Science & Society

It is clear from many discussions that there is a split between things people consider to be "natural" versus those that are the products of technology, or man-made.  Obviously no one would consider a computer to be natural, nor would anyone suggest that a tree is man-made.  These differences are intuitive. However as our scientific knowledge has increased, and we are able to engage the fundamental mechanisms that were previously only within the domain of nature, this distinction is getting smaller.  With genetic manipulation, is the product man-made or still natural?  It…

The biggest feel-good fallacy perpetuated by some in science media today is that "the right", whoever they are, is anti-science, while "the left", whoever they are, is pro-science.  It's exactly the opposite.  The right historically has been more pro-science than anyone since World War II, they just recently adopted more positions labeled anti-science as science academia skewed left. 40 years ago conservatives were the most pro-science of any group and 40 years ago there was also political parity in science academia; science was a politically agnostic endeavor for the common good,…

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka for – you guessed it- stem cell research. Or more specifically, “for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent". The announcement was unsurprising, as it was widely speculated that Yamanaka’s work on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and Gurdon’s early cloning experiments would be likely candidates for the prize. The dynamic duo had already shared the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award three years ago.   Dr. Gurdon earned the distinction of…

For some appliances, newer is not always better.  If you have an old dryer, you are better off not replacing it with an EnergyStar, more efficient model.  Unless you want to wait forever to dry your clothes, whereas newer refrigerators work better but people hold on to old ones just the same.  Around 1 in 4 Brits admit that they have at least one household appliance that is still in regular use in their home that is more than 25 years old. Many of the people surveyed said they had held on to the appliance to get as much value for their money as possible but some say it was…

Scientists are commonly portrayed as paragons of rationality, subsisting solely on fact-based evidence and hard data; what goes on behind laboratory doors is in large part a mystery to the general public. In the past several years, however, there have been several notable cases of scientific fraud exposed: in 2006, it was revealed that Hwang Woo Suk fabricated data in papers claiming that he had managed to extract stem cells from cloned embryos. At around the same time it was discovered that Norwegian researcher Jon Sudbo made up a study where he claimed that anti-inflammatory drugs reduced…

In my previous article, the fundamental equivalence of foods was discussed recognizing that there is a difference in assessing problems with the food, versus problems with food handling.  Moreover, much of the focus has been on the safety of these foods regarding human/animal consumption, however I would argue that there are much more serious problems that need to be addressed. Many of these problems have been examined in various articles and studies, although they are rarely brought together to establish the picture of the entire environment. Considering two of the primary genetic…

A 45-year meta-analysis of 240 science studies found that 'organic' processed food is the same in pesticides, the same in nutrition and a whole lot more expensive. "...there isn’t much difference between organic and conventional foods, if you’re an adult and making a decision based solely on your health,” said Dena Bravata, senior author of the paper and a physician at Stanford’s Center for Health Policy. Translation; you are a sucker financing a $29 billion industry. Basically, organic food is Big Ag. Meanwhile, a study in Europe found that, despite claims about being better for the…

The Affordable Care Act controversy rages on. In this week's BMJ, journalist Jeanne Lenzer says the basic assumption that US people don't have enough health care is misleading and in reality, Americans have too much - and that unnecessary care costs an estimated $800 billion per year. The article arrives as an international conference named 'Preventing Overdiagnosis' was announced for September, 2013 in the United States, hosted by The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice, in partnership with the BMJ, Consumer Reports and Bond University of Australia. The U.S…

Does clean air have a cost where it makes sense versus where it doesn't? What about human life in general?   Economists still try to create a metric and a group from the University of Chicago and MIT tackled the financial results of extensive environmental regulations, which have brought cleaner air and health improvements to the United States but also increased the cost of manufacturing and led to reduced industrial productivity along with outsourcing jobs. Some economists suggested that more and more regulations encourage companies to become more efficient, thus reducing costs at…

People who are either clueless or shills for anti-science hysteria insist 'something is better than nothing' when it comes to laws about food, and that we can just 'fix' it despite its flaws but we should go ahead and pass it if we care about what we eat. It's smart to reject such simplistic black or white thinking.  Especially in California. This state has too many problems to count and 'fix them' should be an easy concept, except the legislature and 64% of the population remain so one-sided in their thinking nothing ever gets fixed because it is an echo chamber. Believing yet another…