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.

Bootstrap Bio...

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

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the Sequel

By Rebecca Skloot, The New York Times | 03.23.2013
LAST week, scientists sequenced the genome of cells taken without consent from a woman named Henrietta Lacks. She was a...
Bioethics

Surrogacy's Painful Path to Parenthood

By Julia Medew, The Age | 03.23.2013
When Sam Everingham employed an Indian surrogate to carry a child for him in 2009, he never imagined losing two...
Other Countries

Resurrected Mammoths and Dodos? Don't Count on it

By David Ehrenfeld, The Guardian | 03.23.2013
I recently spoke at Revive & Restore's TEDx DeExtinction event at the National Geographic headquarters in Washington DC. Most...
Human Cloning

Doctors Should Tell Patients About Some, But Not All, Unexpected Genetic Findings

By Susan Young, MIT Technology Review | 03.22.2013
On Thursday, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommended that doctors tell patients about certain genetic disease risks...
Bioethics

The Ultimate Easter Egg Hunt: ‘Ivy League Couple’ Seeks Donor With ‘Highest Scores’

By Melinda Henneberger, The Washington Post | 03.21.2013
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — “Exceptional egg donor needed,” said a recent ad in the Harvard Crimson. The couple looking for that...
Bioethics

Patients Should Get DNA Information, Report Recommends

By Jennifer Couzin-Frankel, Science Insider | 03.21.2013
Fourteen genetics experts, with the backing of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), are proposing a radical...
Bioethics

Alarm over genetic control of embryos

By [Letter to the editor], The Times [UK] | 03.20.2013

Sir, We are writing in regard to the HFEA’s recent consultation on what it calls “mitochondrial replacement”, about which we...

Human Genetic Modification

HealthWatch: Britain Considers Allowing Babies From 3 Parents [Video]

By Kim Mulvihill, CBS San Francisco | 03.20.2013
Genetic Selection