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

Gendercide Stings

By S.A., The Economist | 12.18.2012
IN OCTOBER, Varsha Deshpande persuaded a pregnant friend to travel eight hours to Aurangabad, a thriving, medium-sized city in the...
Other Countries

Year of the Fetus

By Beth Marie Mole, The Scientist | 12.18.2012
In the not-so-distant past, testing an unborn baby for Down syndrome and other severe genetic disorders required a procedure with...
Genomics

In the Flesh: The Embedded Dangers of Untested Stem Cell Cosmetics

By Ferris Jabr, Scientific American | 12.17.2012
When cosmetic surgeon Allan Wu first heard the woman's complaint, he wondered if she was imagining things or making it...
Bioethics

DeliriousMe: Ownership and Identity in An Age of Genomic Medicine

By Patricia Williams, LOG: Journal of Architecture and Urbanism | 12.17.2012
Sometimes it’s hard to count on the sustained attention of university students, distracted as they are by an excessively twittering...
Patents & Other IP

German Brüstle Decision Puts Spotlight on National Patent Guidelines

By Julian Hitchcock, BioNews | 12.17.2012

Untitled Document On 27 November the case of Brüstle v Greenpeace was remitted to the German Federal High Court. Its...

Bioethics

By Hiring Kurzweil, Google Just Killed the Singularity

By John Pavlus, MIT Technology Review | 12.17.2012
Late last Friday, Google announced a jaw-dropping hire: Ray Kurzweil will join the company as a Director of Engineering...
Biopolitics

Why China is a Genetic Powerhouse with a Problem

By Carolyn Abraham and Carolynne Wheeler, The Globe and Mail | 12.15.2012

In the South China city of Shenzhen, a thriving manufacturing hub known for cheap goods and high-tech electronics, the genetic...

Global Governance

Universities with Connections Win Most Stem Cell Money

By Melody Petersen, The Orange County Register | 12.14.2012
The panel of scientists reviewing grant requests at California's stem cell funding agency didn't like the proposal submitted by UC...
Biotech & Pharma