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

Vt. High Court to Weigh Pre-Conviction DNA Testing

By Dave Gram, The Boston Globe | 08.20.2012
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Supreme Court has been asked to rule on the constitutionality of a 2009 law allowing the...
U.S. States

Madison Heights Woman Recalls Forced Sterilization at Training Center

By Ray Reed, The News and Advance | 08.18.2012
Like many other residents of the institution once known as the Lynchburg Training School and Hospital, Sarah Pack Wiley apparently...
Eugenics

Q & A on Myriad Decision: DNA Patent Upheld, Process Patent Not

By Eryn Brown, Los Angeles Times | 08.17.2012
Can a company patent a gene? According to a new appeals court ruling, yes — even when that gene is...
Genomics

Books and JavaScript Stored in DNA Molecules

By Douglas Heaven, New Scientist | 08.16.2012
Forget flash – the computers of the future might store data in DNA. George Church of the Wyss Institute at...
Synthetic Biology

Genetically Engineering 'Ethical' Babies is a Moral Obligation, Says Oxford Professor

By Richard Alleyne, The Telegraph [UK] | 08.16.2012
Professor Julian Savulescu said that creating so-called designer babies could be considered a "moral obligation" as it makes them grow...
Bioethics

Appeals Court Rules for Myriad on Gene Patents

By Brent Kendall, The Wall Street Journal | 08.16.2012
WASHINGTON—A divided federal appeals court on Thursday reaffirmed its ruling last year that isolated human genes can be patented, a...
U.S. Federal

As It Enters the Sporting Spotlight, Brazil Calls on the World to Rethink Race

By Siân Herbert, Guardian UK | 08.14.2012
Brazil is now officially on track for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. In a bid to open the...
Technologies

Would Ryan's Anti-Abortion, Anti-IVF Bill Criminalize Romney's Son?

By Lee-Anne Goodman, The Canadian Press | 08.14.2012
WASHINGTON - Paul Ryan's record on women's issues and abortion is coming into sharpened focus since Mitt Romney tapped him...
Assisted Reproduction