The safety and efficacy of many stem cell treatments remain unproven by the FDA, yet state laws promote access and use of these unchecked and potentially harmful treatments. Fellow Kirstin R.W. Matthews summarizes her recent publication in a new commentary — outlining public health consequences of these state laws and calling for scientific societies’ advocacy in state policymaking.
The number of anti-vaccine bills filed in Texas has risen, yet many Texans support vaccine policy. Fellow Kirstin R.W. Matthews and nonresident scholar Rekha Lakshmanan examine the stakes of legislative engagement in public health initiatives and provide a call to action for Texans to embrace public health as an act of freedom.
Earlier this year, proposed regulations on video games tanked Chinese gaming stocks. It's a sign that tough governance is ahead — for both digital content industries and governments around the world, writes researcher Brandon Zheng.
For research involving human embryos and other controversial subjects, science journals should require ethics statements from researchers detailing research oversight, what embryos were used, how many and for how long. This will help increase transparency and improve communication with the public, writes Science and Technology Policy Fellow Kirstin R.W. Matthews.
Considering the dangers of advanced AI and AI-enhanced social media, there is an urgent need to design neuroscience-based policies to support citizens in building a system of digital self-defense. Enter the “Neuroshield.”
The latest rivalry between China and Japan is over digital media, specifically over what countries can claim the label of “anime.” But what’s going on is much more complex than the oversimplified “China vs. Japan” narrative, writes research associate Brandon Zheng.
As false or inaccurate information about stem cell interventions continues to circulate widely, the authors write that immediate action is needed to improve patient education and safety — and to combat misinformation more broadly.
To better reflect the iterative collaboration necessary for scientific progress, the Nobel Prize must expand its recognition to the many contributors of winning discoveries as well as diversify the selection committee, thereby also expanding recognition of the work of underrepresented minorities, argues this Baker Institute Blog post.
Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Kenneth M. Evans, Flora Naylor, Daniel MoralíOctober 13, 2021
On Monday, David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian received the 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.” Fellow Kirstin Matthews praises their research on how capsaicin and TRP affect nerve cells as an accomplishment made possible by U.S. federal funding for and support of science.