Tempest in a spit cup
By Robert Sanders,
UC Berkeley Media Relations
| 09. 10. 2010
[Cites CGS]
BERKELEY - A controversial UC Berkeley program to analyze three genes in the DNA of incoming students culminates next week with a keynote address and the first of a series of panel discussions and lectures that will run through October.
Organizers and critics alike hope these events will spark a campus-wide discussion of the pros and cons of genetic testing and the promise or peril of personalized medicine.
A Sept. 13 lecture, "Looking for the Good News in Your Genome," by campus geneticist Jasper Rine, will set the stage with a discussion of the promise new DNA technologies hold for improving human health.
Highlights of additional events include:
- A Sept. 14 faculty panel discussion on "Genes & Behavior"
- A Sept. 16 panel on "Direct-to-Consumer DNA Testing" that includes representatives from the genetic testing industry and genetic privacy groups
- Panel discussions on "Fictionalizing Science and the Genome" and the "Uses and Abuses of Genomic Knowledge" on Sept. 20 and 21, respectively
- A final keynote address on Sept. 29, "Personal Genomics and Public Angst," by Alta Charo, a special advisor to the...
Related Articles
By Emma Cieslik, Ms. Magazine | 11.20.2025
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...
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...