COVID-19 'Lab Leak' Origin Theory Merits Further Investigation, Says New WHO Report
But the Chinese government continues to stonewall independent investigations.
Science
Destroying Islamic Fundamentalism With Books
Ideas Beyond Borders is bringing ideas about pluralism, civil liberties, and critical thinking to hotbeds of Islamic extremism.
The FDA Completely Botched Its Response to the Baby Formula Shortage
Plus: Resurrecting an extinct tiger, reviewing the police response to the Uvalde shooting, and more...
The Slaughter-Free Future of Cultured Meats
Real factories are beginning to replace factory farms.
Civilization Runs on Ammonia, Plastic, Steel, and Cement—for Now
Vaclav Smil’s How the World Really Works offers hope and despair for techno-optimists.
America's Nuclear Reluctance
The first innovative nuclear reactors designed by American companies may well begin operation in Eastern Europe before they get built in Idaho.
How 'Cranks' Advance Science
A major lesson of the pandemic is that science is "not a priesthood," says Dr. Jeffrey A. Singer, a general surgeon and senior fellow at the Cato Institute.
Facing Fauci's Fury: Q&A with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
The Stanford professor and Great Barrington Declaration coauthor stands up to COVID-19 autocrats and disastrous lockdowns by following the science.
The Feds Spent $22 Million Researching Invisibility Cloaks, UFOs, and a Tunnel Through the Moon
However wonderful it is to imagine a world in which these things are possible, the government shouldn’t be shelling out millions to entertain speculation.
Weather Is Not Climate. Or Is It?
For years, experts warned that any given hurricane or heat wave cannot be attributed to long-term changes in average temperatures. But it turns out that climatologists and meteorologists sometimes can establish such causal relationships.
The Fake-Meat Revolution Has Stalled
Consumer trends suggest a meatless near future is increasingly unlikely.
The American Medical Association Should Help Patients. Instead, It's Policing Language.
Protectionist policies are why the U.S. has few physicians and high prices.
That Study of Face Masks Does Not Show What the CDC Claims
The agency further undermines its credibility by desperately trying to back up conclusions it has already reached.
China's Old Climate Promises Are 'New' Again
The Glasgow Declaration's empty platitudes confirm that China will not be hectored by the U.S. into making any significant changes to its climate policies.
If This Is How America COMPETES, We're Going to Lose
Plus: College students and speech, state-funded pre-K fail, and more...
The CDC Is Finally Acknowledging That N95 Respirators Work Better Than Cloth Masks
Why did it take so long?
One Step Closer to Kidney Transplants From Pigs
Researchers are making great progress overcoming the problems that have long plagued attempts at xenotransplantation.
Rochelle Walensky Said an Antigen Test Is a Good Tool for 'Judging Infectiousness.' Now She Says 'Its Information Will Not Be Useful.'
The CDC director's explanation of her agency's confusing advice about home COVID-19 testing is hard to understand.
It's COVID Year 3 and the CDC Is Still Confused and Confusing
Plus: Conspiracy theory research, student loan forgiveness, and more...
RIP, 'Pandemic of the Unvaccinated'
Farewell to a Biden White House messaging strategy that was terrible long before Omicron
The CDC Director's Slippery Response to Criticism of School Mask Mandates Further Undermines Her Agency's Credibility
Rochelle Walensky willfully ignores the weaknesses of a study she repeatedly cited to justify "universal masking" of students.
Why Does Bernie Sanders Think Billionaires Should Get Out of Space?
Today's highly successful space race "is not something for two billionaires to be directing," says Sanders, who favors the government spending taxpayer money to do the same damn thing (but more slowly).
Nicholas Christakis: How To End the Covid Pandemic
Misinformation and bad policy can only be defeated by robust, open debate in the public square.
There Would Be a Lot More Good News if Government Would Get Out of the Way
"The quality of life we have even during COVID is so much higher than anything humanity experienced, and it's only going to get better."
Steven Pinker: Rationality Saves Lives
The Harvard linguist says Enlightenment reasoning is central to both material and moral progress.
The Last Duel Is More Than a Medieval #MeToo
Ridley Scott's jousting film is also a slyly subversive take on cultural perspectives.
Can Antibiotic Goop and an Army of Divers Save Florida's Ailing Coral Reefs?
How an innovative collaboration could help bring back America's only barrier reef from the brink of destruction.
FDA Vaccine Approval Delays Are Deadly
The vaccines seem to be working well, but the FDA isn't.
40 Ways Things Are Getting Better
"What has gotten materially better in America in, say, the last twenty years?" So! Much!
The CDC's Framing of Homicide and Suicide As 'Public Health' Issues Provides Cover for Biden's Gun Control Agenda
The agency returns to a research area where it has caused much controversy in the past.
A New York Times Reporter Claims Americans Distrust the Government's COVID-19 Advice Because They Don't Understand How Science Works
If so, public health officials have compounded the problem with disingenuous arguments, dubious policy shifts, and misleading statements.
Plastic, Perfected
Researchers have developed a promising and "infinitely recyclable" plastic called polydiketoenamine.
Is Face Mask Skepticism Beyond the Pale?
A rational debate requires acknowledging both the strengths and the weaknesses of the scientific evidence.
Resist De Blasio's Vaccine Passport
De Blasio's dataless call to create a class of citizens barred from civic life is an intolerable imposition on New Yorkers' liberties.
The U.S. Is Trying To Keep Out Mexicans Who Want To Sell Their Blood Plasma
Paid plasma donation is a financial lifeline for Mexican donors and a medical lifeline for plasma-dependent patients.
AOC Says Amazon Abuses Market Power, Ignores Fact That Customers Shop at Amazon Because They Want To
After returning from space yesterday, Jeff Bezos thanked Amazon customers who made his fortune possible.
Bezos Launching Into Space Will Probably Make Your Life Better Too
May our new space billionaires produce spinoff technologies for the rest of us to enjoy in due time!
Humans Defeat A.I. in Debate. For Now.
An IBM team led by A.I. researcher Noam Slonim has devised a system that does not merely answer questions; it debates the questioners.
Federal Science Funding Won't Accomplish Anything the Private Sector Can't Do Better
A bipartisan bill aimed to help the U.S. “compete” with China would only slow down scientific progress.
Study on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Finds 'Conclusions Were Often Erroneous'
Bloodstain pattern analysis is one of several forensic techniques that has come under scrutiny in recent years for its lack of established error rates.
The Doubling of Life Expectancy Is the Greatest Achievement in 100 Years
Science writer Steven Johnson, author of the new book Extra Life, on vaccines, medical breakthroughs, and life after Covid.
Anthony Fauci Says His Critics Are Attacking Science Itself
"A lot of what you're seeing as attacks on me quite frankly are attacks on science."
Anthony Fauci May Not Have 'Lied' About Face Masks, but He Was Not Exactly Honest Either
The COVID-19 adviser's unsatisfying explanation of his conversion feeds skepticism about the value of a sensible precaution.
Lingering COVID Requirements for NYC Bars and Restaurants Amount to Pointless Hygiene Theater
Theatrical safety checks don't keep people safe—vaccines do.
Photo: Fun With Frozen Ferrets
Elizabeth Ann, a black-footed ferret, was cloned from cells of another ferret that were cryopreserved at the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance's Frozen Zoo.