Research Library

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.

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.

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.

Last month, China released its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for the energy sector. While clean and low-carbon may be the keywords on paper, in reality, Beijing will continue rely on coal to power its economy and energy transitions, writes the author. Read the post on the Baker Institute Blog.

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.

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.

The authors point to several tangible benefits of U.S. LNG exports that go beyond its low procurement cost — including greater security of supply and emissions reductions when used as an alternative to coal.

Experts explore how the copper acquisition dilemma could hinder green energy ambitions and constitute the driving force behind a copper supercycle.

The atmospheric concentration of sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) — the most potent greenhouse gas known to humanity and a chemical that is frequently used as an electrical insulator — is growing and thereby contributing to global warming. In a post for the Baker Institute blog, experts from the Center for Energy Studies explain whether we should be worried and what can be done to mitigate the risks.