Science Progress | Where science, technology, and progressive policy meet

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS

Stay Awake, Comrades

The Chinese Army’s announcement of an alertness drug, dubbed “Night Eagle,” probably says more about China’s desire to expand its presence in the pharmaceutical industry than it says about China’s ability to develop truly novel drugs.

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

Is Science Getting Easier, Harder, or Both?

As we dig into the weeds of the nature of reality, reality is ever more stubborn about giving up its secrets. Answering the big questions will require new policies and new methods that are now only in the process of development.

BIOETHICS

“Brave New World” Turns 80

Huxley’s “Brave New World” remains a success not because of the accuracy of the technological future it foretells (indeed it misses the mark in many ways), but because of what it says about the longing for love and humanity in any age.

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

Tackling 21st-Century Tech Risks

From nanotech to biotech, we stand to benefit greatly from discoveries on the frontiers of technology. But there are risks too, and a bipartisan consensus on how to manage these technological risks in the 21st century is quietly emerging. One-size fits all is out. Evidence-based risk management is in.

BIOETHICS

Bird Flu Blues

The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity asked two leading life science journals not to publish certain details about experiments done on the bird flu virus to make it even more contagious and potentially deadly, citing public safety concerns.

BIOETHICS

Plan C Anyone? The Politics in Science

The federal decision to prevent teenagers from obtaining emergency contraception over the counter cuts to the core of the progressives idea that science should always trump politics.

BIOPOLITICS

Beyond Vaccine Politics to Biopolitics

Even in an election cycle that is dominated by the economy, feelings about cultural issues continue to be the most raw, especially where the power of modern medical science seems to conflict with tradition values. Welcome to the era of biopolitics.

NATIONAL SECURITY AND BIOETHICS

The Road to Abbotobad: The CIA in Your DNA

The CIA’s phony “hepatitis immunization” DNA gathering campaign in Abbottabad undermines not only U.S.-Pakistan relations but also the global polio eradication program and potentially our own public health.

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