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

De-Extinction Debate: Should Extinct Species Be Revived?

By Liza Gross, KQED | 06.05.2013
Last month, hundreds of experts who study human-environment interactions called on policymakers to take immediate action to curb humanity’s ecologically...
Synthetic Biology

Spirometry: A Built-in ‘Correction’ For Race?

By Lundy Braun, Brown University | 06.03.2013
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Lundy Braun studies racial health disparities and their history as a professor of both pathology...
Public Opinion

They’re Coming for Your DNA

By Emily Bazelon, Slate | 06.03.2013
DNA analysis is the major crime-solving advance of our time. It’s the science behind many exonerations, and many more guilty...
Genomics

California DNA Law is Broader Than Program Upheld by Supreme Court

By Maura Dolan, The Los Angeles Times | 06.03.2013
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding the right of authorities to take DNA from people when they...
Genomics

Justices Allow DNA Collection After an Arrest

By Adam Liptak, The New York Times | 06.03.2013
WASHINGTON — The police may take DNA samples from people arrested in connection with serious crimes, the Supreme Court ruled...
Genomics

Should We Bring Back the Passenger Pigeon and the Woolly Mammoth?

By Elizabeth Weise, USA Today | 06.02.2013
Spanish scientists were able to clone an extinct Pyrenean ibex in 2009 using preserved skin cells, though the kid died...
Bioethics

What Clinical Geneticists Think About DTC Genetic Testing

By Dr Philippa Brice, PHG Foundation | 05.31.2013
A new survey of over 100 European clinical geneticists reveals general opposition to the way in which direct to consumer...
Bioethics

Motherhood Deferred: Freezing Your Eggs

By Judy Campbell, KQED Forum | 05.31.2013
Journalist Sarah Elizabeth Richards thought she could step away from the panic of her ticking biological clock and postpone motherhood...
Biotech & Pharma