene editing
Agricultural scientists have been excited about gene editing since it debuted several years ago. The technology dramatically cuts the time ...
Who benefits most from FDA’s ‘accelerated’ drug approvals? Patients or drugmakers?
Increasing reliance on this and other means of moving drugs quickly to market have many critics worried, given that drugmakers ...
‘Autonomous weapons’ based on artificial intelligence could change warfare—and why that’s worrisome
In a new book, an expert (and former U.S. Army Ranger) warns that the world is stumbling toward a scary ...
Viewpoint: It’s time to replace our fear-based genetic engineering regulations
In the early 1970s a group of scientists -- none involved in agriculture or food -- raised concerns about the ...
Why are humans so much smarter than other primates?
By counting the number of neurons in brains, one scientist revolutionized our view of why Homo sapiens and nonhuman primates ...
China’s adoption of GMO cotton launched 25-year decline in ‘hazardous’ pesticide use
China has experienced large and sustained reductions in pesticide use as a result of adopting GMO cotton, according to the largest-ever ...
Using synthetic biology to help humans adapt to a life on Mars
Synthetic biology could solve many problems that Mars colonization brings up ...
Why the ‘distorted memories’ of people with dementia are so important
As those with dementia lose their sense of reality, it can be helpful to validate their stories as they tell ...
