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

Glowing Plants: Awesome Kickstarter or Creepy Biotech?

By Tom Philpott, Mother Jones | 06.10.2013
If you're like me, the concept of synthetic biology—the application of engineering techniques to the building blocks of life—is...
Global Governance

Israeli Sex Offender Taps India's Booming Surrogacy Trade For Baby Girl

By Jason Overdorf, Global Post | 06.10.2013
NEW DELHI, India — The revelation that a convicted sex offender from Israel succeeded years ago in hiring a surrogate...
Other Countries

What Happened When I Had My Genome Sequenced

By Carole Cadwalladr, The Guardian | 06.08.2013
In the almost year-long lead-up to having my whole genome sequenced, I have no fears about it. Or at least...
Bioethics

De-extinction: A Lifeline or Pandora's Box?

By Jamie Rappaport Clark, Huffington Post | 06.06.2013
There has been a lot of talk in the scientific community and the media recently about the idea of "de-extinction;"...
Bioethics

The Campaign Kickstarter Shouldn't Be Funding

By L. Jim Thomas, The Huffington Post | 06.06.2013
There is less than a day to go before the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter.com hands hundreds of thousands of dollars...
Biotech & Pharma

Infertility Due to Old Eggs? An Anti-Aging Pioneer Ponders Solutions

By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times | 06.05.2013
One of the many ways in which humans' evolved characteristics clash with a fast-changing post-industrial society can be seen in...
Patents & Other IP

Accord Aims to Create Trove of Genetic Data

By Gina Kolata, The New York Times | 06.05.2013
More than 70 medical, research and advocacy organizations active in 41 countries and including the National Institutes of Health announced...
Biotech & Pharma

Mexican Americans Sterilized Disproportionately in California Institutions, Study Says

By Roque Planas, The Huffington Post | 06.05.2013
When a woman identified by the pseudonym of Minelva entered Pacific Colony, a California “home for the feebleminded,” she had...
Biopolitics