Pete Shanks

Pete Shanks, MA, attended Oxford University, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics, and moved to California in the mid-1970s. He has been active in a range of local and international political movements, while mostly making his living in the publishing industry, especially on the production side; he enjoys the craft of bookmaking. Appalled by the eugenic possibilities of biotechnology, he has consulted with the Center for Genetics and Society since its earliest days. He is the author of Human Genetic Engineering: A Guide for Activists, Skeptics, and the Very Perplexed (Nation Books) and a regular contributor to Biopolitical Times.

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Publications

Stem cell injection
By Pete Shanks, Capitol Weekly | 10.26.2020

At a time of budget crisis, Proposition 14 commits California to spending $5 billion (plus interest) that we don’t have...

scientist looking at a computer monitor
By Pete Shanks, The Progressive | 08.14.2019

In mid-July, a bipartisan trio of U.S. Senators—Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California and Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Republican...

"Proceed with caution" traffic sign, against a blue sky.
By Pete Shanks, Deccan Chronicle | 10.02.2016

News broke this week that the first “three-parent” baby had been born. But the untested and controversial nature of the...

In the News

Stem cell injection
By Pete Shanks, Capitol Weekly | 10.26.2020

At a time of budget crisis, Proposition 14 commits California to spending $5 billion (plus interest) that we don’t have...

scientist looking at a computer monitor
By Pete Shanks, The Progressive | 08.14.2019

In mid-July, a bipartisan trio of U.S. Senators—Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California and Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Republican...

Padlock attached to a DNA strand on a blue background.
By Karen Gullo, Electronic Frontier Foundation [cites CGS and Pete Shanks] | 03.29.2019

Analyzing and indefinitely keeping the DNA profiles of thousands of Californians arrested for felonies, but never charged with a crime...

Biopolitical Times

Adapted from Mitochondrial DNA at
National Human Genome Research Institute

The Guardian reports that “a small number of babies” with...

On April 19–21, the National Academies are hosting an extended Workshop on:

In Vitro Derived Human Gametes as a Reproductive...

Image courtesy National Human Genome Research Institute

The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) published on...

Talks and Testimonies

Shaping SF Panel presenters Tito Jankowski, Elliot Hosman, and Pete Shank look thoughyfully engaged in discussion. Above them is a quote from Jennifer Doudna stating, "Once the discovery is made, it's out there. Anybody with basic molecular biology training can use it for genome editing. That's a bit scary."

Synthetic Biology Shaping San Francisco hosted a forum titled, "Synthetic Biology: DIY Tinkering Meets Big Capital." 

Full video and transcript can be...