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| The Baby Blueprint [VIDEO][With CGS's Marcy Darnovsky]Al Jazeera EnglishApril 22nd, 2013Would you choose your child's genetic potential? Live debate with Marcy Darnovsky, Stuart Newman, Julian Savulescu, and Nita Farahany. |
| Earth Day in Biopoliticsby Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesApril 22nd, 2013In honor of Earth Day, let’s hope for a move away from “greenwashed” PR stunts and techno-fixes toward conservation, sustainability, and social responsibility. |
| Shifts in the Global Body Market: Access or Exploitation?by Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesApril 1st, 2013PlanetHospital claims that new surrogacy regulations in India have ruined a “golden opportunity” and paints Mexico and Thailand as the surrogacy frontiers – where it happens to have business arrangements.
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| GM Babies?by Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesMarch 5th, 2013A debate about genetically engineered babies is hijacked by slick rhetoric.
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| Neo Neanderthal[With CGS's Pete Shanks]by Alyona Minkovski, HuffPost LiveJanuary 25th, 2013A leading geneticist at Harvard Medical School says he can clone a Neanderthal and resurrect the extinct species. What are the ethical issues, risks and benefits? |
| Genetic Privacy[Editorial]NatureJanuary 17th, 2013The ability to identify an individual from their anonymous genome sequence, using a clever algorithm and data from public databases, threatens the principle of subject confidentiality. |
| Why China is a Genetic Powerhouse with a Problem [Quotes CGS's Marcy Darnovsky]by Carolyn Abraham and Carolynne Wheeler, The Globe and MailDecember 15th, 2012Worry mounts that Beijing Genomics Institute, an enterprise backed in part with bank loans supported by the Chinese government, has unfettered access to the genetic building blocks of humanity. |
| European Society of Human Genetics Reprimands Myriad Geneticsby Emily Stehr, Biopolitical TimesNovember 7th, 2012Myriad Genetics claims its research data is a trade secret as it pushes for a stronger presence in the European genetic testing market. Experts' responses reflect the ideological divide in the ongoing challenge to Myriad's BRCA gene patents. |
| Advocating Human Germline Interventionsby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesOctober 28th, 2012Scientists in Oregon have published a paper that explicitly challenges the legal and procedural system that forbids genetic experiments on future generations, but most reports miss the full implications of the announcement. |
| The Reunion - Dolly the Sheepby Sue MacGregor, BBCSeptember 24th, 2012Five people involved in creating Dolly discuss the impact of their breakthrough in a radio interview. |
| IVF Study Shows One Embryo is Bestby Rebecca Brice, ABC NewsJuly 5th, 2012Australian researchers have discovered that the rate of perinatal deaths in IVF can be considerably reduced when only one embryo is used in the fertility treatment. |
| Mapping Synthetic Biologyby Daniel Sharp, Biopolitical TimesMay 24th, 2012Want to learn where synthetic biology is happening, who is funding it, and how to regulate it? A new academic publication reveals the intriguing details of the global synthetic biology network. |
| Make Me a Baby As Fast As You CanHow a California surrogacy operation streamlines baby production by implanting clients’ embryos in two Indian surrogates at the same timeby Douglas Pet, SlateJanuary 9th, 2012If for-profit companies are going to continue to approach baby-making like an import-export business, maybe it’s time for governments to start treating it that way, adapting oversight and protections for all parties involved. |
| Mengele in America[Commentary]by Donna Dickenson, Project SyndicateNovember 2nd, 2011The Guatemalan study, with its incontrovertible horrors, is an extreme example of the biggest ethical problems in research today. Now, as then, richer developed countries are able to put pressure on weaker, poorer ones. |
| Surrogate Mothers in Indiaby Fred de Sam Lazaro, PBSSeptember 30th, 2011PBS explores surrogate motherhood in India, including: the benefits for Americans, the prerequisites for being a surrogate for Indian women, and the health risks to surrogates and babies.
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| Sex Selection Blares on World Bank’s Radarby Doug Pet, Biopolitical TimesSeptember 21st, 2011The World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report, entitled “Gender Equality and Development” recognizes sex selection as a global issue perpetuating gender inequality.
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| More on the Guatemala Syphilis Scandalby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesSeptember 1st, 2011The Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues concluded its investigation of the horrifying Guatemalan syphilis experiments this week, and began to consider some new regulations. |
| The Blade Runner's Personal Victoryby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesAugust 31st, 2011Oscar Pistorius, running on two prosthetic legs, reached the semifinals of the track and field World Championship 400m race, encouraging some potentially important discussions. |
| Al Jazeera’s Fault Lines on Outsourcing Clinical Trialsby Osagie Obasogie, Biopolitical TimesJuly 19th, 2011Fault Lines’ Zeina Awad offers a compelling inside look into the questionable business of using vulnerable populations from the developing world to test drugs that will not benefit them and will largely be consumed by Westerners. |
| The Pratten ruling: An anonymous sperm provider’s son explains why it matters by Barry Stevens, Biopolitical Times guest contributorJune 2nd, 2011Along with the majority of my fellow offspring, I believe that it is wrong to use anonymous gamete providers in assisted conception. And the most common argument against an open system - that the number of egg and sperm donors will go down - is contradicted by the evidence.
