COVID-19 in Context: A Retrospective View
A look at the state of knowledge when Covid-19 started its spread, and some of the questionable choices made despite that.
Read more...Category Archives: Science and the scientific method
Cuts to U.S. Weather and Climate Research Could Put Public Safety at Risk
Weather and climate research are yet more examples of how the DOGE slash and burn can and probably will do real harm.
Read more...‘Make America Healthy Again’ by Transforming Animal Agriculture
Will RFK, Jr., tackle the many health-harming the practices around industrial animal farming?
Read more...The Golden Goose: The Consequences of Trump’s War on American Universities
A bug or a feature? The Trump plan to cap NIH/NSF grant indirect overheads is a gut punch to the economics of top universities.
Read more...KLG: The Engineering Ideal in Biology and Its Utility or Disutility
How the engineering ideal in biology, already taken further than is realistic, has become a foundation for the quest for eternal life.
Read more...KLG: “If the Overhead Cuts to NIH and NSF Grants Go Through Without Changes, Academic Biomedical and Other Research in the US Will Crumble into Dust”
Why the Musk attack on NIH and NSF funding formulas will eviscerate US medical research.
Read more...Fake Papers Are Contaminating the World’s Scientific Literature, Fueling a Corrupt Industry and Slowing Legitimate Lifesaving Medical Research
Why the problem a rising level of bogus scientific papers exists in the first place and is proving difficult to combat.
Read more...Medical Research Depends on Government Money – Even a Day’s Delay in the Intricate Funding Process Throws Science Off-Kilter
NIH funding is a case study of how the Trump wreaking ball will damage medical research and undermine US leadership in medicine.
Read more...Evaluating the Risks of Engineered Viruses and Bacteria, aka ‘Mirror Life’
Scientists seem unduly casual about the threats posed by engineered bacteria and viruses that are chemical mirror images of natural ones
Read more...As Biolabs Multiply Globally, Some Experts Worry About Oversight
India’s policymakers have ambitious plans for pathogen research. Can biolab safety infrastructure keep up?
Read more...The Rise in Early-Onset Cancers: Their Origins and What to Do About Them
Cancers among the young have risen so much that some experts have called it an epidemic. What are the probable causes and preventatives?
Read more...For Science That Comes With Risks, a Key Question: Who Decides?
From pathogen research to geoengineering and AI, consequential science is accelerating. Whose hands are on the wheel?
Read more...Climate Change Is Making Plants Less Nutritious − That Could Already Be Hurting Animals That Are Grazers
More hidden than rising seas or heatwaves, long-term changes in the nutritional value of plants could be even more disruptive.
Read more...A Tale of Two Pandemics
A look at two pandemics, HIV and COVID-19, shows how much public health has suffered due to the advance of neoliberalism.
Read more...Trump’s Picks for Top Health Jobs Not Just Team of Rivals but ‘Team of Opponents’
If confirmed, RFK, Jr. will have key subordinates with some views opposed to his. What might this mean for health policy?
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