CGS's favorite blog posts of 2008
Continuing the theme of looking back at 2008, a panel of critical judges (ourselves) voted for our favorite posts at Biopolitical Times:
One gene, two genes; Red genes, blue genes
by Jesse Reynolds, February 14th, 2008
The cover of a recent issue of New Scientist conveniently captures almost all that is wrong with media coverage of genetic discoveries.
PhRMA and BIO self-image: Downtrodden and besieged
by Marcy Darnovsky, February 25th, 2008
Pity the poor bioscience industry.
Who's Biting Who?: Headlines on white surrogate for Asian couple
by Osagie Obasogie, March 10th, 2008
When it comes to reproductive technologies, race is increasingly becoming the dividing line between journalists' view of the ordinary and the extraordinary.
The Many Hats of Robert Klein
by Jesse Reynolds, April 11th, 2008
The chair of California's multi-billion dollar stem cell research agency tries to juggle many hats, including those of advocate and lobbyist.
Breadline or egg line?
by Marcy Darnovsky, August 6th, 2008
More women are trying to deal with the economic downturn by selling their eggs or signing up as surrogates.
The spitterati and trickle-down genomics
by Marcy Darnovsky, September 17th, 2008
23andMe's use of celebrities and glitzy parties to promote its direct-to-consumer DNA tests has deflected attention from the concerns and criticisms of physicians, bioethicists, and regulators.
Bioethics for Profit?
by Pete Shanks, October 14th, 2008
Is there something problematic about an explicitly for-profit bioethics operation that is closely linked to a prominent academic journal?
H+ ≈ Humanity+ ≈ Humanity Plus ≈ WTA ≈ Extropy (etc.)by Pete Shanks, October 20th, 2008
The relaunch of the World Transhumanist Association, now Humanity Plus, stumbles on, with the launch of H+ Magazine.
All the President's Genes?by Pete Shanks, November 5th, 2008
Some are proposing that we begin to judge candidates by genotype instead of superficial aspects of phenotype
The rich are different from you and me: Yes, they hire surrogates
by Jesse Reynolds, December 1st, 2008
The cover story of last week's New York Times Sunday Magazine addresses the issue of the commercialization of assisted reproduction in a manner that is simultaneously bluntly honest and painfully naive.
Picking the Best Baby
by Jesse Reynolds, December 2nd, 2008
With the price of genetic sequencing plummeting, technologies enabling prospective parents and clinicians to pick the genetically "best" potential child may become feasible.
DNA Databases: Another Human Rights Violation in the U.S. Criminal Justice System?
by Osagie K. Obasogie, December 9th, 2008
A ruling last week out of the European Court of Human Rights suggests that the US might be engaging in a human rights violation by collecting and retaining DNA profiles from arrestees never convicted of a crime.