Discusses the science of vaccinations and offers a prescription regarding whether vaccines should be mandatory for students attending government schools.

Surveys the life and accomplishments of this remarkable scientist, who, “once internationally revered, is now largely unknown—remembered, if at all, only for his invention of pasteurization”; shows why “Pasteur deserves to be remembered as more than a portmanteau on the side of a milk jug” and why he ought to be remembered instead as an “adventurer of science” and as “a light that brightens more and more.”

Several national organizations, including Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights, have joined with Texas abortion clinics to fight provisions of the outrageous anti-abortion bill signed into law in July by Texas Governor Rick Perry. Although the new Texas anti-abortion bill has received widespread attention for its ban on…

It’s only March, and statistics show that by now many people have abandoned their New Year’s resolutions. If you haven’t lived up to yours, you may be able to get back on track. Alex Epstein (of the Center for Industrial Progress) has a short video course which, if followed, can…

Need to diagnose an intestinal worm infection? Yeah, there’s an app for that. In fact, it’s the built-in camera app in the iPhone 4S! Dr. Isaac Bogoch, a physician specializing in infectious diseases at Toronto General Hospital, and his associates have managed to transform the iPhone 4S into a basic…

On January 18th, a federal court struck down the IRS’s onerous licensing rules for tax preparers thanks to the Institute for Justice and three gutsy independent tax preparers—Sabina Loving, John Gambino, and Elmer Kilian. The decision in the case, Loving v. IRS, enjoined the IRS from enforcing 2011 rules that…

Nick Goldman, Ewan Birney, and their colleagues at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute have, incredibly, developed a way to store data in synthetic DNA, the biochemical material that carries cellular genetic information. Most data storage mediums require a consistent electricity supply, and those that don’t often rapidly degrade. Goldman and his…

Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president of Egypt and a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, tried to pacify his critics on Wednesday by claiming that his recently reported anti-Semitic remarks were “taken out of context.” Morsi insists that his comments were intended not as racial slurs but as criticism of…

In her Philosophy in Action podcast on Wednesday, philosopher Diana Hsieh interviewed Institute for Justice attorney Paul Sherman on the topic of free speech in elections. The interview is remarkable in how clearly it presents the core issues of campaign finance restrictions. Sherman deftly explains the various legal restrictions on…

In a USA Today op-ed Tuesday, Glenn Reynolds, author of the popular blog Instapundit, reported that government schools are seeing ever higher competition from private and online schools and homeschooling. He writes: Americans across the country—but especially in large, urban school systems—are voting with their feet and abandoning traditional public…

Jennifer Collinger, Andrew Schwartz, and other researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System have made spectacular progress in the treatment of severe paralysis by producing a new, highly advanced thought-controlled prosthetic arm. In a summary of their work published today in The Lancet, the research…

Though usually known for his leftist op-eds, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof on Sunday made a surprising admission of the failure of a government “antipoverty” program and praised a private charity organization. In his column, Kristof reported that U.S. Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a federal assistance program for low-income…

With the new web startup Duolingo, students of foreign language now have an ingenious and free alternative to purchasing formal classes or language-learning software. Users can create an account with Duolingo (or sign on through Facebook or Twitter) and immediately start web software-based language lessons in Spanish, German, French, or…

Ken Dupin is providing an innovative alternative for the millions of Americans who care for their aging parents. His product, the MedCottage, is a pre-fabricated, modular, and portable “three-room apartment equipped like a hospital room. There are safety rails, lighted floorboards, and a wall with a first-aid kit and defibrillator…

Joe Hansen, President of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, spoke out yesterday against Walmart, arguing that the retail chain, by opening on Thanksgiving evening, is forcing its employees to give up their holiday. Hansen, writing for Huffington Post, said: As the six members of the billionaire Walton Family—heirs…