Editor's note

Americans who use insulin to manage their diabetes can pay an awful lot for it. Colorado State University researchers Jenna Gallegos and Jean Peccoud focus on biosecurity – so were intrigued when they learned of DIY biohackers who are tinkering to find ways to homebrew insulin and other biologic drugs, patent- and regulation-free. Could this be a safe start to democratizing how pharmaceuticals are made, sold and regulated in the U.S.?

As the controversy continues over the movement started by quarterback Colin Kaepernick to take a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality, philosophy professor Randall Curren and education scholar Chuck Dorn recount how battles over patriotic rituals in America’s schools have played out over the past century.

It’s been nearly a year since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, a disaster that led to some 3,000 deaths. But even before the death toll was counted, experts should have known that it would be a catastrophe, writes American University’s Morten Wendelbo, who argues “the fatality count alone is woefully inadequate for understanding the depth of the disaster.”

Maggie Villiger

Science + Technology Editor

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Miniature biomanufacturing kits like this prototype could revolutionize the pharmaceutical industry. Amino Labs

After a century, insulin is still expensive – could DIYers change that?

Jenna E. Gallegos, Colorado State University; Jean Peccoud, Colorado State University

Small-batch brewers are starting to tinker with biologic drugs to meet their own medical needs. A side effect of their success would be a disruption to how big pharma makes and distributes drugs.

Americans have long differed over whether patriotism should be pushed in their nation’s schools. vepar5/www.shutterstock.com

Battles over patriotism, Pledge of Allegiance in schools span a century

Randall Curren, University of Rochester; Charles Dorn, Bowdoin College

As debates over protests during the national anthem continue to rage, two scholars examine how legal and moral battles over the merits of patriotism in public schools have been playing out for years.

Buildings damaged by Hurricane Maria are seen in Lares, Puerto Rico, October 2017. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson

Death count debates overshadow the real story: Hurricane Maria was partly a human-made disaster

Morten Wendelbo, American University

Thousands died after Hurricane Maria, but it did not have to be that way. Early evidence should have led the government to a much stronger response.

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Science + Technology

  • Could coal ash be a viable source of rare-earth metals?

    Saptarshi Das, Rochester Institute of Technology; Eric Williams, Rochester Institute of Technology; Gabrielle Gaustad, Rochester Institute of Technology

    Questions about supplies of rare-earth elements, crucial in high-tech devices, pushed researchers to look to industrial waste for new sources of the key materials.

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