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| Stem Cell Strife in US and EU Courtsby Doug Pet, Biopolitical TimesMay 11th, 2011Developments in US and European courts regarding funding and oversight of stem cell research have reopened passionate debates.
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| ESHRE on Reproductive Tourism: Be Niceby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesApril 26th, 2011The ESHRE "Good practice guide for cross-border reproductive care" is better on defining issues than solving problems. |
| Are We Protecting Human Subjects? by Jillian Theil, Biopolitical TimesMarch 7th, 2011A panel has been created to review the adequacy of current human subjects protections at home and abroad.
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| Criminal Surrogacy Ring Exposed in Thailandby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesMarch 2nd, 2011Police in Thailand have broken up a criminal operation, apparently based in Taiwan and with an office in Cambodia, that sold the services of Vietnamese women as surrogates. |
| International Survey of ART Releasedby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesSeptember 23rd, 2010The International Federation of Fertility Societies has just released Surveillance 2010, the 5th edition of a triennial global survey of the assisted reproduction industry. |
| Struggling to Control Fertility Tourismby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesApril 17th, 2010Several countries are trying to figure out what to do about their citizens who go abroad for assisted reproduction procedures to evade local prohibitions (or just to save money). |
| Study seeks ban on organ traffickingby Edith M. Lederer, Associated PressOctober 13th, 2009A new international convention is needed to prevent trafficking in organs, tissues and cells, according to a joint study by the United Nations and the Council of Europe. |
| Gray Goo Hits the Silver Screenby Osagie Obasogie, Biopolitical TimesAugust 31st, 2009G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra has been one of the summer’s top grossing movies, raking in over $256 million in box office sales over the past few weeks. From a Biopolitical Times perspective, what’s interesting is that the entire plot concerns the disaster and chaos that may come when nanotechnology falls into the wrong hands. |
| An Emerging ConsensusHuman Biotechnology Policies Around the Worldby Richard Hayes, Science ProgressNovember 6th, 2008The international community is developing policies that support embryonic stem cell research and embryo screening for medical purposes, but oppose human reproductive cloning, embryo screening for non-medical purposes, and genetic “enhancement.” |
| Will the UN revisit cloning?by Jesse Reynolds, Biopolitical TimesOctober 29th, 2008How are recent developments affecting a potential revival of a United Nations effort towards an international prohibition against cloning? |
| Gene Doping Hits the Headlinesby Pete Shanks, Biopolitical TimesJuly 29th, 2008The media are speculating about gene doping at the Olympics, and Friends of the Earth is urging sports to renounce it. |
| Sperm on the high seasby Marcy Darnovsky, Biopolitical TimesJuly 2nd, 2008A discussion of regulating medical tourism in "The challenge of `sperm ships’: The need for the global regulation of medical technology" |
| Gene Fears by Doping BodyEdinburgh Evening NewsJune 12th, 2008The World Anti-Doping Agency has called for increased awareness of the dangers of gene doping, which is thought to be the next big performance-enhancing threat in world sport. |
| Genetic Enhancement as Mutually Assured Destructionby Jesse Reynolds, Biopolitical TimesMarch 24th, 2008An article in the latest issue of Democracy - a fairly new progressive policy journal - frames the prospect of human genetic modification as a threat to global security. |
| Brave New World Warby Jamie Metzl, DemocracyMarch 21st, 2008Genetic engineering will soon turn science fiction to fact. Here's why we need a new global treaty to control it. |
| New international guidelines for stem cell scienceby Aria Pearson, New ScientistFebruary 1st, 2007The first international guidelines on human embryonic stem cell research, released on Thursday, echo public opinion in calling for a ban on human reproductive cloning. But they are already proving controversial in other angles. |
| UN's Annan Calls for Oversight of Biotechby Jesse Reynolds, Biopolitical TimesNovember 21st, 2006Kofi Annan's statements over the weekend are a welcome call for oversight of biotechnology. Although the UN Secretary General was speaking primarily about the challenges posed by bioweapons and bioterrorism, much of his comments could apply to a wide range of emerging biotechnologies. |
| U.N. Leader Urges Biotech SafeguardsReutersNovember 19th, 2006"Secretary General Kofi Annan of the United Nations warned Saturday that the potential for danger from the rapidly growing biotechnology industry was increasing exponentially and urged creating global safeguards." |
