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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...

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...

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

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

This is...

Magnifying glass
By GMWatch Staff, GMWatch | 02.16.2021

UK farm and environment ministry DEFRA published an “Explainer” document on gene editing as a guide for members of the...

scissors cutting DNA
By Sandy Sufian and Rosemarie Garland-Thomson, Scientific American | 02.16.2021

Americans have celebrated the fact that the Biden administration is embracing science and returning the country to evidence-based policymaking. We...

facial recognition
By Matthew Hutson, The New Yorker | 02.15.2021

In computer science, the main outlets for peer-reviewed research are not journals but conferences, where accepted papers are presented in...

Donor egg
By Diane Tober, Salon | 02.15.2021

*Names have been changed to protect privacy.

Janine* was raised by a single mother in the San Francisco Bay Area. With...

Speeding ambulance
By James Tapper, The Guardian | 02.13.2021

People with learning disabilities have been given do not resuscitate orders during the second wave of the pandemic, in spite...

Human brain model
By Carl Zimmer, The New York Times | 02.11.2021

In recent years, scientists have figured out how to grow blobs of hundreds of thousands of live human neurons that...

Human genome graphic
By Nature Staff, Nature | 02.10.2021

The first drafts of the human genome, published in Nature and Science 20 years ago, flung open the doors for...

Covid vaccine sticker
By Oliver C. Huang, Ms. | 02.10.2021

Since the COVID vaccine was first announced last year, the question of who should be prioritized to receive the vaccine...