Expanding Biolab Complex in Berkeley Has Residents Worried
By Sharon Lerner, Lee Fang,
The Intercept [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky]
| 06. 09. 2021
The Bayer Corporation has made it clear that the creation of a biological research facility on its waterfront property in Berkeley, California, will not have any significant impact on birds, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, traffic, or noise levels. But while the company’s application to the Berkeley City Council to extend the 30-year development plan for its 46-acre campus is filled with meticulous details, down to the vibration levels of the various pieces of construction equipment that may build it and the degree to which sunlight will reflect off the new buildings, the company has provided area residents with far less clarity on the research that will go on inside its newly expanded complex and how it might affect them.
“What are they going to do there? What kind of microorganisms are they going to be working with?” asked Marcy Darnovsky. “They say they’re going to follow all the rules. Well, is there any oversight?” Darnovsky, a resident of the area and executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society, which advocates for the responsible use of biotechnology, is asking questions that have...
Related Articles
By Mary Annette Pember, ICT News [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 04.18.2025
The sight of a room full of human cadavers can be off-putting for some, but not for Haley Omeasoo.
In fact, Omeasoo’s comfort level and lack of squeamishness convinced her to pursue studies in forensics and how DNA can be...
Gray wolf by Jessica Eirich via Unsplash
“I’m not a scarcity guy, I’m an abundance guy”
– Colossal co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm, The New Yorker, 4/14/25
Even the most casual consumers of news will have seen the run of recent headlines featuring the company Colossal Biosciences. On March 4, they announced with great fanfare the world’s first-ever woolly mice, as a first step toward creating a woolly mammoth. Then they topped that on April 7 by unveiling one...
By Katrina Northrop, The Washington Post | 04.06.2025
photo via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 3.0
China's most infamous scientist is attempting a comeback. He Jiankui, who went to jail for three years after claiming he had created the world's first genetically altered babies, says he remains...
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...