Tag: science

Scientists Create Early Embryos That Are Part Human, Part Monkey

For the first time, scientists have created embryos that are a mix of human and monkey cells.

The embryos, described Thursday in the journal Cell, were created in part to try to find new ways to produce organs for people who need transplants, said the international team of scientists who collaborated in the work. But the research raises a variety of concerns.

“My first question is: Why?” said Kirstin Matthews, a fellow for science and technology at Rice University’s Baker Institute. “I think the public is going to be concerned, and I am as well, that we’re just kind of pushing forward with science without having a proper conversation about what we should or should not do.”

Still, the scientists who conducted the research, and some other bioethicists defended the experiment.

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The hidden death toll of lockdown

Evidence-based medicine might sound like a tautology — what kind of medicine isn’t based on evidence? I’m afraid that you’d be surprised. Massive decisions are often taken on misleading, low-quality evidence. We see this all the time. In the last pandemic, the swine flu outbreak of 2009, I did some work asking why the government spent £500 million on Tamiflu: then hailed as a wonder drug. In fact, it proved to have a very limited effect. The debate then had many of the same cast of characters as today: Jonathan Van-Tam, Neil Ferguson and others. The big difference this time is the influence of social media, whose viciousness is something to behold. It’s easy to see why academics would self-censor and stay away from the debate, especially if it means challenging a consensus. Academics who are tenured, like me, don’t have to worry so much about people pulling strings above us. This is the importance of tenure; it allows academic freedom. In a crisis, when tempers run so high, you need a variety of views more than ever.

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A 75-Year-Old Warning about Those Who Say ‘Listen to the Science’

On his first day as president, Joe Biden, flanked by a portrait of Ben Franklin, called on the federal government to “advance environmental justice” and “be guided by the best science.”

In many ways, Biden’s words came as no surprise.

Throughout the 2020 campaign and after, Biden had often repeated the phrases “listen to the science” and “I believe in science,” presumably to contrast himself with his opponent.

Biden didn’t stop there, however. He included the mantra in one of the first executive orders he signed, noting that it would be his administration’s official policy to “listen to the science.”

The phrase seems harmless enough. The scientific method is highly trusted, and for good reason. It has been a boon to humanity and helped bring about many of the marvels of our modern world.

Yet distinguished thinkers new and old have warned us to proceed with caution when confronted with pleas to “listen to the science.”

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PEAK STUPID? “Woke” CNN now argues there’s no way to determine a baby’s sex at birth

Fake news giant CNN is lashing out against South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem for her signing of two executive orders that aim to fight back against the relentless onslaught of transgenderism.

According to CNN, it is “transphobic” to do anything other than “affirm” gender dysphoria as “normal,” whether that means allowing boys in girls’ locker rooms or feeding into the delusion that a man in drag is a “woman” just because he says he is.

CNN also says that there is no way to even know a baby’s sex after birth, despite the presence of one set of genitalia or another.

“It’s not possible to know a person’s gender identity at birth, and there is no consensus criteria for assigning sex at birth,” CNN maintains.

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