GM Crops Evil, GM Children OK?
By Chris Bennett,
Western Farm Press
| 03. 27. 2013
China is surging ahead with a research project aimed at identifying millions of genetic variations in order to boost intelligence. With little surprise, the swapping of human genes doesn’t merit much attention from the anti-GM crowd; but tinker with a bean or a grain of corn — and get ready for hellfire.
The Beijing Genomics Institute (BGI), possibly the largest genetic research institute on the planet, is trying to unlock the alleles that determine human intelligence — and while that's not genetic engineering, it's no mere academic study either. The project is billed as building-block research for the distant future; but the Chinese hope they are close to reaching an unprecedented level of preimplantation embryo analysis. Forget picking eye color — the Chinese are reaching for IQ manipulation.
The BGI Cognitive Genetics Project has collected DNA samples from 2,000 “smart” individuals across the globe. Here is how BGI
advertised online for contributors:
“We currently seek participants with high cognitive ability. You can qualify for the study if you have obtained a high SAT/ACT/GRE score, or have performed well in academic...
Related Articles
CGS is excited to announce the launch of a new anti-eugenics initiative that has been years in the making. Legacies of Eugenics in Science, Medicine, and Technology kicks off with a monthly essay series published at the Los Angeles Review of Books that will expose and contest the reemergence of eugenic ideas in contemporary health sciences, human biotechnology, public health, and medicine. Community and campus-based events featuring the authors are also being planned. The project is a collaboration among CGS...
By Jason Kehe, Wired | 04.11.2024
God help the babies! Or, absent God, a fertility startup called Orchid. It offers prospective parents a fantastical choice: Have a regular baby or have an Orchid baby. A regular baby might grow up and get cancer. Or be born...
By Neel Shah, The Preprint | 04.11.2024
Years ago, I interviewed for a residency position at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Standing before the domed Victorian building at the campus entrance, I couldn’t help but be in awe of the history of the place, the great...
By Eleanor Hayward and Joanna Crawford, The Times | 03.29.2024
Gazing out at the Mediterranean from an idyllic rocky mountaintop, Sophie Hermann announced to her half a million Instagram followers that she had decided to freeze her eggs. Since that post in August, the 37-year-old former Made in Chelsea star...