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.

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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

Scientists should counter the myth of biological race

By Marcia L. O’Connell, Zachariah I. Grochau-Wright, and Christopher T. Fisher, The Philadelphia Inquirer | 09.20.2021

The University of Pennsylvania’s medical school apologized last month for unethical experiments on incarcerated, mostly Black men, often without their...

Society

a magnifying glass shows a strand of DNA in front of a background of multicolored squares

“Gattaca” and the Ethics of Genetic Selection

By David K. Johnson, The Great Courses Daily [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 09.19.2021

The film Gattaca is set in a world in which gene manipulation is common. When parents decide to have children...

Genetic Selection

Jeopardy!, Eugenics and Me

By Cynthia Greenlee, Harper's Bazaar | 09.17.2021

In 1994, when I heard my beloved game show Jeopardy! was searching for college contestants, I somehow convinced my parents...

Eugenics

Temple researchers take another step toward curing HIV

By Marie McCullough, The Philadelphia Inquirer | 09.17.2021

In 2014, Temple University researchers proved they could use state-of-the-art molecular scissors to cut out dormant HIV hiding in human...

Human Genetic Modification

Picking Embryos With Best Health Odds Sparks New DNA Debate

By Carey Goldberg, Bloomberg | 09.17.2021

Rafal Smigrodzki won’t make a big deal of it, but someday, when his toddler daughter Aurea is old enough to...

Genetic Selection

Biology Starts to Get a Technological Makeover

By Steve Lohr, The New York Times | 09.16.2021

^{Photo by igemhq on Flickr}

BOSTON — Two white-coated lab technicians, seated at work stations in a corner, are vastly...

Synthetic Biology

An anti-racist action plan for studying the human genome

By Eric D. Green, The Hill | 09.16.2021

^{Image Credit: Ernesto Del Aguila III, Courtesy of NHGRI}

Throughout my career as a leader in genomics, I have frequently...

U.S. Federal

two white cartridges for covid antigen testing

Theranos and COVID-19 Testing Are Mirror-Image Cautionary Tales

By Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic | 09.15.2021

^{Photo by Steve Nomax on Unsplash}

Last week, prosecutors and defense attorneys made opening statements in the criminal trial of...

U.S. Federal