Top Biopolitical Times posts of 2012

Following a Biopolitical Times tradition, we present some of our favorite blog posts of the year, out of almost 150 by 15 different contributors. Thanks to all the guests! In alphabetical order:

California Genetic Privacy Arguments Go National
Arguments in California court cases and legislative initiatives about genetic privacy arguments have gone national, and the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues has weighed in.

Embryos for Sale: When You Want Them, How You Want Them, or Your Money Back
A California fertility clinic is using “desirable” sperm and eggs to create batches of embryos that it then splits among multiple infertile couples.

Genetic April Foolery on NPR and in The Economist
The mainstream media is increasingly getting into the April Fools game. This year featured at least two established news organizations suddenly finding a sense of humor and using genetic technologies to, at least for one day, betray their loyal readers’ trust.

Genomic Medicine Stumbles Forward
Recent reports that all of us have large numbers of rare genetic variants complicate the prospects for therapies.

Illegal Surrogacy Operation the "Tip of the Iceberg"
The accomplices in the surrogacy scandal have been sentenced. What have we learned about preventing further abuses in the surrogacy industry?

Of Monsters and Men
The Amazing Spider-Man’s focus on genetic modification is more than incidental.

Pride: In Your Genes?
A new "gay gene" study and a strange float at the Pride Parade present a context to reflect on genetic determinism and the meaning of pride.

Proposed New Gene Manipulation Technique in IVF: Is it Safe? Needed? A Precedent to Designer Babies?
Is a new “3-parent baby” fertility technique a way to avoid terrible disease, or a dangerous form of human experimentation?

Stem Cell Fraud Is the Real Issue in Texas
Bioethicist Glenn McGee has resigned from Celltex. His connection with the controversial stem-cell company has raised important issues about its business practices.

Stop and Swab: Dramatic Increases in DNA Police Databases
DNA databases continue to grow exponentially as more U.S. states allow police to seize DNA samples from people who have been arrested but not convicted, and from those suspected of misdemeanors as well as felonies.

Survival of the Fastest
Michael Johnson, the legendary athlete, recently made global headlines for suggesting that black American and Caribbean sprinters have a "superior athletic gene."

Synthetic Eugenics and Scientific Silence
Yet another worrying statement from a renowned synthetic biologist on redesigning humans is met with indifference and silence by the scientific community.

Previously on Biopolitical Times:

• Top Biopolitical Times blog posts of 2011
• Top Biopolitical Times blog posts of 2010
• Top Biopolitical Times blog posts of 2009
• CGS's favorite blog posts of 2008