Articles and Commentary

The Blurred Lines of Genetic Data: Practicality, Pleasure and Policing

By Jessica Cussins, The Huffington Post | 05.08.2015

A new rumor is spreading that Apple may be leveraging its ubiquity to encourage iPhone owners to participate in DNA testing, perhaps to bulk up the medical data-collecting capabilities of its ResearchKit.

According to Antonio Regalado at MIT Technology...

Genomics

23andMe’s Dangerous Business Model

By Marcy Darnovsky, The New York Times | 03.02.2015

Many of us would be delighted to contribute to medical advances. But handing over reams of our genetic, health and personal information to companies like 23andMe – and paying them for the privilege – isn’t the best way to do...

Biotech & Pharma

Britain is on the Brink of a Perilous Vote for 'Three-Person In Vitro Fertilization'

By Marcy Darnovsky and Jessica Cussins, Los Angeles Times | 02.08.2015

Britain is about to become the only country in the world to explicitly allow the inheritable genetic modification of humans. With a vote Feb. 3 in the House of Commons, the country has paved the way for "three-person in vitro...

Biopolitics

UK Set to Legalize Babies With DNA From 3 Parents

By KQED, KQED Radio [With CGS's Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.06.2015

 

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After a parliamentary vote earlier this week, the United Kingdom is set to become the first country to legalize making a baby with DNA from three parents. The controversial procedure, which prevents mothers from...

Assisted Reproduction

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Tests Should Come With a Health Warning

By Jessica Cussins, The Pharmaceutical Journal | 01.15.2015

In late 2014, the Google-backed company 23andMe announced that it would start selling its direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test in Canada and the UK — despite being banned by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from selling it in the United States following...

Genomics

CRISPR Opportunities ... For What? And for Whom?

By Pete Shanks, Huffington Post | 12.10.2014

Money and deals are flowing into companies that promise to edit genes. Human, animal, plant, all kinds of DNA may be on the cutting board. And once the replacements are pasted in, the results could dramatically change our lives --...

Biopolitics

Why Worry About Genetically Modified Babies?

By Marcy Darnovsky and Jessica Cussins, GeneWatch | 11.24.2014

The terms "genetically modified babies" and "designer babies" are attention-getters. But beyond the catchy sound bites, what do they really mean - and are they something we need to worry about?

Unfortunately, with the technical capacity to engineer inheritable traits...

Assisted Reproduction

Silicon Valley’s Egg-Freezing Perk Is Bad for People Across the Board

By Marcy Darnovsky, RH Reality Check | 10.23.2014

News about Silicon Valley’s egg-freezing perk has ignited many much-needed conversations about the tech industry’s family-unfriendly workplaces and policies that make it hard to reconcile being a mother and having a job. But of dozens of articles and blog posts...

Bioethics