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

Pluristem: Second Patient With ‘Life-Saving’ Cells Died

By David Wainer, Business Week | 11.09.2012

Pluristem Therapeutics Inc. (PSTI) said a second of the three patients given the company’s experimental stem cells has...

Biotech & Pharma

Social Codes: Sharing Your Genes Online

By Daniela Hernandez, Wired | 11.09.2012
Genes are going mobile. In September, consumer genomics company 23andMe announced it was opening its API, the program that allows...
Biotech & Pharma

Direct-to-Consumer Genomics Reinvents Itself

By Malorye Allison, Nature | 11.08.2012

By putting its foot in the door at the FDA, can 23andMe reinvigorate direct-to-consumer genomics? Malorye Allison investigates.

In July...

Genomics

Concern Over 'Souped Up' Human Race

By Michelle Roberts, BBC News | 11.08.2012

A race of humans who can work without tiring and recall every conversation they've ever had may sound like science...

Bioethics

Good Egg

By Jenna Brogan, Good Times | 11.07.2012
Standing 5-foot-8-inches, and weighing in at 130 pounds, Santa Cruz resident Raquel Cool hardly stands out in a crowd—but she’s...
Assisted Reproduction

British Academics Say Technological Enhancements to Employees Raise Ethical Questions

By Raphael Satter, Washington Post | 11.07.2012

LONDON — Performance-boosting drugs, powered prostheses and wearable computers are coming to an office near you — but experts warned...

Bioethics

Un-Mainstreaming Human Enhancement

By Charles T. Rubin, The New Atlantis | 11.07.2012
America’s Grey Lady, the New York Times, has long been willing to take transhumanist topics seriously, perhaps in some...
Bioethics

Opinion: Science in the Courtroom

By James Tabery, The Scientist | 11.06.2012
Scientific evidence concerning the biological causes of bad behavior is becoming increasingly common in the courtroom. Forensic psychiatrists at Vanderbilt...
Civil Society