News

Who’s Looking at Your DNA Data? California Lawmaker Introduces Genetic Privacy Bill

By Andrew Sheeler, The Sacramento Bee | 02.12.2020
A proposed California law would prohibit DNA testing companies like Ancestry and 23andMe from sharing customer DNA information with outside parties without their consent.
Genomics

FamilyTreeDNA Admits to Sharing Genetic Data With F.B.I.

By Matthew Haag, The New York Times | 02.04.2020
The president of one of the country’s largest at-home genetic testing companies has apologized to its users for failing to disclose that it was sharing DNA data with federal investigators.
Genomics

Egg-Freezing: What's the Success Rate?

By Staff Reporter, BBC News | 02.17.2020
If you're thinking of freezing your eggs, you probably want to know how likely you are to get pregnant from a round of IVF. But looking at the success rate for each individual egg (the much lower number) ignores the fact that a round of IVF will involve several eggs.
Assisted Reproduction

OHSS, the IVF Side-Effect Making Women's Fertility Journeys 'Agony'

By Sophie Wilkinson, The Huffington Post UK | 02.08.2020
Side effects of OHSS can range from nausea and vomiting to severe bloating and blood clots. In the worst cases, OHSS can be fatal.
Assisted Reproduction
eggs under a microscope

For a Change of Heart, Would-Be Egg Donors Face Threats and Bills

By Alison Motluk, UNDARK | 02.24.2020

In the summer of 2017, Julie Johnson saw a Facebook ad about egg donation. Somebody out there — an older...

Perspectives
tweezers removing a piece of DNA

Should ‘Broken’ Genes Be Fixed? My Daughter Changed the Way I Think About that Question

By Ethan J. Weiss, STAT | 02.21.2020

I’m a doctor. I strive to fix things that are broken. Hearts, mostly. But my daughter Ruthie has forever changed...

Human Genetic Modification
NYBD police car door

N.Y.P.D. to Remove DNA Profiles of Non-Criminals From Database

By Edgar Sandoval, The New York Times | 02.20.2020

Two years ago, detectives offered a 12-year-old boy they had arrested a McDonald’s soda during questioning. When the boy left,...

U.S. States
an elderly woman's hands

Stalked by the Fear That Dementia Is Stalking You

By Judith Graham, The New York Times | 02.20.2020

Do I know I’m at risk for developing dementia? You bet.

My father died of Alzheimer’s disease at age 72;...

Genomics
white baby crawling on a green background

Designer Babies: Rogue Science or Future Option?

By Dolli Player and Alicia Matsuura, The Daily Universe [Cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.18.2020

In the early 2000s, genome editing seemed like the answer to parents who carried latent genes that could result in...

Human Genetic Modification
DNA gel test

When Your Ancestry Test Entangles Others

By Amy Dockser Marcus, Wall Street Journal | 02.14.2020

Stephen Wald took a home DNA test in 2018, hoping to explore his family ancestry with his two young children....

Human Rights
abstract image of a fingerprint

California Senator Proposes Tighter Regulations on Direct-to-Consumer Genetics Testing Companies

By Jonathan Shieber, TechCrunch | 02.11.2020

A state senator in California is introducing legislation designed to provide more oversight over direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies.

The new...

Policies
latex gloves and a home DNA test swab and vial

Layoffs Result as Consumers Think Twice About DNA Testing

By David Lazarus , Los Angeles Times [Cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.10.2020

These have been rough days for the DNA-testing business — an industry that sprang up seemingly overnight with promises of...

Genomics