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
Image of JD Vance

J.D. Vance’s Appalachian Graveyard

By Elizabeth Catte, In These Times | 07.25.2024

"JD Vance" by Gage Skidmore licensed under CC by SA 2.0

In May, two months before his selection...

U.S. States
a photo of a flagpole with the Chinese flag flying

China: Leaked Plan Reveals Bid To Get Officials To Have More Children

By Chen Zifei, Eurasia Review | 07.24.2024

Photo by Brian Matangelo on Unsplash

A leaked internal draft document from the municipal health authority in the southeastern Chinese...

Other Countries
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The moral bankruptcy of Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz

By Elizabeth Lopatto, The Verge | 07.24.2024

Image by Adam Nir from Unsplash

Last week, the founders of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz declared their allegiance to...

U.S. States
Image of two cartoon genetic scientists on either side of a large double helix

A Disease That Makes Children Age Rapidly Gets Closer to a Cure

By Gina Kolata, The New York Times | 07.24.2024

A cure for an ultrarare disease, progeria, could be on the horizon. The disease speeds up aging in children and...

Human Genetic Modification
dna dissolving into blue background

Real-Life Biotech Firm Petitions Star Trek's Federation on Reddit to Change Galactic Law

By Russ Burlingame, Comicbook | 07.23.2024

Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences, a biotech company that's putting together plans to orchestrate the de-extinction for animals like the dodo...

Genetic Selection
colorful strand of DNA on yellow background

Disabled Bodies and Enabling The Creation of The Medical Genetics Profession

By Robert Resta, The DNA Exchange | 07.22.2024

Medical geneticists and genetic counselors have an often complicated and at times tense relationship with people with disabilities, their families...

Genomics
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The fertility industry: profiting from vulnerability

By Editorial Staff, The Lancet | 07.20.2024

Image by DrKontogianniIVF from Wikimedia Commons

Despite major advances in securing sexual and reproductive rights globally, one aspect is continually...

Genetic Selection
Image of JD Vance giving a speech

JD Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" ignores the real Appalachian crisis it portrays

By Mesha Maren , Salon | 07.20.2024

Image by Gage Skidmore from Flickr licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

I started reading JD Vance's 2016 memoir "Hillbilly...

Human Genetic Modification