FINANCING INNOVATION
Michael Gurau, a frequent SP contributor covering the VC beat, recounts his four-hour session with Secretary Vilsack on what the government can do to bring risk capital to underserved rural regions.
AGRICULTURE
We need not be shy about expressing our ethical predilections in the realm of caring for animals but we should be cautious in presuming that those predilections are supported by science.
In order to feed a growing, hungry world amidst a warming climate, we have to produce more food. Solutions to the problem of how to increase crop yields include both ecology-based farming and biotechnology approaches. But how do we define [...]
AGRICULTURE
Crops yields must improve to feed a hungry planet amid global warming, but that will require more ecology-based farming and less biotechnology.
AGRICULTURE
Biotechnology can help the poor, but whether it will depends on people of good will taking the time to understand and consider the arguments in some detail.
WEISS'S NOTEBOOK
Whether by DNA manipulation or old-fashioned selective breeding, we engineer our food. Is it time to get over it?
LIFE SCIENCES AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Americans know that the future fortunes of the country rest on scientific and technological advances, so Mr. President, let’s take biomedical science policy seriously.
Milk and meat from cloned animals could be in the U.S. food supply, and the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture can’t detect it, says an FDA official, despite a USDA “voluntary moratorium.” But products from cloned animals may have been in the food supply for a while.
Recent reports indicate that Europeans seem to be moving towards acceptance of genetically modified foods, as long as they are properly labeled. Conflict surrounds discussions on GM crops, but there are many facets of the debate over these seeds.
The global food crisis is the result of many intersecting factors, and alleviating the current hardships and preventing future crises will require a multi-pronged slate of solutions, including additional investment in agricultural research to increase food production yields in a safe and transparent manner.
Two stories this week describe two different approaches to plant genetic resources. Tuesday, researchers from Washington University and Iowa State university announced a completed draft of the corn genome. The same day, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which will store seeds from around the world in the event of catastrophic loss, opened on a remote Norwegian island.
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.
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.