Opinion Archives - Page 2 of 13 - The Westside Story

Rather than a threat, SpaceX is exactly what NASA needs

Mar 2, 2019

At almost 3 a.m. local time Saturday, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft launched on board one of the company’s reusable Falcon 9 Rockets, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Flight Center in Florida. The Crew Dragon is ...

Social media platforms should actively curb the spread of anti-science misinformation

West Side Story

Feb 21, 2019

Business, Health, Opinion, Science

With a growing body of research showing the role of social media in the promotion of anti-science sentiment and misinformation, pressure has been building on the tech companies themselves to clamp down on the s...

Insects are vital to human life – and researchers now say they’re going extinct

West Side Story

Feb 13, 2019

Environment, Opinion, Science

The decline of insect species might seem to some like a step in the right direction, or at least like a minor concern. But in reality, the looming extinction of many insect species, described in a new report, i...

Trump’s critics should back his HIV plan, but hold him to it on all fronts

West Side Story

Feb 6, 2019

Health, Opinion, Policy, Science

For the most part, President Trump’s second State of the Union speech met the expectations of his critics, with plenty of boasting, showboating, and many statements that only make sense given the worldview of T...

Apple failed to protect user privacy in its response to the FaceTime bug

West Side Story

Jan 29, 2019

Business, Innovation, Opinion, Science

Tech companies lost more credibility in the eyes of the public last year than at any point in the digital era, thanks to a string of high-profile incidents involving user privacy and the mishandling of data. It...

2020 Democrats should put climate change front and center

West Side Story

Jan 23, 2019

Environment, Opinion, Policy, Science

US Presidential elections have started earlier and earlier in recent decades, and 2020 will be no different, with several Democratic candidates having officially announced plans to run, and many more having sig...

Measles is making a comeback, thanks to the anti-vaccination movement

West Side Story

Jan 15, 2019

Health, Opinion, Science, World

A new outbreak of measles in the New York City area, among the largest in decades, shows how whole communities are put at risk when parents refuse to vaccinate their kids. Vaccines are only truly successful as ...

US researchers are once again hindered by the government shutdown

West Side Story

Jan 7, 2019

Opinion, Policy, Science

Yet again, the partial government shutdown is threatening the continuity of federally funded science and research in the US. On Monday, the shutdown became the third longest ever, on its seventeenth day, with n...

Scientists are asking the food industry to rethink processed meat – they should listen

West Side Story

Dec 30, 2018

Health, Opinion, Science

A coalition of food science experts says that the meat industry is risking its reputation by continuing to use carcinogenic chemicals in processed meats. If they continue, the group says, the industry could suf...

Indonesia needs to dramatically improve its tsunami warning system

West Side Story

Dec 26, 2018

Opinion, Science, World

Indonesians faced a bleak Christmas this year, after a tsunami crashed into the islands of Java and Sumatra on Saturday, following an underwater landslide caused by the eruption of the nearby volcano Anak Kraka...