Code for life

Neti pots to brain infections

Grant Jacobs • Dec 08, 2018

• brain infection,
• neti pot

A few years ago I posted this startling picture. I’ll admit using neti pots looked pretty potty to me then. It still does. I thought it looked like the sort of thing someone would do for a party trick. Y’know: eww, look at the water come out my other nostril. A quick look around the internet revealed it has … Read More

Genome-edited babies – what’s the worry? (#1)

Grant Jacobs • Dec 03, 2018

• CCR5,
• CRISPR,
• embryo modification,
• embryos,
• gene editing,
• Gene Editing Summit,
• Jiankui He,
• Lulu,
• Nana

He Jiankui’s[1] experiment has brought the world’s first deliberately gene-edited babies into the world, twins nicknamed Nana and Lulu. He edited the DNA of their embryos, hoping to make them resistant to infection by HIV. I see a lot of people writing comments like, “Genome-edited babies – what’s the worry? We’re going to start it sometime. We can start here.” … Read More

Human gene-edited babies: hold the horses

Grant Jacobs • Nov 28, 2018

• babies,
• Chinese,
• embryo,
• gene editing,
• Hong Kong,
• Human,
• retrospective approval

Time moves on; this story has too. Readers might like to try my more recent piece, Genome-edited babies – what’s the worry?, which covers the biological aspects of what was done. For those following the news that a Hong Kong-based researcher claims to have brought to term human gene-edited babies: hold the horses. I’ve been trying to put a story on … Read More

Glyphosate and TIME magazine: writer employed by advocacy group a dubious choice

Grant Jacobs • Nov 24, 2018

• Carey Gillam,
• Dwayne Lee Johnson,
• glyphosate,
• Johnson,
• non-Hodgkin lymphoma,
• TIME magazine

TIME magazine has a story on DeWayne ‘Lee’ Johnston who took Monsanto to court claiming RoundUp caused his non-Hodgkin lymphoma.[1] The story has obvious appeal, but is crying out for balance and it’s provenance is, to be kind, awkward. I’d love to read his account of his experiences since the trial — but from a source I … Read More

The origin of a false claim: projecting demons

Grant Jacobs • Oct 24, 2018

• deer wart,
• fibroma,
• fibromas,
• glyphosate,
• Monsanto,
• papillomavirus,
• populist,
• Roundup

Seeing the origin of a false claim from its very beginning gives insight into where they come from. Contentious topics have many claims online, many completely untrue. Knowing how false claims arise might help us resolve them. It’s also a reminder if you see a claim, especially an emotive one, it pays to check first. Here’s one from people projecting … Read More

NZ EPA is to review 40 chemicals, not glyphosate

Grant Jacobs • Oct 18, 2018

• EPA,
• Eugenie Sage,
• glyphosate,
• Green Party,
• New Zealand

The NZ EPA is to review 40 chemicals it has selected as of highest concern. This list doesn’t include glyphosate. We all like to know what we’re up against when using chemicals, so that we can avoid unnecessary risk. That’s one of the aims of the EPA:[1] to offer rulings and information to help us. I’m interested in genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) … Read More

Glyphosate is to go back to trial

Grant Jacobs • Oct 13, 2018

• Bolanos,
• court case,
• glyphosate,
• Johnson,
• Monsanto

Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos[1] has written a Tentative Ruling that glyphosate is to go back to trial. I’m not a lawyer, but her ruling looks pretty damning. Let’s have a look at what it says. What’s a Tentative Ruling? Tentative rulings are preliminary indications of rulings ahead of the final ruling. (Lawyers indicate these tentative rulings rarely differ substantially … Read More

Vaccines and risk on Auckland motorway billboard

Grant Jacobs • Oct 02, 2018

• AVN,
• ingredients,
• risk,
• Vaccine,
• WavesNZ

There’s a new billboard on South Auckland motorway near the exit to Middlemore hospital encouraging drivers to question the safety of vaccines, Short answer: yes. But what’s in vaccines is not really the issue, it’s a way to distract people from the real question: are you better off with the vaccine than without it? You could turn … Read More

A foil to the populist scourge: towards a Science Commission for New Zealand?

Grant Jacobs • Sep 24, 2018

• advice,
• New Zealand,
• policy,
• politics,
• scicomm,
• science commission,
• science communication

While writing about the demise of Jacqueline Rowarth’s role as head of the New Zealand Environment Protection Agency (NZ EPA), Peter Griffin (former head of the Science Media Centre) also covers progress towards a NZ Science Commission. His piece provides an useful opportunity to revisit this initiative, raised during the election, and how it seems to be going sideways since. Read More

Sticky thoughts on where research can most effectively influence policy

Grant Jacobs • Aug 30, 2018

• Chief Science Advisor,
• Evidence,
• Juliet Gerrard,
• New Zealand,
• policy,
• research,
• science communication

New Zealand’s Chief Science Advisor (CSA), Professor Juliet Gerrard, has been asking where research can most effectively influence policy – one post-it note at a time, (Posted 21st August ~10:45pm, NZST; click on image to open tweet.) The comments after this piece are open for readers to offer their thoughts on where science should best influence policy. Please do! … Read More