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

Scientists are working on vaccines that spread like a disease. What could possibly go wrong?

By Filippa Lentzos, Guy Reeves, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists | 09.18.2020

Once a COVID-19 vaccine is approved for public use, officials around the world will face the monumental challenge of vaccinating...

Synthetic Biology

Human egg with cells in the form of a question mark

Why we need a global citizens’ assembly on gene editing

By Nicole Curato and Simon Niemeyer, The Conversation | 09.17.2020

Developments in gene editing are often met with moral panic. Every new announcement raises outrage over the audacity of scientists...

Policies

California Stem Cell Measure Scrutinized in Virus Budget Crunch

By Joyce E. Cutler and Tiffany Stecker, Bloomberg Government | 09.17.2020

California voters will be asked this November to spend big on stem cell research, an expensive proposition that could help...

Policies

Experts Conclude Heritable Human Genome Editing Not Ready for Clinical Applications

By Francis Collins, NIH Director’s Blog | 09.17.2020

We stand at a critical juncture in the history of science. CRISPR and other innovative genome editing systems have given...

Human Genetic Modification

ICE Is the New Face of America’s Legacy of Forced Sterilization

By Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic | 09.17.2020

Earlier this week, multiple human rights organizations filed a complaint on behalf of women detained at an Immigration and Customs...

U.S. Federal

Synthetic biologists have created a slow-growing version of the coronavirus to give as a vaccine

By Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review | 09.16.2020

In the 1950s, Albert Sabin was searching for an improved polio vaccine. To that end, his lab infected the brains...

Global Governance

In a horrifying history of forced sterilizations, some fear the US is beginning a new chapter

By Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN | 09.16.2020

Natalia Molina was shocked when she heard a whistleblower's allegations about hysterectomies in ICE custody. But also, she wasn't...

Eugenics

Those linked to stem cell board received more than $2.1 billion

By David Jensen, Capitol Weekly | 09.15.2020

Over the last 15 years, California’s stem cell agency has spent $2.7 billion on research ranging from arthritis and blindness...

Policies