Top 6
Is tilapia a human-made freak that we should avoid — or an evolutionary rockstar?
Posts were appearing on my Facebook feed warning against the dangers of eating tilapia. So I decided to do a ...
Are we facing an ‘Insect Apocalypse’ caused by ‘intensive, industrial’ farming and agricultural chemicals? The media say yes; Science says ‘no’
The media call it the “Insect Apocalypse”. In the past few years, the phrase has become an accepted truth of ...
Viewpoint: Do we have to give up beef to limit climate change?
Are cows really a major cause of climate change? Wealthy nations are not pushing people to switch to a plant-based ...
Groundbreaking pineapple-flavored spray vaccine could prevent urinary tract infections for up to 9 years
A breakthrough almost decade-long study of a spray vaccine offers promise for billions of women who suffer from urinary tract ...
Nature’s lost scents: Perfumes made to replicate extinct plants provide an olfactory glimpse into the past
“Meet Invisible Woods: a clean, refreshing scent revived from extinct flower DNA,” beneath an image of “origin flower” Wendlandia angustifolia ...
Yet another anti-vax doctor claims vaccines ‘shed’. Where did this myth originate?
It’s been too short a time since I last wrote about the antivaccine myth of “shedding,” particularly in the context of ...
Are GMOs causing an increase in allergies?
The potential for allergies from foods with genetically modified ingredients is no higher than that in any food, including organics ...
Viewpoint: ‘Enemy of Science’ — Friends of the Earth renews its organic industry-funded campaign against GM crops
In 1969, a fellow who felt that the eugenicist founders of Sierra Club were not militant enough in their war ...
‘Race’, anti-racism and biology
Using biology to determine the racial ancestry of human remains is racist. Except when it’s done in the name of ...
Video viewpoint: Humans as frogs? Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. claims that unsubstantiated but perceived rise in male sexual dysphoria is driven by atrazine in our water supply
Conspiracy nut Robert Kennedy, Jr. is desperately trying to convince the American voting populace that he is indeed a serious ...
Gametes? Embryo? Fetus? There are 17 timepoints when a human life might begin
I wish that I could stop reposting this essay – I do so whenever limitations on women’s reproductive rights become ...
Viewpoint: US regulators are not keeping up with lightning-fast advances in biotechnology. How can that gap be closed?
Improved crop genetics can help protect crops from pests and disease, reduce food waste, increase yields, limit deforestation, and decrease agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. Improvements in ...
Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen Deception: No, your fruit and vegetables are not ‘soaked’ with pesticides
In supermarket conversations (and yes, I do have them) people are scared to death about their fruits and vegetables. I ...
Curious what chickens cluck about? AI is decoding the language of poultry
Understanding chickens' vocalizations can transform our approach to poultry farming, enhancing their welfare and quality of life ...
Parents’ Bill of Rights: Vaccine wars heat up in states allowing exemptions for schoolchildren
Gayle Borne has fostered more than 300 children in Springfield, Tennessee. She’s cared for kids who have rarely seen a ...
CRISPR gene editing applications are expanding dramatically in agriculture. Here are the latest advances
In the past decade, after the release of CRISPR-Cas9 as a genome-editing tool, it has revolutionized biological research. CRISPR and ...
Viewpoint: The Environmental Working Group’s “Dirty Dozen” list is a danger to public health put out by an organic industry funded activist group
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an anti-science activist organization ...
Tales from the front lines in the ‘vaccine wars’: Review of Peter Hotez’s Book, ‘The Deadly Rise of Anti-Science’
“If I don’t write this or stand up for vaccines, then who will?” That is what motivates the activism of ...
Costa Rica revises its biotechnology regulations, dropping restrictions on gene editing and other New Breeding Techniques
Industry experts say a November 11, 2023, update to the Costa Rican biotechnology regulatory framework facilitates utilization of innovative biotechnologies ...
Treating tinnitus: FDA approves first device to reduce ear ringing
Tinnitus is a perceived sound that only you can hear. It might be a ringing, buzz, or tone. It arises ...
Viewpoint: Do you believe in magic? Many nutritional supplements are impure, ineffective, unsafe — and unregulated. That needs to change
Herbal dietary supplements (also known as nutritional supplements, but correctly called botanicals), once dismissed as hippie fare, are now widely ...
Genetic embryo screening for health issues and IQ inch closer to reality. Here’s a primer on what you can expect
The world of IVF has introduced a host of ethical quandaries. For now, Alabamians will be spared grappling the latest, ...
Addiction rewires the brain on a genetic level. As we learn more, new avenues for treatment come into focus
Addictive substances like alcohol and drugs can overwhelm the natural reward pathways in your brain, resulting in reduced impulse control ...
False dawn or new dawn for genetically engineered crops in the European Union?
It's going to be a long and difficult journey before the fate of the European crop biotechnology reform bill passed ...
How gene editing could rescue virus-devastated global papaya crop
Plant viruses are formidable adversaries when it comes to producing high yielding crops, causing significant harm to global agriculture, and ...
Viewpoint: BPA and phthalate hysteria — Venturing out of its knowledge zone, ‘Consumer Reports’ launches anti-chemical tirade on plastic food packaging
If you want advice on which coffee maker or space heater to buy, Consumer Reports (CR) is where you go ...
Viewpoint: Environmental Working Group’s manufactured ‘dangerous levels of chlormequat in oat cereals’ study underscores the ‘risk perception gap’
The number of messages I received from people, mostly parents, who said they had been terrified to feed their children ...
