February 7, 2012
INVESTING IN SCIENCE
Genetic Jobs
The genetic testing industry, with its great potential to not only improve health care outcomes but also create jobs, is a prime example of a government investment with positive return.
Life Sciences, Health & Bioethics Articles
February 2, 2012
PODCAST
Legally Poisoned: How the Law Puts Us At Risk From Toxicants
We need to rethink the legal framework that allows new industrial chemicals to enter the market every day without being tested for potential health impacts on humans.
January 5, 2012
BIOETHICS
Sword and Shield: The Dual Uses of Pathogen Research
The complementarity of sword and shield, arrow and armor, bullet and vest, and bomb and shelter is represented today by engineered viruses and engineered immune systems.
December 22, 2011
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.
December 8, 2011
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.
BIOTECH INNOVATION
It’s the Century of Biology: Are the Candidates Listening?
A new report reviews the status of biotech innovation clusters across the country and the world. The report shows potential for biotech innovation and job creation in emerging clusters from Houston to Atlanta to Indianapolis if we can get the policy right.
December 1, 2011
BOOKS
Exclusive Excerpt from the Book ‘Open Wound’
Rooted deeply in historic fact, Dr. Jason Karlawish’s marvelous new book traces the peculiar career of 19th century clinician-turned-scientist Dr. William Beaumont, who became a scientific one-hit-wonder by exploiting the body of the man whose life he saved.
November 29, 2011
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
The Mouse Trap
Ever wonder how many mice have to die to produce one peer-reviewed medical journal article? Or one new drug? And how much can we really learn about human physiology from mice or other animal experiments anyway? Daniel Engber has authored an excellent, three-part expose at Slate that answers these and other questions about the animal research industry.
November 21, 2011
BIOETHICS
Diagnosing the ‘Personhood’ Problem: It’s in Your Brain
Why do we have trouble defining what a “person” is? The answer may lie in human evolutionary antiquity, writes Jonathan Moreno in a Huffington Post op-ed.
November 20, 2011
BIOPOLITICS
Stem Cell Tales from the Crypt
Arthur Caplan reports on a closed-door meeting at the Vatican, where Church leadership made it clear it will continue to throw its ethical might and even its money into the debate about where to get stem cells and how best to study them.
November 7, 2011
BIOETHICS
Embryos, Stem Cells, and ‘Personhood’ Initiatives
So-called “personhood” efforts that are active now in all 50 states represent an attack not only on women’s reproductive rights but also on science.
November 1, 2011
BIOETHICS
Should the New Anthrax Vaccine Be Tested on Children?
The challenges to testing a new anthrax vaccine on children probably outweigh the benefits, argues Arthur Caplan.
October 16, 2011
SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
Biopreparedness 10 Years After the Anthrax Attacks
Tom Daschle and Jonathan Moreno discuss how far we’ve come in our ability to respond to biological threats like the anthrax attacks that rocked the country ten years ago.
October 5, 2011
BIOETHICS
Why We Need to Be More Accepting of ‘Humanized’ Lab Animals
Many, including President Bush, have called for an end to human-animal hybrids, but these creatures are critical to medical research.
October 4, 2011
BIOETHICS
Britain Joins the Slog Through Stem Cell Vineyards
As Advanced Cell Technology Inc. receives approval from British authorities to conduct a human embryonic stem cell study in the U.K., Jonathan D. Moreno reminds us that such research can be a long, tiring slog.
September 14, 2011
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.
August 17, 2011
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.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Genes Are Still Patentable, Federal Appeals Court Rules
An appellate court reinstated Myriad Genetics exclusive rights to research two cancer-linked genes, leaving others researching these genes out in the cold.
July 28, 2011
STEM CELL RESEARCH
Misguided Stem Cell Legal Battle Comes to an End
Stem cell researchers around the country can finally go back to work knowing their jobs are safe now that the ruling prohibiting federal funding for embryonic stem cell research has been reversed.
July 18, 2011
BIOETHICS
Unnatural Selection
As prenatal screening for both medical and nonmedical traits becomes a serious possibility, we walk a moral tightrope between letting parents choose and upholding our societal standards of tolerance.
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Science, Innovation, and Competitiveness
Science Progress and American Progress's Doing What Works project teamed up to produce a set of policy proposals that the Obama administration and Congress can adopt to reinvest in the building blocks of American science, innovation, and economic competitiveness. Read the overview of the five reports.
What We Believe
Science Progress proceeds from the propositions that scientific inquiry is among the finest expressions of human excellence, that it is a crucial source of human flourishing, a critical engine of economic growth, and must be dedicated to the common good. Scientific inquiry entails global responsibilities. It should lead to a more equitable, safer, and healthier future for all of humankind.