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...

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...

Cholesterol emboli

One-time CRISPR hit lowers cholesterol in monkeys

By Alla Katsnelson, Chemical & Engineering News | 05.19.2021

^{“Cholesterol emboli” by Boonyarit Cheunsuchon

is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0}

A single shot of gene therapy lowers “bad”...

Animal Biotechnologies

Decades after a tragic failure, gene therapy successfully treats a rare liver disease

By Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | 05.18.2021

Twenty-two years ago, one of scientists’ first attempts at gene therapy ended in tragedy when a young man died. The...

Human Genetic Modification

removing Rhodes statue

University of Cape Town’s battle to tackle a racist legacy

By Linda Nordling, Nature | 05.18.2021

^{Photo by Tony Carr via Flickr}

In 2015, a giant crane hoisted a 900-kilogram bronze statue of the imperialist Cecil...

Mixed messages: is research into human-monkey embryos ethical?

By Philip Ball, The Guardian | 05.15.2021

When King Minos of Crete was given a magnificent bull by the sea god Poseidon for a sacrifice, he could...

Animal Biotechnologies

sickled blood cells

How a Genetic Trait in Black People Can Give the Police Cover

By Michael LaForgia and Jennifer Valentino-DeVries, New York Times | 05.15.2021

When they carried the body of a 32-year-old Black man named Lamont Perry out of the woods in Wadesboro, N.C...

eugenics tree

The Eugenics Roots of Evangelical Family Values

By Audrey Clare Farley, Religion & Politics | 05.12.2021

Beth Moore is still making waves. On April 7, soon after announcing her departure from the Southern Baptist Convention, she ...

baby

Ethics of Surrogacy During COVID-19 Pandemic

By Cathy Sakimura and Emily Galpern, Men Having Babies | 05.12.2021

The COVID pandemic has placed new hurdles to having a child through surrogacy, complicating international surrogacy in particular by restricting...

doctor's coat

US doctors group issues anti-racism plan for itself, field

By Lindsey Tanner, AP News | 05.11.2021

The nation’s largest doctors group Tuesday released a comprehensive plan aimed at dismantling structural racism inside its own ranks and...

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