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A California-startup focused on genetically editing human embryos — a step toward creating so-called designer babies — is raising money as many of Silicon Valley’s ultra-rich turn their attention to one of the most controversial technologies in medicine.

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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...

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this piece are solely my own and do not represent those of my...

"Donald Trump Signs The Pledge" by Michael Vadon 
is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.

This is...

Census documents
By Philip Bump, Washington Post | 07.07.2025

There are a lot of questions worth asking about the New York Times’s report on Thursday about New York City...

brain puzzle piece graphic
By Oliver Rollins, Los Angeles Review of Books | 07.06.2025

ON OCTOBER 7, 2024, in an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, then–presidential candidate Donald Trump said of immigrants that...

Sperm donation graphic
By Emma Haslett, The Observer | 07.05.2025

The controversial founder of a Danish sperm bank has launched a new app in the UK that allows sperm donors...

image of identical looking babies
By Jamie Marsella, Teen Vogue | 07.02.2025

In March, at a White House event celebrating Women’s History Month, President Trump dubbed himself the “fertilization president,”...

Graphic of human head with circuit board
By Maren Behrensen, Tech Policy Press | 07.02.2025

Why is it dangerous when corporate executives, entrepreneurs and investors with enormous wealth and power collectively control the development and...

Graphic of DNA
By Joel Kotkin, UnHerd | 07.01.2025

Visionaries, dreamers, and autocrats have long dreamt of reshaping humanity to their preferred model. In the last century, eugenics was...

Elon Musk
By Al Letson, Reveal | 06.28.2025

Photo "Elon Musk Presenting Tesla's Fully Autonomous Future" by  on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

What do Silicon...

Graphic of a scientist looking at sperm and an egg under a microscope
By Pat Duggins, Alabama Public Radio | 06.27.2025

PAT DUGGINS-- If I were to say, ‘man, have you seen the price of eggs these days?’ You're probably thinking...