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
rainbow Israeli flag

Israel’s high court opens the way for same-sex couples to have children via surrogacy

By Claire Parker, Washington Post | 07.11.2021

Photo by Ted Eytan on Flickr

A decision by Israel’s supreme court Sunday paved the way for same-sex couples to...

Policies
DNA test tube

What does the Chinese military want with your unborn baby’s genetic data?

By Arwa Mahdawi, The Guardian | 07.10.2021

Your unborn baby is already being monetized

Could data harvested from millions of pregnant women pave the way for genetically...

Society
FDA sign and building

The FDA Is Broken

By Shannon Brownlee and Jeanne Lenzer, Washington Monthly | 07.10.2021

Between 2010 and 2015, drug companies submitted data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for three different drugs...

Society
California State Capitol Building

California once forcibly sterilized people by the thousands. Now the victims may get reparations.

By Derek Hawkins, Washington Post | 07.09.2021

A brutal chapter in American history began in 1909 with the stroke of a doctor’s pen.

California’s eugenics law, enacted...

Eugenics
'black women's lives matter' on a sign during a protest

Banning Abortion Doesn’t Protect Women’s Health

By Michele Goodwin, New York Times | 07.09.2021

Photo by Max Bender on Unsplash

During its coming term, the Supreme Court will review the constitutionality of a Mississippi...

Eugenics
The California state capitol building

California to pay victims of forced, coerced sterilizations

By Adam Beam, AP | 07.07.2021

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California is poised to approve reparations of up to $25,000 to some of the thousands of...

U.S. States

Ohio Will Now Allow Doctors to Refuse Treatment to LGBTQ+ Patients Over Religious Beliefs

By Nico Lang, them. | 07.07.2021

Ohio will now allow medical providers to refuse treatment that violates their religious beliefs after conservatives snuck language into the...

U.S. States

China’s gene giant harvests data from millions of women

By Kirsty Needham and Clare Baldwin, Reuters | 07.07.2021

A Chinese gene company selling prenatal tests around the world developed them in collaboration with the country's military and is...

Genomics