News

During his 2015 State of the Union address, then-President Barack Obama announced what he promised would be an ambitious public health project. “Tonight, I’m launching a new Precision Medicine Initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes...

This is the 15th installment in the Legacies of Eugenics series, which features essays by leading thinkers devoted to exploring the history of eugenics and the ways it shapes our present. You can read the first part here. The series...

Justin Schleede reaches onto a black lab bench to pick up a tray of small plastic tubes.

"These are saliva...

"If proven to be safe, we believe preventive gene editing could be one of the most important health technologies of...

FDA building and sign
By Rachel Becker, The Verge [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.05.2017

On Friday, FDA sent him a letter notifying him of his violations

The doctor who created a genetically modified “three-parent...

An incomplete puzzle featuring an image of a double helix, with several pieces scattered around the puzzle.
By Pam Belluck, New York Times [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.04.2017

Now that science is a big step closer to being able to fiddle with the genes of a human embryo...

A DNA molecule is positioned toward the left. In the background, there are several floating molecules. The background is a gradient blue,
By Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times | 08.03.2017

In a process that can be likened to the creation of GMO crops, scientists have edited genes in human embryos...

Two young girls face each other, and both appear to be using American Sign Language to communicate. They seem to be signing gum, candy, or apple.
By Rachel Kolb and Dakota McCoy, San Francisco Chronicle | 08.03.2017

Last month, researchers in Oregon broke new scientific ground when they used CRISPR/Cas-9 to genetically modify human embryos, a first...

Protesters hold a yellow sign that reads, "race to the bottom??"
By Craig Calhoun, The World Post | 08.03.2017

Unless we pay much more attention to ethical and social choices, we risk turning the promise of gene editing into

...
Double helix figure that is diagonally positioned. Several base pairs are highlighted with different colors.
By Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.02.2017

Scientists have successfully edited the DNA of human embryos to erase a heritable heart condition that is known for causing sudden death...

Microscopic image an oocyte
By Rob Stein, NPR [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.02.2017

Scientists have been tinkering with the DNA in humans and other living things for decades. But one thing has long...

 A human oocyte is held by a glass holding pipette (left). A beveled glass pipette containing an immobilized ejaculated spermatozoon is inserted through the zona pellucida and deep into the oolemma, creating a deep furrow. Once the membrane of the oocyte is penetrated, the sperm is deposited therein.
By Dan Vergano and Tom Chivers, BuzzFeed [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.02.2017

Researchers have erased a genetic glitch that causes heart defects in dozens of human embryos with surprising success, fixing the...