Patents are the lifeblood of biotechnology, the force that motivates companies to develop innovative medical treatments and bring them to market. The trouble is that these patents must be enforced in a court system that isn’t set up to adjudicate highly technical matters—resulting in rulings that seem arbitrary or even scientifically suspect. Read the rest…
If nanny state critics want a fine example of regulation gone wild, they should look to the World Health Organization. The group’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has given us a reason to fire up our espresso machines by declaring that coffee does not cause cancer. But don’t celebrate too hard. The IARC also…
RealClearScience was launched in October 2010. The RealClear family, headed by founders John McIntyre and Tom Bevan, took a gamble and hired me, a freshly minted PhD in microbiology, to take the helm of a new science journalism website. I owe the beginning of my professional career to them, and I am happy to report…
The Journal of the American Medical Assn. recently published a very unusual article: a scientific study authored by a sitting president of the United States. That’s never happened before. Read the rest at the Los Angeles Times.
This article was originally posted on RealClearScience. The 2016 presidential election has been conspicuously light on substance, particularly on matters of science and policy. In an effort to provide some clarity to voters who place an emphasis on science, we have created a chart that scores the presumptive Republican and Democratic Party candidates on key…
Science is one of America’s most important strategic resources. With just 5% of earth’s population, we produce over 30% of the world’s science and lead the world in Nobel prizes. Now that Donald Trump has a realistic chance of becoming the 45th president of the United States, it’s time to ask: What would that mean…