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Science Archive

Archives for June 2025

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
Make asbestos OK again?

The Trump administration is thinking about scrapping a ban on white asbestos, a material used in roofing, chlorine manufacturing, and more. White asbestos is banned in many countries; exposure to it has been linked to lung cancer and other serious health risks.

“By siding with corporate polluters and willfully ignoring decades of public health evidence, they are dismantling life-saving protections,” Michelle Roos, executive director of the Environmental Protection Network, said in a press release today.

Elizabeth Lopatto
Elizabeth Lopatto
How is Peter Thiel’s all-drug Olympics going?

You may remember, he funded a literal version of a Saturday Night Live sketch. Well, first of all, it turns out shattering world records in sports like swimming is a little more complicated than just adding steroids. But second: The Enhanced Games are a fancy way to sell supplements.

RFK Jr. is coming for your vaccines

‘This is going to cost lives. Children are going to suffer.’

Lauren Leffer
Dominic Preston
Dominic Preston
Australia’s first cultured meat is... quail?

Sydney-based Vow is the first lab-grown meat manufacturer approved to launch Down Under. Vow, which has sold its meat under the Forged brand in Singapore since last year, offers quail foie gras and pâté, plus a quail-based candle you can dip food into as it melts.

They say they “craft entirely new, never before seen (or eaten) meats,” which is certainly one way to get around how hard it is to make a lab-grown steak.

<em>You couldn’t make this stack of foie gras from a real quail if you tried (and you shouldn’t).</em>
<em>This whipped pâté is 60 percent cultivated quail, flavored with brandy, butter, and more.</em>
<em>I’m less sure about the candles, which are mostly quail-flavored coconut oil, but I applaud the inventiveness.</em>
1/3
You couldn’t make this stack of foie gras from a real quail if you tried (and you shouldn’t).
Image: Vow
Justine Calma
Justine Calma
Cool, cool.

The Trump administration is apparently trying to shut down the board that investigates chemical explosions in the US. What could go wrong?

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
EV and renewable energy jobs are on the line.

Senate Republicans’ version of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — similar to the bill the House passed last month — would slash tax incentives for electric vehicles, wind, and solar power.

Industry leaders warn that it could be a killer blow to new energy projects and factories in the US. “This bill will end any hope of onshoring domestic manufacturing,” Mike Carr, executive director of the Solar Energy Manufacturers for America Coalition, said in a press statement today.

Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
Welcome back Anne, please pay us £2.31 million.

A 2023 breach of genetic testing company 23andMe that leaked sensitive data for millions of customers already led to a $30 million settlement and, eventually, bankruptcy for the company once valued at $6 billion. Now the UK is layering on a fine of just over $3 million for failing to protect the genetic data of 155,592 UK residents. It comes just days after co-founder and former CEO Anne Wojcicki said she was buying back the company’s assets for $305 million.

Victoria Song
Victoria Song
Putting on my ‘health tech wet blanket’ hat because contactless blood pressure isn’t really a thing yet.

It’s been brought to my attention that the Trump Mobile Telehealth Information site seemingly claims contactless blood pressure are things you can get through its third-party Doctegrity services. This is a health tech red flag. While the other metrics mentioned are generally possible through a camera, contactless blood pressure is an emerging technology that hasn’t been widely adopted. Most blood pressure tech still requires calibration with a cuff. I’m more inclined to think this is a marketing copy snafu.

Trump Mobile | Telehealth

[trumpmobile.com]

Justine Calma
Justine Calma
California sues Trump over its EV plans.

Ten more states joined the suit filed today against President Trump and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Congress recently voted to revoke EPA waivers that allow California to set tougher air pollution standards for vehicles than the nation as a whole, in what the plaintiffs allege was an unlawful use of the Congressional Review Act.