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

Artistic rendering of DNA being severed by CRISPR

Scientist Behind First CRISPR-Modified Babies Sentenced to Three Years in Prison

By Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine [Cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 12.31.2019

On Monday, a court in Shenzhen sentenced He Jiankui—the scientist who performed CRISPR gene-editing on twin human embryos—to three years...

Human Genetic Modification

Gloved hand drops liquid into a vial labeled CRISPR

Chinese Researcher Who Created Gene-Edited Babies Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison

By Merrit Kennedy, NPR [Cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 12.30.2019

A Chinese scientist who shocked the medical community last year when he said he had illegally created the world's first...

Human Genetic Modification

Chinese Scientist Who Genetically Edited Babies Gets 3 Years in Prison

By Sui-Lee Wee, The New York Times | 12.30.2019

A court in China on Monday sentenced He Jiankui, the researcher who shocked the global scientific community when he claimed...

Human Genetic Modification

What Happened to All Those Frozen Eggs?

By Sarah Elizabeth Richards, The New York Times | 12.21.2019

The potential for egg freezing to allow women to pause their biological clocks is one of the most astonishing developments...

Assisted Reproduction

Scientists Aren’t Sure Why Identical Twins Differ. Armadillo Quads Offer an Answer.

By Sharon Begley, STAT | 12.20.2019

One of the armadillo quadruplets runs away when she hears Amanda Withnell approaching; her three siblings calmly keep their faces...

Animal Biotechnologies

A doctor holding a clipboard goes over test results with a patient. Only their hands are shown.

A Genetic Test Led Seven Women in One Family to Have Major Surgery. Then the Odds Changed.

By Amy Dockser Marcus, The Wall Street Journal | 12.20.2019

When she was in her early 30s, Katy Mathes decided to check her cancer risk. A genetic test showed a...

Genomics

Eyeing Organs for Human Transplants, Companies Unveil the Most Extensively Gene-edited Pigs Yet

By Kelly Servick, Science | 12.19.2019

If any swine is fit to be an organ donor for people, then the dozens of pigs snuffling around Qihan...

Animal Biotechnologies

We’re Entering a New Phase in Law Enforcement’s Use of Consumer Genetic Data

By Nila Bala, SLATE | 12.19.2019

On Dec. 9, Verogen, a California-based forensic genomics company, acquired GEDmatch, a user-sourced DNA genealogy site. The acquisition suggests that...

Genomics