CGS in the News

23andMe’s DNA database is up for sale. Who might want it, and what for?

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...

Genomics

The couple who want to make America procreate again

By Anne Branigin, The Washington Post [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.04.2025

Photo by TeggorMindFish via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under
the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

It's a...

Genetic Selection

Should We Use Gene Editing to Create Super Babies?

By Staff [cites CGS' Katie Hasson], The New York Times Upfront | 02.17.2025

A young couple wants to have a baby, but they’re worried it’ll carry a disease that runs in the family...

Bioethics
5 men running on a track

Should Athletes Be Allowed to Enhance Their Genes?

By Nick Busca, Medium [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 04.25.2019

Scientists first developed gene therapy techniques in the 1990s, exploring ways to treat disease by modifying malfunctioning cells. In 1997...

Human Genetic Modification
Human embryo under a microscope on blue background

U.S. researcher says he’s ready to start four pregnancies with ‘three-parent’ embryos

By Emily Mullin, STAT [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 04.18.2019

Researchers at Columbia University in New York have created embryos containing genetic material from three people and are ready to...

Assisted Reproduction
A colorful image of a fertilized egg.

Two moms and a dad give birth to healthy ‘three-person baby’

By Muri Assuncao, Daily News [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 04.11.2019

Oh baby!

A team of doctors from Greece and Spain announced the birth of a healthy baby boy who was...

Assisted Reproduction
Padlock attached to a DNA strand on a blue background.

Don’t Buy California’s Callous Attempt to Ignore People’s DNA Privacy Rights, EFF Tells Court

By Karen Gullo, Electronic Frontier Foundation [cites CGS and Pete Shanks] | 03.29.2019

Analyzing and indefinitely keeping the DNA profiles of thousands of Californians arrested for felonies, but never charged with a crime...

Policies
White pencil writing a double strand of DNA on a blue background

Scientists Call for a Moratorium on Editing Inherited Genes

By Karen Weintraub, Scientific American [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 03.13.2019

A group of 18 prominent scientists—including some who helped develop CRISPR–Cas9, the current leading tool for gene editing—issued a call...

Human Genetic Modification
Depiction of CRISPR--purple strand of DNA being cut from them middle of two orange strands

Call For Global Moratorium On Creating Gene-Edited Babies

By Rob Stein , National Public Radio [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 03.13.2019

A group of prominent scientists and bioethicists is calling for a global moratorium on any new attempts to bring gene-edited...

Human Genetic Modification
Microscopic picture of egg cells and embryos

New U.S. Experiments Aim To Create Gene-Edited Human Embryos

By Rob Stein, National Public Radio [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 02.01.2019

A scientist in New York is conducting experiments designed to modify DNA in human embryos as a step toward someday...

Human Genetic Modification
United Nations logo in black.

WHO to Create Global Advisory Panel on Human Gene Editing

By Marcia Frellick, Medscape [cites CGS' Katie Hasson] | 12.18.2018

The World Health Organization (WHO) is creating a global panel to study human gene editing and the scientific, legal, social...

Genetic Selection