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...

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...

A symbol of autism

‘Reeks of eugenics’: Administration’s autism ‘registry’ draws Nazi Germany comparisons

By David Badash , AlterNet | 04.24.2025

The Trump administration reportedly has plans to scrape your private medical data from sources like your doctor, your pharmacy, your...

Autism awareness ribbon

The Ugly Historical Echoes of Kennedy’s Comments on Autism

By Jessica Grose, The New York Times | 04.23.2025

^{"Autism Awareness Ribbon" via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0}

Last week Robert F. Kennedy Jr. held...

DNA strands

Forensic DNA breaks new ground for MMIP cold cases

By Mary Annette Pember, ICT News [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 04.18.2025

The sight of a room full of human cadavers can be off-putting for some, but not for Haley Omeasoo.

In...

Natal conference

“NatalCon” and the Contradictions of the Pronatalist Right

By Daniel Colligan, Jacobin | 04.18.2025

^{From the Natalism website}

Last month’s gathering of pronatalists in Austin, Texas, revealed a right-wing milieu riven by internal contradictions...

a photo of RFK Jr.

DREDF Denounces RFK Jr.’s Comments on Autism as Hateful, Harmful and Uninformed

By Staff, DREDF | 04.17.2025

^{"Robert F. Kennedy Jr." by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by SA 3.0}

U.S. Department of Health...

Woman playing with baby

Pronatalism Isn’t a Solution, It’s a Problem.

By Sarah Jones, Intelligencer | 04.17.2025

^{From the Natalism website}

Elon Musk may not have appeared at the Natal Conference in Austin, Texas, this year, but...

Elon Musk

The Tactics Elon Musk Uses to Manage His ‘Legion’ of Babies—and Their Mothers

By Dana Mattioli, The Wall Street Journal | 04.15.2025

^{Image "Elon Musk" by Debbie Rowe on Wikimedia Commons

licensed under CC by S.A. 3.0}

Ashley St. Clair wanted to...

Promotional image from Natalism.org

‘Make Motherhood Great Again’: Pronatalism Finds a Comfortable Home in the Trump Administration

By Shoshanna Ehrlich, Ms. Magazine | 04.15.2025

^{Promotional image from Natalism.org}

A month into President Donald Trump’s second term, Sean Duffy, the newly appointed secretary of the...

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