A FEW weeks ago, Shafiq, the amiable night security guard at New
Scientist’s London office, asked me a simple science question, but one
which left me struggling.
Shafiq is a first-generation Pakistani settler in Britain. English is not his
first language and we often exchange pleasantries in Urdu. Only this time, he
sounded earnest.
“Ehsan,” he said. “What is this GM?” As he spoke, he pointed to an article in
one of the morning’s tabloid newspapers, which had the words “GM” and “scare” in
large, bold text. “You don’t want to be reading that,” I said somewhat
dismissively. “You should…
