The New Techno-Eugenics: Germline Engineering and the End of Humanity
By Dan Cloer,
Vision [cites CGS' Richard Hayes]
| 07. 16. 2019
Our newfound power to manipulate the genes of our children compels the human community to address a foundational question: Will we use science and technology to further or to subvert the human species?
Fifteen thousand babies are born every hour, every day, around the world. About 3 percent, or 450 individuals, are twins. In November 2018, a very special set of twins were born in China. Named Nana and Lulu, the sisters were the first humans to be genetically altered using CRISPR, the gene-editing system developed from bacteria.
A codiscoverer and pioneer in the application of CRISPR technology to genome editing, Berkeley scientist Jennifer Doudna, told Vision in 2016, “The big-picture view is that we have the tools to change our DNA and change the things that we are passing on to future generations. And now we can make those decisions. That is a profound thought.”
Continuing, Doudna noted general agreement among the scientific community that there should be “broad societal consensus before we use this technology in any clinical application in the human germline. But how do you define ‘broad societal consensus’? That remains to be seen; it was not the end of the conversation but the beginning.”
But conversation and consensus have been overwhelmed by the reality of Nana and...
Related Articles
Several recent Biopolitical Times posts (1, 2, 3, 4) have called attention to the alarmingly rapid commercialization of “designer baby” technologies: polygenic embryo screening (especially its use to purportedly screen for traits like intelligence), in vitro gametogenesis (lab-made eggs and sperm), and heritable genome editing (also termed embryo editing or reproductive gene editing). Those three, together with artificial wombs, have been dubbed the “Gattaca stack” by Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency company...
Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, MacArthur Genius, liberationist, storyteller, writer, and friend of CGS, died on November 14. Alice shone a bright light on pervasive ableism in our society. She articulated how people with disabilities are limited not by an inability to do things but by systemic segregation and discrimination, the de-prioritization of accessibility, and the devaluation of their lives.
We at CGS learned so much from Alice about disability justice, which goes beyond rights...
By Adam Feuerstein, Stat | 11.20.2025
The Food and Drug Administration was more than likely correct to reject Biohaven Pharmaceuticals’ treatment for spinocerebellar ataxia, a rare and debilitating neurodegenerative disease. At the very least, the decision announced Tuesday night was not a surprise to anyone paying attention. Approval...
By Emily Glazer, Katherine Long, Amy Dockser Marcus, The Wall Street Journal | 11.08.2025
For months, a small company in San Francisco has been pursuing a secretive project: the birth of a genetically engineered baby.
Backed by OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and his husband, along with Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong, the startup—called...
