Huntington’s disease (HD) is notoriously deadly. No cure and high rates of heritability make it a death sentence not only for the individual diagnosed, but also for immediate family members. Huntington’s hides inside a person’s genotype, and generally expresses itself when a person reaches 30-50 years of age. It causes the loss of mental faculties and […]
Science
Worldwide Access to Insulin Falls Short
Type 1 Diabetes is a chronic condition that, with current technology and a strong education, is manageable, yet remains the eighth leading cause of death worldwide. In individuals with Type 1 Diabetes, the pancreas does not produce the insulin needed to allow sugar to enter the cells and produce energy. A diagnosis with diabetes used […]
The Seeds of a Failed Agricultural Revolution
The benefits of a globalized agricultural economy has been extolled much in the same way that most neo-liberal policies have been championed in recent decades. The advantages, mostly economic, are often framed in the context of the efforts of developing countries to integrate themselves into an increasingly global trade system. Nowhere has this discussion on […]
Sustainable Development Goals and the Private Sector
Saving the world is going to cost us a lot of money. Many people working in development, realizing this cold hard truth, have noticed the private sector – protecting troves of resources and piles of moneybags. The solution becomes clear, and the problems associated with it even clearer: can the goals of the private sector […]
Schizophrenia and the Genetic Question
On September 15th, the American Journal of Psychiatry published a study from a group of scientists at Washington University in St. Louis, led by researcher C. Robert Cloninger, claiming that the mental disease schizophrenia is actually eight distinct disorders, as evidenced by eight different genetic origins. The study claims that though each disorder is expressed […]
Seeing the Light: Solar Power’s Bright Future
Consumers and industries around the world are using increasingly creative ways to capture solar power. The International Energy Agency predicted that solar energy could be the world’s largest source of electricity by mid-century. However, the US lags far behind other countries in the race for solar energy. Studies have suggested that solar power will account […]
The Violence of Climate Change
In the popular imagination, global climate change is often portrayed as a force that brings with it chaotic, violent human responses. Societies are thrown into disarray. Countries go to war over water or food shortages. To many people, the prospect of global warming is apocalyptic. But what will actually happen? The scientific debate over the […]
An Argument for Drones
Over the past thirteen years, America’s “War on Terror” has raised concerns about the Executive Branch’s actions in waging such a war. As the war moves into its second decade, American military actions have become increasingly clandestine. Never has this been more clear than the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones. Highly debated for […]
Blinded by the Light
On a semi-clear night, an observer with fairly good vision should be able to see over 7,000 stars. But that spectacular sight requires darkness, an increasingly rare condition in our modern society. A cloud of light hovers above most of the United States, nearly all of Europe, and all of Japan. Light pollution is said […]
The Legal Battle Over GMOs
Walking into a grocery store, a consumer can learn just about any nutritional fact her heart desires– from percent daily iron levels to relative content of monocalcium phosphate–with the flip of a package. And yet, it is nearly impossible to discern exactly which foods contain genetically modified components. The Institute for Responsible Technology defines genetic […]