Top Biopolitical Times Posts of 2014
In 2014, CGS staffers and contributors posted 107 blogs in Biopolitical Times. These are 12 of our favorites, in chronological order:
Chinese Scientists, “Genius Genes,” and the Future of Genomics
Jessica Cussins
The New Yorker delves into the “biological data mill” that is BGI: the world’s largest, and arguably most controversial, genomics headquarters.
Hit-and-Miss Genetic Testing
Pete Shanks
In at least four experiments, identical DNA has been sent to different direct-to-consumer testing companies. In every case, significant anomalies appeared.
Human Longevity, Inc.
Pete Shanks
Craig Venter's new genomics company may face some stiff competition.
Nicholas Wade: Genes, Race and Anthropology
Pete Shanks
Is Nicholas Wade shocked and horrified that his new book, A Troublesome Inheritance: Genes, Race and Human History, is getting support from racists? Really, what did he expect?
Scientists, Stem Cells and Self-Delusion?
Pete Shanks
A very disquieting meta-analysis casts doubt on recent findings suggesting that bone marrow stem cells can help in treating heart disease.
Orphan Black: The Best Show You’ve Never Seen
Jessica Cussins
A BBC America television series about clones is seriously good.
A Paragraph in Slow Motion: Three-Person IVF in The New York Times
George Estreich
A close look at the rhetoric used to justify experimental technologies, and particularly at the way reasonable objections are dismissed.
Data Yearning to Become Expensive Information
Pete Shanks
Big players have big “big data and genetics” plans afoot. Here’s the news from Genomics England, 23andMe, Google and Craig Venter.
Dear Facebook, Please Don’t Tell Women to Lean In to Egg Freezing
Jessica Cussins
In the latest example of Silicon Valley’s challenges in dealing with non-virtual reality, Facebook and Apple are offering female employees a $20,000 benefit toward elective egg freezing, despite serious and under-studied health risks to women and children.
A Season of Surrogacy Scandals
Marcy Darnovsky
Recent stories about dubious practices or outright scandals in Australia, Thailand, China, Mexico and Los Angeles have underscored concerns about commercial and cross-border surrogacy arrangements.
What Good is a Scientific Meeting If You Dismiss the Science?
Jessica Cussins
The Science and Technology Committee of the UK Parliament held an evidence hearing to examine the science and proposed regulation of so-called “mitochondrial donation,” or “3-person IVF,” but huge swaths of evidence were dismissed.
The Vagina Bio-Hack That Wasn’t: How Two “Startup Bros” Twisted and Took Credit for a Young Woman’s Company
Jessica Cussins
When news broke that two male CEOs wanted to make women’s vaginas smell like peaches, there was a well-deserved backlash. Now, it turns out the project wasn’t even theirs, and they got it all wrong.
Previously on Biopolitical Times: