Welcome to the 2020 Science Archive
2020 Science started life in 2007 as a nanotechnology blog written by Andrew Maynard on SafeNano. In the following years it developed into a personal blog addressing emerging technologies, responsible innovation, risk, science communication, and the intersection between science and society more generally.
Andrew made he decision to wind the blog down in 2019 as his focus and writing developed in new directions. This archive contains most of the original posts (there have been occasional clean-ups of content). For more recent articles etc. please visit andrewmaynard.net. And thanks for visiting!
BROWSE THE ARCHIVE
What’s your favorite risk of the week…?
Forget Dr. Oz and The Food Babe - the Risk Bites Holiday Video has enough risks du jour for everyone, and then some. With a tongue in cheek tip of the hat to Tom Lehrer's Elements Song, we've crammed 108 risks into a mere 80 seconds - everything from arsenic and...
Responsible Innovation – Seventeen Haiku
How do you creatively explore the challenges and opportunities of developing new technologies responsibly? This past summer, the University of Michigan Risk Science Center partnered with the V2_ Institute for Unstable Media in Rotterdam to just this. And the result?...
Five things worth knowing about concussion and contact sports – video
The health impacts of concussions suffered while playing sports have been receiving increased attention in recent years. According to the National Athletic Trainers' Association, An estimated 3.8 million concussions occur each year as a result of sport and physical...
Is 3D printing an artificial brain plausible? And what are the risks?
Could we one day 3D print Arnold Schwarzenegger's brain? Before you ask, yes, this is a post about risk. And no, I'm not talking about the dangers of immortalizing the star of Terminator Genisys' real-life biological brain. But to begin somewhere near the beginning:...
Researchers should take more responsibility for exaggeration in press releases
According to a new paper in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), exaggerated claims in health-related news stories -- including advice that isn't supported by evidence -- may often have their roots in academic press releases and the scientists that sanction them. The...
Has anyone heard of BPA?
While writing a recent article on BPA-free labeling, I happened to mention the topic of bisphenol-A to a couple of smart people I know. "bis-what?" came the response. Thinking they just weren't familiar with the chemical's full name, I went on "you know, BPA - the...
New study shows “BPA-free” labels may increase risky behavior
Products with the label "BPA-free" have become ubiquitous on store shelves in recent years. It's a trend that has been driven by consumer concerns that the chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, may be harmful at low doses. Yet a recent study suggests that the label may...
Why don’t more people get flu shots?
A few weeks ago I talked with Katie Wells at Michigan Radio about why some people are reluctant to get flu shots - myself included up to last year. The interview was rebroadcast on Marketplace this last week, and can be heard here: The prompt for the story was this...
Will calorie labels counter cancer?
Two related news items caught my eye this morning: First, the World Health Organization International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has just published a new study in The Lancet claiming that in 2012, between 3% - 6% of all cancers around the world were...
The low-down on vaping and health
Vaping has come of age it seems - at least according to the Oxford Dictionaries. The word "vape", which is synonymous with electronic cigarette use, has been selected as the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2014. So what is vaping, and what are the health risks?...