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.
Publications
Five years ago, on November 25, 2018, the world learned that a rogue Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, had created the...
At a time of budget crisis, Proposition 14 commits California to spending $5 billion (plus interest) that we don’t have...
In mid-July, a bipartisan trio of U.S. Senators—Democrats Dianne Feinstein of California and Jack Reed of Rhode Island and Republican...
In the News
The first medicine based on gene editing, a one-time therapy for sickle cell disease, was just approved in the...
Five years ago, on November 25, 2018, the world learned that a rogue Chinese scientist, He Jiankui, had created the...
At a time of budget crisis, Proposition 14 commits California to spending $5 billion (plus interest) that we don’t have...
Biopolitical Times
Not the species, certainly, but the Institute of that name, which was founded by transhumanist philosopher Nick Bostrom in 2005...
Sheep have been domesticated for roughly 12,000 years. Sheep have also been cloned since 1996; Dolly (pictured) was the first...
23andMe’s stock price since late 2020
23andMe, the first-off-the-blocks personal genomics company, has been struggling lately. In October, there were...
Talks and Testimonies
Synthetic Biology Shaping San Francisco hosted a forum titled, "Synthetic Biology: DIY Tinkering Meets Big Capital."
Full video and transcript can be...