The Center for Genetics and Society brings social justice and human rights to the center of public and policy discussions about human genetics and assisted reproduction.

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Center for Genetics and Society Receives Major Grant for “Confronting Eugenics to Build a Just Future”

By Center for Genetics and Society | 07.03.2025
Press Statement

The Center for Genetics and Society, a project of the Tides Center, has been awarded $751,000 by the Mellon Foundation to support activities that establish a more complete understanding of the histories and legacies of eugenics. This generous grant will...

The tech billionaires and rogue scientists moving to commercialize CRISPR babies

By Marcy Darnovsky | 06.26.2025
Biopolitical Times

Since the “CRISPR babies” scandal in 2018, no additional genetically modified babies are known to have been born. Now several techno-enthusiastic billionaires are setting up privately funded companies to genetically edit human embryos, with the explicit intention of creating genetically modified children.    

Heritable genome editing remains prohibited by policies in the overwhelming majority of countries that have any relevant policy, and by a binding European treaty. Support for keeping it legally off limits is widespread, including among scientists...

Genetic Selection

Can doctors test embryos for autism? And should they?

By Brittany Luse, Liam McBain, and Neena Pathak, NPR [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 05.28.2025

Aggregated News

A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer...

Genetic Selection

Fourth International Summit on Genome Editing Emphasizes Ethical and Societal Concerns

By CGS | 05.29.2025
Biopolitical Times

Last week, May 21–23, a broad range of experts gathered in Boston to discuss the future of powerful biotechnologies with...

Policies

Biopolitical Times

The tech billionaires and rogue scientists moving to commercialize CRISPR babies

By Marcy Darnovsky | 06.26.2025

Since the “CRISPR babies” scandal in 2018, no additional genetically modified babies are known to have been born. Now several...

Genetic Selection

The Post-Human Games

By Pete Shanks | 06.26.2025

"BXP135660" by tableatny is
licensed under CC BY 2.0.

Last week, Wired published a substantial, deeply reported...

Society

Remembering George Annas (1945-2025)

By Marcy Darnovsky | 06.17.2025

The Center for Genetics and Society mourns the loss of long-time colleague George Annas, who died on May 30. A...

Society

News

Work begins to create artificial human DNA from scratch

By Pallab Gosh and Gwyndaf Hughes, BBC News | 06.26.2025

Work has begun on a controversial project to create the building blocks of human life from scratch, in what is believed to be a world first.

The research has been taboo until now because of concerns it could lead to...

Genomics

'Superbabies' Startup Seeks Funds for Controversial Gene Editing Push

By Sophie Alexander and Ike Swetlitz, Bloomberg | 06.25.2025

A California-startup focused on genetically editing human embryos — a step toward creating so-called designer babies — is raising money as many of Silicon Valley’s ultra-rich turn their attention to one of the most controversial technologies in medicine.

Bootstrap Bio...

Patents & Other IP

Scientists create fertile mice with two fathers for first time

By Rhys Blakely, The Times | 06.24.2025

Scientists have created fertile mice from male genetic material alone, a breakthrough that could one day open the door to human babies who inherit their genes from two fathers.

The experiment, led by Professor Yanchang Wei at Shanghai Jiao Tong...

Human Genetic Modification

Bitter harvest — 30 years of broken GMO promises

By Save Our Seeds and GMWatch, Save Our Seeds | 06.23.2025

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Whatever happened to GM Golden Rice? And wasn’t GM salmon supposed to revolutionise aquaculture? Three decades after the first GMO crops were planted, Save Our Seeds, in collaboration with GMWatch, with contributions from Beyond...

Patents & Other IP

Video
Reproduction and Family Formation: The State and the Market
Use Gene Editing to Make Better Babies | Debate | Intelligence Squared U.S.
The 'Perfect' Baby?: The Dangers of Gene Editing in Assisted Reproduction