Yes, you read that right: the newest form of pest control relies on no chemicals, no spraying, no inserted proteins, and no risk for species we aren’t trying to target. This new method uses what’s called “RNA interference,” which is when double-stranded RNA is
A site run by a friendly and reasonably honest woman I know recently reposted a text titled “The Man Who Created AIDS: Robert Gallo.” The text went super-viral, over 80,000 shares on Facebook alone. Once I read it, I was aghast at how much misinformation and
To catch up anyone who didn’t know, we are in the middle of a mass extinction (with extinction rates approximately 1000x above background rates). According to an ongoing and wide-reaching population study encapsulating over 10,000 populations over 40 years: we have lost about 52%
We live in a modern world full of reasonably advanced medical technology and disease treatment. So, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you’re more likely to be killed machines rebelling against the human race than a disease like the bubonic plague or syphilis. You might be be
A new study published in Biological Bulletin by Julie A. Schwartz, Nicholas E. Curtis, and Sidney K. Pierce found something otherwise thought impossible within the animal kingdom: genes important to photosynthesis were found on the chromosomes of an animal, the green sea slug (Elysia chlorotica). These sea
Human experiments have been around since there were scientists, although not every human experiment was actually carried out by scientists. Whereas today we have ethics commissions which decide whether or not you can do medical research on monkeys and even rats, this is a relatively
The roots of the organic movement lay in the hope of using fewer pesticides and reducing ecological impacts. When this movement decided to hide the pesticides that they use, and when it became an enemy of far more targeted techniques than the radiation (mutation
Most of the time, mental illness and neurodegenerative diseases are confined to mind and body of the afflicted… but there is an exception to almost every rule. The exception to this rule is called the prion, but most of you may know it as
If I hear someone say “GMO ingredient” one more time, my head will probably explode in cloud of neural fireworks. When someone thinks that sugar or insulin from a genetically modified organism is somehow different from sugar or insulin from another source, I am
Research has been underway to harness the power of bacteria and turn it into electrical power since at least 2006. Originally performed with fuel cells, this technology has evolved to using plants as “carbon donors” which put sugars into the soil, which are then