| The War on Gender: Global Sex Selectionby Parita Shah, Biopolitical TimesNovember 2nd, 2006The recently released UN report on violence against women cites sex-selection and infanticide as growing problems. New York Times columnist Bob Herbert agrees. In his column today, Herbert writes appropriately that the news media is reacting to worldwide violence against women with little more than a “collective yawn.” |
| The United Nations Human Cloning Treaty Debate, 2000-2005June 1st, 2006In December 2001 the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution proposed by France and Germany calling on the UN to initiate a process intended to lead to a binding treaty banning human reproductive cloning. |
| Other International Bodies and CloningA summary of policies and statements on reproductive and research cloning by the leadership of the European Union, World Health Organization, and the Group of Eight. |
| Governing Biotechnologyby George Annas, Global Agenda MagazineFebruary 13th, 2006"Developments in biotechnology have made possible species-changing and even species-endangering procedures, says George Annas. We urgently need a global governance structure to regulate them." |
| United Nations calls for Bans on Human CloningGenetic CrossroadsMarch 31st, 2005On Tuesday, March 8, after four years of debate, the United Nations General Assembly voted on a declaration calling for bans on the creation of clonal human embryos for research, as well as on reproductive cloning. |
| U.N. Divided: Human Clone BanAssociated PressMarch 8th, 2005After four years of talks, the UN General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution calling on member states to ban all forms of human cloning. A treaty was previously abandoned due to division over whether the ban should include research cloning. |
| UN Talks Seek Compromise on Human Cloning Banby Irwin Arieff, ReutersFebruary 13th, 2005"U.N. diplomats, deadlocked for years over the drafting of treaty to ban the cloning of human beings worldwide, open negotiations on Monday on an alternative that would instead urge each government to adopt its own laws on human cloning." |
| UN debates abortion of disabled foetusesby Irwin Arieff, ReutersFebruary 5th, 2005"U.N. diplomats drafting an international treaty on the rights of the disabled debated a possible ban on the abortion of foetuses with disabilities in an emotional negotiating session that ended on Friday." |
| U.N. Abandons Idea of Anti-Cloning Treatyby Nick Wadhams, Associated PressNovember 19th, 2004"U.N. diplomats abandoned contentious efforts to draft a treaty that would outlaw human cloning and will likely settle for a weaker declaration that won't seek a comprehensive ban, officials said." |
| Italy offers compromise on cloningAssociated PressNovember 18th, 2004"Italy has offered a compromise on human cloning that seeks common ground among U.N. member states who are sharply divided over competing treaties to ban the practice, diplomats said." |
| UN Nears Showdown on Pact to Ban Stem Cell Studyby Irwin Arieff, ReutersNovember 11th, 2004"Talks at the United Nations appear to have failed to avert a new U.N. confrontation over a U.S.-led drive to ban all cloning of human embryos including for stem cell research, diplomats said on Thursday." |
| U.N. Split on Human Cloning Banby Colum Lynch, Washington PostOctober 22nd, 2004"Britain, Japan, South Korea, India and scores of other close U.S. allies sought to head off the Bush administration's campaign to seek a global ban on all forms of human cloning, saying it would undercut scientific efforts to develop cures..." |
| S. Korea Backs [Delaying] U.N. Meeting on Stem Cell Researchby Irwin Arieff, ReutersOctober 19th, 2004"South Korea said on Tuesday it asked the United States to accept another year's delay in the drafting of a divisive treaty banning human cloning to allow time for a U.N. conference on the pros and cons of embryonic stem cell research." |
| UN considers cloning - againby Stephen Pincock, The ScientistOctober 13th, 2004"The United Nations (UN) is due to revisit the vexed issue of an international convention against reproductive cloning next week, and observers are expecting more of the wrangling that has bedeviled the subject in the past." |
| Latest ResourcesGenetic CrossroadsJuly 9th, 2004The Center for Public Integrity has released a seven-part report on the politics and policies of cloning, and the Genetics and Public Policy Center has released a new public opinion survey. |
| 2003 CGS Report on the UN Cloning Treaty NegotiationsHuman Cloning, the United Nations, and BeyondNovember 24th, 2003On November 6, 2003, after two years of debate and no substantive action, the United Nations voted to suspend until late 2005 any further consideration of a French-German proposal for an international treaty to ban human cloning. |
| Protecting the Endangered Human [PDF]Toward an International Treaty Prohibiting Cloning and Inheritable Alterationsby George Annas, Lori Andrews, and Rosario Isasi, American Journal of Law & Medicine, 28 (2002):151-178 |
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