The Center for Genetics and Society brings social justice and human rights to the center of public and policy discussions about human genetics and assisted reproduction.

Featured

Bay Area Startups Want to Make Genetically Engineered Babies. What Could Go Wrong?

By Grace Won, KQED Forum [with CGS' Katie Hasson] | 12.02.2025

Aggregated News

In the U.S., it’s illegal to edit genes in human embryos with the intention of creating a genetically engineered baby. But according to the Wall Street Journal, Bay Area startups are focused on just that. It wouldn’t be the first...

Genetic Selection

Silicon Valley’s race to produce genetically engineered humans

By Katie Hasson | 11.21.2025
Biopolitical Times

Several recent Biopolitical Times posts (1, 2, 3, 4) have called attention to the alarmingly rapid commercialization of “designer baby” technologies: polygenic embryo screening (especially its use to purportedly screen for traits like intelligence), in vitro gametogenesis (lab-made eggs and sperm), and heritable genome editing (also termed embryo editing or reproductive gene editing). Those three, together with artificial wombs, have been dubbed the “Gattaca stack” by Brian Armstrong, CEO of the cryptocurrency company...

Genetic Selection

Remembering Disability Justice Warrior Alice Wong

By Emily Galpern | 11.20.2025
Biopolitical Times

Alice Wong, founder of the Disability Visibility Project, MacArthur Genius, liberationist, storyteller, writer, and friend of CGS, died...

Arts & Culture

Developments in gene-editing technology raise new ethical questions

By [cites CGS' Katie Hasson], KCBS Radio | 11.19.2025

Aggregated News

This is Ask An Expert, where every weekday at 9:20am, KCBS Radio is giving you direct access to top experts...

U.S. Federal

Biopolitical Times

The Shameful Legacy of Tuskegee Is Still Relevant

By Pete Shanks | 01.28.2026

Group of Tuskegee Experiment test subjects
Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Every generation needs to learn about what is commonly...

U.S. Federal

Some of Our Favorite 2025 Blog Posts

By Pete Shanks | 01.06.2026

Following a long-standing CGS tradition, we present a selection of our favorite Biopolitical Times posts of the past year.

In...

Policies

Good Trouble

By Pete Shanks | 12.18.2025

A Review of Exposed by Becky McClain

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic...

Society

News

Why these women break the law to sell their eggs for IVF

By Diaa Hadid and Shweta Desai, NPR | 01.29.2026

MUMBRA, India — The afternoon sun shines on the woman in a commuter-town café, highlighting her almond-shaped eyes and pale skin, a look often sought after by couples who need an egg to have a baby.

"I have good eggs,"...

Assisted Reproduction

The ‘R-Word’ Returns, Dismaying Those Who Fought to Oust It

By Dan Barry and Sonia A. Rao, The New York Times | 01.26.2026

Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States
of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Late last month, a woman posted a photograph on social media of a purple hat she had knitted, while a black-and-white dog...

Society

Genetic Data From Over 20,000 U.S. Children Misused for ‘Race Science’

By Mike McIntire, The New York Times | 01.24.2026

Genetic researchers were seeking children for an ambitious, federally funded project to track brain development — a study that they told families could yield invaluable discoveries about DNA’s impact on behavior and disease.

They also promised that the children’s sensitive...

Policies

The New Eugenics in Medicine

By Arthur Lazarus, MedPage Today | 01.23.2026

A growing body of contemporary research and reporting exposes how old ideas can find new life when repurposed within modern systems of medicine, technology, and public policy. Over the last decade, several trends have converged:

  • The rise of polygenic scoring...
Genetic Selection

Video
Reproduction and Family Formation: The State and the Market
Use Gene Editing to Make Better Babies | Debate | Intelligence Squared U.S.
The 'Perfect' Baby?: The Dangers of Gene Editing in Assisted Reproduction