See also http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/442554

Executive Summary

Executive Summary

We don't necessarily agree with everything on these sites, but they're generally pro-science, and we like having them around (and for more links, see: http://www.acsh.org/about/pageID.14/default.asp ):
AgBioWorld: Dedicated to bringing agricultural biotech to the developing world.
http://agbioworld.org/

Blogborygmi.com: Nick Genes and company.

You can't blame parents for erring "on the safe side" when it comes to their children's health. Unfortunately, parents aren't always good judges of what the "safe side" is.
A recent increase in fear of vaccinations is a case in point. The journal Pediatrics reports that parents' philosophical and religious objections to vaccinations have been a factor in most of the tetanus cases encountered in a Stanford study. A growing number of parents have also become concerned about extremely rare side effects from vaccinations and are choosing not to vaccinate their children.

The oft-heard refrain from casual defenders of mystical and supernatural beliefs is that it "doesn't make any difference and doesn't do any harm" if people believe in things that may not be true, as long as it makes them happy. Time and again, though, supernatural beliefs do affect people's behavior in ways that in turn affect their health.

One often hears from artists or religious believers that science drains the magic and mystery out of the world, making it a less pleasant place. But what about all the times, less often philosophized about, when science reveals the world to be less dark than we imagined? Specifically: What if Count Ugolino did not eat his own children and feast on the brains of a bishop?

Why not just regulate everything as much as possible, wrapping all human activity in a loving cocoon of safety and security?
It must be remembered that regulations are not just friendly suggestions. They are commands backed up by fines and jail sentences. Before overriding individuals' right to make their own choices, we should be exceedingly confident that they are being forced to do something extremely beneficial that could not have been achieved in any gentler manner.

British conservative journalist Roger Scruton came under fire in recent weeks after admitting that he has taken money to write positive articles about the tobacco industry.
For free-marketeers, who defend the right of individuals to make free choices in a marketplace, constrained only by property rights, it is tempting to say that Scruton's error calls into question only his journalistic integrity, not his philosophical principles. But is it that simple?

Nine years of good TV and bad science is coming to an end. The X-Files has been cancelled and will end in May.
It was the best science fiction TV series of all time, with better acting, writing, and above all cinematography than any of its kin. True, when it started it had the second-rate feel of one of those syndicated series shot in Canada that only appears in late-night timeslots, sort of like Tales from the Darkside, but it grew into something much more polished and much more influential.