News

'Superbabies' Startup Seeks Funds for Controversial Gene Editing Push

By Sophie Alexander and Ike Swetlitz, Bloomberg | 06.25.2025

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.

Bootstrap Bio...

Patents & Other IP

Can doctors test embryos for autism? And should they?

By Brittany Luse, Liam McBain, and Neena Pathak, NPR [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 05.28.2025

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...

Genetic Selection

Why Deleting Your 23andMe Data Is a Political Imperative

By Katie Sagaser, The DNA Exchange | 05.27.2025

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

U.S. Federal

Trumpian “Common Sense” and the History of IQ Tests

By Pepper Stetler, Los Angeles Review of Books | 05.08.2025

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

This is...

Society
Protest against sterilization

‘There’s no amount of money that can take away how I felt’: California pays reparations to survivors of state-sanctioned sterilizations

By Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle | 02.11.2022

It’s been almost 20 years since a botched surgery while she was incarcerated, but Gabby Solano still mourns the bleak...

U.S. Federal

Wrestling with the Legacy of Eugenics

By Jennifer Rainey Marquez, Georgia State University Research Magazine | 02.08.2022

A century ago, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision that legal scholars generally consider to be among the...

U.S. States
Cover of the NWLC Sterilization report

More than half the country has laws that allow forced sterilizations: new report

By Shirin Ali, The Hill | 02.07.2022

A new report is highlighting forced sterilization laws across the U.S. and how the practice specifically affects disabled people, taking away...

U.S. States
Eric Lander

Top White House scientist resigns after review finds he demeaned staff

By Tyler Pager, The Washington Post | 02.07.2022

"Keynote speaker Eric Lander 1" by afagen 
is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Eric Lander, President Biden’s top science...

Genomics
Alice Wong making a presentation

Disabled activist speaks out about feeling ‘disposable’ during pandemic

By Rachel Scheier, San Francisco Chronicle | 02.05.2022

Alice Wong, activist, research consultant and media maker

In early January, one of the country’s top public health officials...

Media Coverage
IV bag and line at a hospital

With CRISPR gene editing, unique treatments begin to take off for rare diseases

By Meeri Kim, The Washington Post | 02.05.2022

Paddy Doherty remembers his father as a proud, hard-working family man who stayed physically fit for most of his life...

Human Genetic Modification
E. O. Wilson

Ideology as Biology

By Mark Borrello and David Sepkoski, The New York Review | 02.05.2022

"E.O. Wilson 5" by afagen is
licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The death of renowned biologist Edward O. Wilson in...

Society
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office logo

New CRISPR patent hearing continues high-stakes legal battle

By Jon Cohen, Science | 02.04.2022

Another showdown in the seemingly endless patent battle over who invented CRISPR, the genome editor that has revolutionized biology, took...

Human Genetic Modification