New Jersey Wants Your Baby's Genes
Collecting and analyzing newborns' blood could allow the state to surveil people for life.
Genetics
Jews, Like Palestinians, Are 'Indigenous' to the Middle East
The Hamas-embraced idea that Jews have no place in Israel fosters extremism on both sides.
Don't Keep Parents in the Dark About the Genetic Risks in Their Families
No, it's not ethical to keep them from potentially lifesaving information about their babies—and themselves.
Gregor Mendel, the Father of Genetics and a Tax Resister, Turns 200
Mendel had a history of run-ins with the state.
Happy 200th Birthday, Gregor Mendel
Remembering the world’s first geneticist, and a tax protester to boot
Federal Regulations Keep COVID Patients in the Dark About Which Variant They Have
Plus: Airbnb will host 20,000 Afghan refugees, court rejects Nunes lawsuit against Liz Mair, and more..
Pentagon Memo Warns Against Identification Risks of Consumer Genetic Testing
That horse has left the barn.
Can the Fourth Amendment Save Us from the Coming Era of Pervasive Biometric Surveillance?
New technologies mean new crimesolving techniques—and new threats to privacy and liberty.
The Case for Designer Babies
We already give our kids music lessons, braces, and tutoring. Why not also give them better genes?
Making Malaria Mosquitoes Extinct Using Engineered Gene-Drives
"If my kids lived in Africa, I'd say, 'Go for it as quickly as possible,'" says researcher.
Choosing Smart Embryos Isn't Immoral
It would be deeply immoral to require parents to select for particular traits, but it is also wrong to deny them the chance to make life easier for their children.
The New York Times Condescends to Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Fans
If Times editors don't want to learn about their genetics, then they simply shouldn't take the tests.
It's OK To Make Money on Genetic Research
Companies should be applauded, not criticized, for working to identify the genetic roots of diseases that afflict humanity.
The $200 Genome
On sale now by Veritas Genetics, but likely to be the list price in a year or two.
Proposed U.N. Test Ban on Gene Drives Is Idiotic
The good news is that anti-technology activists are unlikely to succeed in imposing a global moratorium.
Do I Owe It to My Criminal Relatives to Keep My Genes a Secret?
When genetic testing results become a tool for law enforcement
Should the Government Ban Parents Using IVF from Picking Their Kid's Eye Color?
There is no compelling ethical reason to limit this exercise of reproductive liberty.
People Are Getting Dumber: The Flynn Effect Goes Into Reverse
Is it genes, or have we "started building a stupidity-inducing environment"?
Is 23andMe's 'Root for Your Roots' World Cup Promotion Racist?
A bioethicist argues that the genetic testing company is fostering pseudoscientific bigotry by urging customers to pick a soccer team based on their ancestry.
The Golden State Killer and Your Genetic Privacy
Do you have a reasonable expectation of genetic privacy under the Fourth Amendment?
Balaji Srinivasan: Technology Will Lead to a Borderless World
The Silicon Valley entrepreneur says cryptocurrencies, virtual reality, and mobile devices are helping individuals escape failed institutions.
Chuck Schumer Freaks Out Over Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing Privacy
Worried about your genetic privacy? Then don't take the tests.
The FDA Will Finally Let You See Your Genetic Information
FDA head Scott Gottlieb overturns Obama's ban on direct-to-consumer genetic testing.
Longevity Predictor Test: How Old Are You Really?
Should your life insurance company be prohibited from requiring you to take the test?
Let's Give Out Genetic Testing Kits at the Next Neo-Nazi Rally
Destroying the idea of racial purity one tiki torcher at a time
Helix Launches Online Personal Genomics Testing Marketplace
A work-around for the FDA's ban on direct-to-consumer genetic testing?
Should the Government Limit What Women Can Learn from Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing?
Bioethicists in Britain say yes. But there are no such limits in the U.S. yet.
Genetic Testing Might Not Cure Everything That Ails America. So What?
Even if genetic testing is just brightly colored signage, it still has the potential to improve health outcomes.
FDA Loosens Its Shackles on 23andMe Personal Genomics Company
Still forbidden to tell customers nearly 90 percent of what the company used to be able to share
Of Course People Should Have Access to Their Genetic Data!
I don't want to have a "conversation" with regulators; I want them to get the hell out of the way
My 'Warrior Gene' and My Propensity for Criminality
It's way too early to start putting people like me in jail based on our genomes
CORRECTION: Gene Drives, the Precautionary Principle, and the National Academy of Sciences
Go slow and let more people suffer and die
Zika Virus Outbreak: Unleash the GMO Mosquitoes!
While we wait for a vaccine, GMO mosquitoes are here now to help control the outbreak.
Venezuela Bans GMOs, Utopia via the Borg Collective, and Cancer: Bad Luck or Environment?
A scitech research and policy roundup for January 6, 2016
Bioethics: Standing Athwart Science, Yelling 'Whoa'*
I'm a bioethicist, and I am here to help slow down scientific and medical progress
Is Assortative Mating Responsible for Rising Income Inequality?
George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen suggests that it might be.
CRISPR Gene-Editing Is Scientific "Breakthrough of the Year"
"If scientists can dream of a genetic manipulation, CRISPR can now make it happen"
Drunken Recklessness May Be Genetic
A "relatively common" genetic mutation may trigger poor impulse control, especially when drinking.
FDA Takes One Regulatory Shackle Off 23andMe Gene Testing
Agency still treats consumers like idiots
Much Hyped Theranos Diagnostics: Is It Vaporware?
Even worse, CEO Holmes evidently wants the FDA to regulate competing products
Hey Bioethicists, Stop Treating Us Like Dim-Witted Children!
Let us decide for ourselves if genetic ignorance is bliss.
Ohio Likely to Ban Abortion of Fetuses Diagnosed With Down Syndrome
Since such bans are largely unenforceable, the measure is more mechanism for pro-life political signaling than anything else.
Easy New Gene Editing Technique CRISPR Conjures Fears of a Brave New World
Is it immoral to slow progress toward curing diseases and creating more environmentally benign products?
Ronald Bailey Hangs Out WIth the Bioethicists at the BEINGS 2015 Summit
Is life better than death; health better disease; wealth better than poverty? Opinions vary.
Block Biotech Progress or Embrace It? Bioethicists Debate What's to Come.
Is progress itself an ethical obligation? Opinions vary.
CORRECTION: Ancestry.com Hands Over Client DNA Test Results to Cops Witho?u?t? a Warrant*
A pretty good way to discourage people from using gene testing services
