CGS in the News

A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer, obesity, autism, bipolar disorder, even celiac disease. These conditions are informed by many genetic variants and environmental factors - so...

A baby dressed in a shirt, diapers, and cap, floats mid-air.
By Rowan Jacobsen, Mother Jones [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.01.2017

Last week, US scientists edited a human embryo for the first time. That’s just the beginning.

The first step is...

Three boxes of 23andMe kits stand upright in a line. Two of the boxes have been blurred, and one of them is centrally focused.
By Pete Shanks, Medical Laboratory Observer | 07.25.2017

The direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing industry has been around for just over a decade. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration...

Abstract design of several double helices crossing over each other against a black background.
By The Inquiry, BBC [features Marcy Darnovsky] | 07.16.2017

"This structure has novel features, which are of considerable biological interest." It was perhaps the greatest understatement of all time...

A wall displays letters " ATCG" in various colors.
By Dave Roos, Seeker [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 06.06.2017

A new study offers a cautionary tale for using the widely hyped gene-editing tool CRISPR on people.

The gene-editing technology...

Embryo, with 5 visible cells.
By Rob Stein, NPR [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.14.2017

Scientists could be allowed to make modifications in human DNA that can be passed down through subsequent generations, the National...

Against a shirt with black and gold stripes, a sticker reads "Do you care?" in a thought/speech bubble.
By Edward Hockings and Lewis Coyne, Ethics and Genetics [cites CGS] | 01.20.2017

KEY POINTS

  • UK biosciences policy has become increasingly motivated by economic considerations in recent years, at the expense, we believe...
A traffic light appears yellow to signify caution (rather than a green go, and a red stop)
By Ekaterina Pesheva, Harvard Medical School [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 01.11.2017

In vitro fertilization has transformed reproductive medicine and sparked a number of therapeutic and diagnostic breakthroughs.

Now a new, still...

A wooden-like figure of a child builds a colorful tower of blocks. The child sits in a background surrounded by white and black checkered flooring.
By Pete Shanks, Deccan Chronicle | 01.01.2017

The next year may represent our best chance to prevent the rise of a modern, uncontrolled and dangerously ill-considered techno-eugenics...