CFR Senior Fellow Thomas Bollyky argues that new strategies are needed to address the latest treatment-access crisis over patented medications, particularly as noncommunicable diseases continue to rapidly emerge in low- and middle-income countries.

Laurie Garrett and Maxine Builder offer three recommendations for how the World Health Organization can adapt to an uncertain economic and political environment, without putting the world at risk of a disease outbreak.

James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer discuss recent advances in the biotechnology industry, areas of potential growth and application, and their significance for U.S. competitiveness.

James C. Greenwood and Robert Langer discuss recent advances in the biotechnology industry, areas of potential growth and application, and their significance for U.S. competitiveness.

Kenneth Cukier, the Economist's data editor, and Michael Flowers, director of New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg's Financial Crime Task Force discuss "big data" and its impact on public policy and the world.

The Internet's growing role in economies and societies also poses new threats. The time has come for states and private partners to set global norms for web conduct, says expert Andrea Renda.

Peter Orszag argues that giving health-care providers a fixed payment for each Medicare beneficiary could provide a path forward between competing views of health care reform offered by Republicans and Democrats.

The H7N9 virus, a new strain of the bird flu in China, has so far claimed twenty-two victims and officials are watching its spread closely.

Read full answer

Laurie Garrett offers a detailed account of how the H7N9 virus emerged and describes the two possible paths it may now follow, by pulling from her own experiences in the SARS epidemic ten years ago and reflecting on parallels between the two.

Everyone knows that the Internet has changed how businesses operate, governments function, and people live. But a new, less visible technological trend is proving just as transformative: big data.

Scott Pace and Robert Walker discuss U.S. space program budget cuts, the indefinite cancellation of U.S.-government-sponsored human space exploration, and the rise of private sector activity in the area.

Scott Pace and Robert Walker discuss U.S. space program budget cuts, the indefinite cancellation of U.S.-government-sponsored human space exploration, and the rise of private sector activity in the area.

Scott Pace and Robert Walker discuss U.S. space program budget cuts, the indefinite cancellation of U.S.-government-sponsored human space exploration, and the rise of private sector activity in the area.

Grounded in a realistic assessment of technology, Matthew C. Waxman and Kenneth Anderson outline a practical alternative with which to evaluate the use of autonomous weaponry that incorporates codes of conduct based on traditional legal and ethical principles governing weapons and warfare.

In 2012, China imported nearly 60 million tons of soybeans, most of which were genetically modified. In that sense, even if GM foods are found to have any long-term hazards, one probably should not worry too much about only China's GM foods, but about those from all countries, including the United States, the largest producer and consumer of GM foods.

Read full answer

Thomas Bollyky writes about how national patent laws are affecting pharmaceutical cost differentials around the world.

Laurie Garrett outlines inconsistencies in the Chinese government's reports about the ongoing H7N9 outbreak.

Read Yanzhong Huang's chapter titled "Global Health,Civil Society, and Regional Security," in the book A Growing Force for Good: Civil Society's Role in Asian Regional Security, edited by Rizal Sukma and James Gannon.

Peter Orszag writes that the link between life expectancy and college completion is not well understood, but they appear to be related to growing income inequality.

Yanzhong Huang responds to a China File conversation on the recent bird flu outbreak in China.