Summary: In a paradigm shift, researchers found over 100 genes associated with schizophrenia risk operate primarily through their role in the placenta, rather than the developing brain. The research emphasizes…
Category: Genetics
Does GMO corn increase crop yields? More than 20 years of data confirm it does — and provides substantial health and safety benefits
While many studies show that genetically modified crops contribute to yield gains, GMO critics say that they don’t. Such claims, they say, are industry talking points drawn from industry-funded studies.…
Viewpoint: Here’s the wacky formula used by Environmental Working Group to stoke unwarranted fears about safe chemicals
The EWG study, published in Environmental Research, is a model. Rather than actually measure serum levels of PFOs [Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid], the group merely measured the quantity of PFOs in…
Personalized genetic cancer treatments key in increasing longevity and quality of life
Many people think of cancer as a single disease, and for many years the only treatment was to cut out tumor tissue that could be seen. However, the history of…
Viewpoint fact check: Honeybees aren’t disappearing and GMOs do not cause colony collapse disorder
Myth: The honeybees are disappearing Fact: In 2020 the EU had approximately 19 million honeybee hives, managed by 615,000 beekeepers. These hives altogether produced 275,000 tonnes of honey. Beekeeping is practiced…
Does the US rely too much on GMO crops? Hear from scientists and farmers in this FDA, EPA and USDA-produced video
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in collaboration with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) launched Feed Your Mind, a new Agricultural Biotechnology Education…
Are endocrine-disrupting chemicals causing a decline in fertility in men? Here’s how ideology corrupts evidence-based science
Attempts to make science conform to ideology have enjoyed a long and dispiriting history. For many centuries, religion was the main perpetrator, and scientists and philosophers who ran afoul of…
Here are 5 cool findings from a massive project on 240 mammal genomes
Citations N.S. Upham and M.J. Landis. Genomics expands the mammalverse. Science. Vol. 380, April 28, 2023, p. 359. doi: 10.1126/science.add2209. I. Gallego Romero. Seeing humans through an evolutionary lens. Science. Vol. 380, April 28,…
Viewpoint: Without glyphosate, critical wetlands and wildlife could be strangled by invasive plants
Almost two years ago, I wrote an article hoping “we are finally at a place when a few influential scientists with integrity will have the courage to speak out and demand…
Stress Rapidly Increases Biological Age, but Recovery Turns Back the Clock
Summary: Stress can cause rapid and transient increases in biological age, which can be reversed upon recovery, according to a new study. Using DNA methylation clocks, researchers found that stress…
