Top 6 Two
Absolut failure: Kansas farm family takes stand against fear-based non-GMO vodka marketing
I don’t throw the word hero around very often, but in this case the cape fits. Out on the vast ...
Quick FDA approval of GMO human insulin 36 years ago contrasts with today’s biotechnology regulatory sclerosis
This week marked the 36th anniversary of one of biotechnology’s most significant milestones—the approval by the FDA of human insulin ...
Why ending muscle wasting matters for curing cancer
Deterioration of muscle is the cause of death in many diseases, like cancer, but no treatments address this lethal symptom ...
Viewpoint: How anti-GMO activist-journalist Carey Gillam primes the glyphosate litigation pump
The Guardian published an article by Sam Levin and Carey Gillam [on October 7] about the “new era of cancer lawsuits ...
Defining life: If it’s created in a lab, is it really alive?
Describing life is difficult and evasive. Will we fully understand life if we can create it through synthetic biology? ...
Viewpoint: Why consumer DNA tests are more dangerous than you might think
Commercial DNA testing isn’t just harmless entertainment. It’s keeping alive ideas that deserve to die ...
Can a DNA test prove you are black? This man is suing the government to find out
In 2014, Ralph Taylor applied to have his insurance company in Washington State certified as a “disadvantaged business enterprise.” The DBE ...
Viewpoint: No, wild bees haven’t been decimated by neonicotinoids, glyphosate
Bees and pesticides (and not just insecticides) have been the focus of activists and scientists alike, particularly since a 2006-2008 ...
When is it time for a scientist to call out peers over questionable research?
Sooner or later, every researcher is likely to wonder: What’s the best way to address faulty or misleading information in ...
How John Oliver was duped by the fringe anti-science advocacy groups USRTK and the Organic Consumers Association
Sometimes it's difficult to know who is defending science and who is more concerned about identity politics and cheap laughs ...
With glyphosate-cancer legal battles poised to escalate, what are the ramifications for agriculture if the herbicide is restricted?
Now that a jury in San Francisco has decided that exposure to Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) was responsible for California groundskeeper ...
Prominent anti-GMO NGOs and organic businesses partnered with Russia to ‘smear’ American agriculture
It's no secret that although the Internet has vastly improved our lives in many respects, it has downsides — less ...
Defining gender and questioning the need for a ‘level playing field’ in elite athletics
The context surrounding the study of the impact of testosterone on elite athletes is essential in understanding its underlying hypothesis ...
When antidepressants fail: Are we looking at a new kind of depression?
Depression is one of the most frequently diagnosed mental illnesses, with an estimated 15 percent of the global adult population ...
Viewpoint: Why turning down 23andMe’s genetic testing was right for separated immigrant families
23andMe offered to genetically test undocumented migrants. Fortunately, some smart people said “no, thanks.” ... RAICES Texas, one of the ...
Using CRISPR to block production of HIV in infected cells
Contracting HIV is no longer the death sentence that it was in the 1980s and early 90s. The first cases ...
A view from CRISPRcon: Hope, promise and ‘an unmistakable sense of urgency’
The title of this article is partially borrowed from a fascinating Lightning Presentation delivered by John Doench of Broad Institute ...
Can the Egyptian fruit bat’s unusual genome show us how to fight deadly Marburg virus?
The Egyptian fruit bat's immune system enables it to peacefully co-exist with Marburg virus, which can cause a swiftly deadly ...
Uganda’s scientists strive to use biotechnology to solve agricultural, health and environmental challenges
It is morning time, we are in a hotel based at the center of Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, ...
Debating the need for genetic engineering of humans—there’s ‘nothing special’ about our DNA
One day in early spring, I received a unique email. Would I accept an invitation from Oxford University’s student debate ...
Are we in danger of losing blue-eyed redheads? Not likely
For every 100 people in the world, only one or two will have red hair. And when you meet a ...
Genetic privacy and the case of the Golden State Killer—diving into the science
Consumer DNA testing companies are rushing to reassure customers about the security of their genetic information following news that DNA ...
Protein therapy in the womb overrides genetic glitch hampering teeth development, ability to sweat
Imagine a fetus gulping in amniotic fluid and drinking a drug that restores the ability to form teeth, sweat glands ...
Analyzing Kevin MacDonald’s ‘Culture of Critique’ and the alt-right’s embrace of anti-Jewish ideology
The biblical commentator Rashi observes that in order for a falsehood to be successful, it has to contain at least ...
Making sense of the patchwork US regulatory system for genetically engineered crops and animals
The faster-growing genetically engineered AquaAdvantage Salmon took 20 years of regulatory scrutiny to gain approval, while the non-browning gene-silenced Arctic ...
Viewpoint: Why the USDA decided not to over-regulate CRISPR crops—and what it means for agriculture’s future
On 28 March, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue announced that “USDA does not regulate or have any plans to regulate plants that could ...
Space astronaut twin’s DNA ‘changed’? How some reports botched the story, and what we really know
When the Today Show reported on March 15 that the DNA of Scott Kelly, who spent a year on the ...
