CGS in the News

23andMe’s DNA database is up for sale. Who might want it, and what for?

By Anumita Kaur [cites CGS’ Katie Hasson], The Washington Post | 03.25.2025

Genetic information company 23andMe has said that it is headed to bankruptcy court, raising questions for what happens to the DNA shared by millions of people with the company via saliva test kits.

Sunday’s announcement clears the way for a new...

Genomics

The couple who want to make America procreate again

By Anne Branigin, The Washington Post [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.04.2025

^{Photo by TeggorMindFish via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under

the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license}

It's a...

Genetic Selection

Should We Use Gene Editing to Create Super Babies?

By Staff [cites CGS' Katie Hasson], The New York Times Upfront | 02.17.2025

A young couple wants to have a baby, but they’re worried it’ll carry a disease that runs in the family...

Bioethics

a woman in a lab coat looks at DNA under a microscope

Experts weigh medical advances in gene-editing with ethical dilemmas

By Rob Stein, NPR [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 03.06.2023

Hundreds of scientists, doctors, bioethicists, patients, and others started gathering in London Monday for the Third International Summit on Human...

Human Genetic Modification

Disgraced CRISPR-baby scientist’s ‘publicity stunt’ frustrates researchers

By Smriti Mallapaty, Nature [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.12.2023

He Jiankui, the Chinese biophysicist who shocked the world by creating the first children with edited genomes, says research must...

Society

Silhouettes of 4 people layered on the left, chunk of genetic code in between 2 DNA helices overlapping a graphic of Earth

It’s Too Late to Protect Your Genetic Privacy. The Math Explaining Why.

By Josh Zumbrun, The Wall Street Journal [Cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 05.20.2022

^{Photo by National Human Research Institute on Flickr}

Earlier this year, the police in Eugene, Ore., said they had identified...

Assisted Reproduction

a woman holds up a sign protesting sterilization of women

California’s little-known history of eugenics

By Crystal Qian and Elizabeth Cheng, The Epic [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 05.03.2022

^{"Women welfare rights activists holding signs protesting

proposed forced sterilization bill outside Tennessee courthouse, 1971,”

Southern Conference Educational Fund (SCEF)...}

Human Genetic Modification

4 pregnant women dressed in robes, standing in line; grayscale

Safety Concerns For Ukrainian Surrogate Mothers And Babies

By Bianca Facchinei, Newsy [cites CGS' Emily Galpern] | 03.25.2022

^{Photo by Astaken on Flickr}

The war in Ukraine has disrupted trade and threatened the global economy, from oil to...

Other Countries

tweezers are used to take a DNA strand apart

Should we use genome editing to make better babies? Here’s what the experts think

By Tim Brinkhof, Big Think [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 03.23.2022

George Church is one of the world’s most famous pioneers of genetics and biotechnology. He has made colossal contributions to...

Society

Campus professor Osagie K. Obasogie elected as member to the National Academy of Medicine

By Lydia Sidhom, The Daily Californian [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 10.20.2021

UC Berkeley professor of law and bioethics Osagie K. Obasogie was elected for membership to the National Academy of Medicine...

Civil Society

Polygenic screening of embryos is here, but is it ethical?

By Philip Ball, The Guardian [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 10.17.2021

The birth of the first IVF baby, Louise Brown, in 1978 provoked a media frenzy. In comparison, a little girl...

Genomics