Opinion Archives - Page 2 of 14 - The Westside Story

Nutrition policies need broad-based solutions that address food access issues

Apr 16, 2019

One in five deaths worldwide stem from unhealthy diets, according to a large-scale study published last week in The Lancet. Deaths stemming from poor diets total 11 million each year, including deaths from hear...

Wind turbines don’t cause cancer, as Trump says—but coal plants do

West Side Story

Apr 6, 2019

Environment, Health, Opinion, Science

President Trump has been making inaccurate statements about the environment, climate change, and renewable energy since the beginning of his campaign. But a claim he made this week at the National Republican Co...

In labeling harmful tweets from public figures, Twitter aims to strike a delicate balance

West Side Story

Mar 28, 2019

Innovation, Opinion, Policy, Science

At several points during Trump’s time in office, critics have called on Twitter to intervene in the president’s habit of provoking and insulting his critics and opponents through tweets. Trump’s use of social m...

In tying funding for research to his free speech order, Trump endangers both

West Side Story

Mar 24, 2019

Opinion, Policy, Science

On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order requiring colleges and universities to certify that they are protecting free speech on campus in order to receive research grants from the federal governme...

Digital monitoring of drug adherence raises serious ethical questions

West Side Story

Mar 16, 2019

Health, Opinion, Science

Recent years have seen many different efforts to leverage digital technology to address the widespread issue of non-adherence to medication prescriptions. But critics, including many experts, argue they’re neit...

Warren’s proposal to rein in tech companies may not be as rash as it sounds

West Side Story

Mar 9, 2019

Business, Innovation, Opinion, Science

In today’s political and commercial climate, 2020 presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren’s proposal to break up the nation’s largest tech companies sounds almost apocalyptic. Companies like Amazon and Googl...

Rather than a threat, SpaceX is exactly what NASA needs

West Side Story

Mar 2, 2019

Business, Innovation, Opinion, Science

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...