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

a gloved hand holding up a sheet of paper with a DNA sequence on it.

A secret algorithm is transforming DNA evidence. This defendant could be the first to scrutinize it.

By Justin Jouvenal, Boston Globe | 07.13.2021

The Exxon clerk never got a good look at the assailants who robbed him at gunpoint in Fairfax County, so...

Genomics

W.H.O. Experts Seek Limits on Human Gene-Editing Experiments

By Gina Kolata, New York Times | 07.12.2021

A committee of experts working with the World Health Organization on Monday called on the nations of the world to...

Policies

Equity and access need to be at the forefront of innovation in human genome editing

By Jantina de Vries and Françoise Baylis, The Conversation | 07.12.2021

In July 2021, after more than two years of study and consultation, the World Health Organization’s Expert Advisory Committee on...

Policies

‘The Man Who Hated Women’ Is Mostly About the Women He Hated

By Jennifer Szalai, New York Times | 07.12.2021

“The Man Who Hated Women,” the arresting title of Amy Sohn’s new book, would have been more fitting if the...

Arts & Culture

Should we edit human embryos' genomes, and if so then how?

By Dieter Egli, BioNews [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 07.12.2021

I recently received a thoughtful letter from a college student I do not know – I'll call her Claudia* –...

Human Genetic Modification

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Receive Environmental Award For Their Two-Children Limit

By Evita Duffy, The Federalist | 07.12.2021

^{Photo by Mark Jones on Flickr}

For vowing to only have two children max, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have...

Public Opinion

A New Era of Designer Babies May Be Based on Overhyped Science

By Laura Hercher, Scientific American | 07.12.2021

For better or worse, genetic testing of embryos offers a potential gateway into a new era of human control over...

Assisted Reproduction

World Health Organization advisers urge global effort to regulate genome editing

By Megan Molteni, STAT [cites CGS] | 07.12.2021

On Monday, a World Health Organization advisory committee called on the world’s largest public health authority to stand by the...

Policies