US group questions human embryo research, calls for rules
By DPA,
Deutsche Presse-Agentur [cites Marcy Darnovsky]
| 05. 14. 2008
A US public interest group has called for the US to set up national bioethics standards and regulations on embryonic research after a group of scientists in New York State produced a genetically-engineered embryo, dpa reported.
The Center for Genetics and Society, located in Oakland, California, said Tuesday the need for such standards was clear after the research at Cornell University was brought to light by a London newspaper over the weekend. Britain is in the process of revamping its genetic research laws.
Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the US urgently needs federal bioethical standards and a regulatory panel similar to those in Canada and Britain or even Germany, which has some of the most stringent rules on genetic research.
"The prospect of genetic technology being used to introduce new types of genetic inequality and social division, to create genetically-enhanced children is the core of our concern," Darnovsky said.
A brief account of the study by scientists at Cornell University was published in September 2007 in the journal Fertility and Sterility...
Related Articles
By David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report | 02.10.2026
Touchy issues involving accusations that California’s $12 billion gene and stem cell research agency is pushing aside “good science” in favor of new priorities and preferences will be aired again in late March at a public meeting in Sacramento.
The...
By Alex Polyakov, The Conversation | 02.09.2026
Prospective parents are being marketed genetic tests that claim to predict which IVF embryo will grow into the tallest, smartest or healthiest child.
But these tests cannot deliver what they promise. The benefits are likely minimal, while the risks to...
By Mike McIntire, The New York Times | 01.24.2026
Genetic researchers were seeking children for an ambitious, federally funded project to track brain development — a study that they told families could yield invaluable discoveries about DNA’s impact on behavior and disease.
They also promised that the children’s sensitive...
By Arthur Lazarus, MedPage Today | 01.23.2026
A growing body of contemporary research and reporting exposes how old ideas can find new life when repurposed within modern systems of medicine, technology, and public policy. Over the last decade, several trends have converged:
- The rise of polygenic scoring...