News

The quest to create gene-edited babies gets a reboot

By Rob Stein, NPR [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 08.06.2025

A Chinese scientist horrified the world in 2018 when he revealed he had secretly engineered the birth of the world's first gene-edited babies.

His work was reviled as reckless and unethical because, among other reasons, gene-editing was so new...

Genetic Selection

Baby Bonuses and Motherhood Medals: Why We Shouldn’t Trust the Pronatalist Movement

By Staff, National Women's Law Center | 08.13.2025

INTRODUCTION

Baby bonuses. Motherhood medals. Fertility tracking. You may have heard of these policy proposals as solutions from the Trump administration to help encourage women to have more children.

Besides falling short of ensuring that people have what they need...

Human Genetic Modification

We Don’t Know if the Babies Born From Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy Will Still Develop Mitochondrial Disease

By Katherine Drabiak, Journal of Medical Ethics Forum | 08.07.2025

^{Adapted from Mitochondrial DNA at

National Human Genome Research Institute}

Recently, media outlets around the world have been reporting on...

Assisted Reproduction

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...

Genetic Selection

Elon Musk, father of 12, denies volunteering his own sperm to help seed a colony on Mars

By Eva Roytburg, Fortune | 07.11.2024

^{Image "Elon Musk" by Debbie Rowe on Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by S.A. 3.0}

Elon Musk has devoted hundreds...

Society

Image of a small black mouse in the palm of blue gloved hands in a laboratory

Base Editing Tweaks Mouse Gut Microbiome, in Scientific First

By Julianna LeMieux, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News | 07.10.2024

_{Image by Rama from Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 FR}

Microbiome research has faced a hurdle from the...

Human Genetic Modification

Image of a person working in a biology lab.

Serious errors plague DNA tool that’s a workhorse of biology

By Katherine Bourzac, Nature | 07.10.2024

_{Image by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research from Flickr}

Researchers analysed thousands of laboratory-made plasmids and discovered that nearly half...

Genomics

Amid discrimination, Japan's eugenics missteps could be repeated, expert warns

By Staff, Japan Times | 07.10.2024

^{Photo by Roméo A. on Unsplash}

How did Japanese society, which was supposed to have transformed into a democracy after...

Other Countries

Netflix's 'Man With 1000 Kids' puts a spotlight on the lack of international regulations for sperm donors

By Elizabeth Chuck, NBC News | 07.09.2024

A Netflix docuseries has put a spotlight on the unregulated world of sperm donation, particularly the lack of stopgap measures...

Assisted Reproduction

Victoria's IVF regulator is internationally awarded for its fertility services — now it's facing the axe

By Rachel Clayton, ABC News | 07.08.2024

In her early 30s, Michelle Galea wasn't convinced motherhood was for her.

"I didn't know if I wanted a child...

Policies

Black and white image of a women's rights demonstration related to reproductive health

RNC approves platform that would give rights to fetuses, endangering abortion, IVF

By Amanda Becker and Shefali Luthra, The 19th | 07.08.2024

_{Image by Duke University Archives from Flickr}

Republicans have adopted a slate of policy positions ahead of next week’s convention...

Policies

DNA strands and moneybags on green background

Why isn’t gene therapy available to more patients? Blame millionaire prices and uncertainty as to its effectiveness

By Oriol Güell, El País | 07.07.2024

_{Image by Nick Youngson from Pix4free}

Darius is 15 years old and is a dazzling example of how medical research...

Human Genetic Modification