Email from The Center For Genetics and Society The latest from the Center for Genetics and Society     DONATE January 23, 2025     A Pronatalist Vision of Humanity’s Future Shrese, Biopolitical Times | 01.07.2025 For those wondering what kind of world pronatalists are trying to build, one of the principal public proponents of pronatalism, Simone Collins, sums it up in a recent video: “We’re elitist and we believe in genes.”     Heartfelt thanks for powering our work Your generosity, including several large last-minute gifts, rocketed us way beyond our 2024 goal. We are deeply grateful to the many colleagues, friends, and subscribers like you, who together contributed nearly $47,000 to our Giving Tuesday and end-of-year fundraising campaigns. Stay tuned to see what your support makes possible.       Briefly Noted: Eugenics in Nature Pete Shanks, Biopolitical Times | 01.23.2025 A recent publication in Nature brings up and then dismisses concerns of eugenics in its discussion of heritable polygenic editing of embryos, even as fertility clinics clamor to develop and sell eugenic technologies.   Some Notable 2024 Blog Posts CGS Staff, Biopolitical Times | 01.01.2025 Contributors to CGS’ Biopolitical Times offered unique perspectives and insights on the social and eugenic implications of human gene editing and reproductive technologies. Take a look at some of our top posts from the year here.     GENE EDITING | EUGENICS ASSISTED REPRODUCTION | SURROGACY360 | VARIOUS   GENE EDITING Scientists call for revision on South Africa’s guidelines on genome engineering Di Caelers, Nature | 01.14.2025 The Southern African Society for Human Genetics is calling for revisions to the country’s research ethics guidelines after a small group of academics tried to argue that the guidelines could be interpreted as allowing heritable genome editing. Gene editor may have cured infant of a deadly metabolic disorder Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | 01.14.2025 A little-known CRISPR alternative that uses a DNA-cutting enzyme has been developed with help from the disgraced geneticist James Wilson. Reports suggest that the technique may have resolved a 1-year old boy’s deadly metabolic disorder. AI + CRISPR: The explosive fusion that will redefine biotechnology Jules Adam, Labiotech | 12.18.2024 Biotech companies and researchers are combining artificial intelligence and CRISPR genome editing, promising to speed up development and reduce off-target effects. Epigenetics and Heritable Control of Gene Expression Rebecca Roberts, The Scientist | 12.18.2024 Epigenome editing seeks to alter or remove inherited epigenetic marks that play a role in the development of various diseases by affecting how genes are expressed.   EUGENICS The broligarchs have a vision for the new Trump term. It’s darker than you think. Sigal Samuel, Vox | 01.20.2025 Tech billionaires’ backing of Trump isn’t just about money––it’s about an underlying ideology that gives them unchecked power and indulges their transhumanist fantasies. Mass deportations don’t keep out ‘bad genes’ − they use scientific racism to justify biased immigration policies Shoumita Dasgupta, The Conversation | 01.13.2025 Genetic essentialism and scientific racism are based in social biases, not science, but they are still being used to support anti-immigrant policy, rhetoric, and violence. Eugenics Isn’t Dead—It’s Thriving in Tech Julia Métraux, Mother Jones | 01.02.2025 A new book by information sciences and media studies professor Anita Say Chan traces how 20th-century eugenics and Big Tech today both falsely cast minorities, migrants, and disabled people as the “undeserving poor” with specious appeals to data and “science.” Trump and Musk are obsessed with genetics – but there’s no science behind their simplistic views Jonathan Roberts, The Guardian | 12.30.2024 Trump and Musk share an odd and threatening fondness for the inaccurate and unsavory myth of genetic determinism––an ideology that has been used to justify violence.   ASSISTED REPRODUCTION Aspiring Parents Have a New DNA Test to Obsess Over Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic | 01.15.2025 Despite scientific consensus that polygenic risk scores don’t provide useful insights into a person’s future health, companies including Genomic Prediction and Orchid claim they can test IVF embryos and allow parents to have the “healthiest” baby. “Who Does 11 Rounds of IVF? Me, Apparently.” Melissa Dahl, Slate | 01.13.2025 People undergoing IVF often face difficult decisions about when to stop trying. Clinics rarely emphasize that IVF is not a guarantee or advise patients when their chances of success are low. Inside the strange limbo facing millions of IVF embryos Jessica Hamzelou, MIT Technology Review | 01.13.2025 With IVF growing in popularity, the number of embryos created in the process is increasing as well. Weak and absent regulation means that no one knows how many millions—or potentially tens of millions—are stored in cryopreservation tanks around the world.   SURROGACY 360   Filipino surrogates receive royal pardon Tatiana Giovannucci, PET | 01.13.2025 Thirteen women from the Philippines acting as surrogates in Cambodia were convicted under Cambodian human trafficking laws, but received royal pardons. All of them were repatriated to the Philippines––some with children they birthed as a result of the surrogacy arrangements.   VARIOUS New legal opinion: New GMOs deregulation proposal shifts safety testing, liability to EU food industry GMWatch | 01.14.2025 A new legal opinion suggests that planned deregulation of new GMOs in the EU would shift responsibility for safety testing and liability risks from biotech companies to food companies. Biden Is About to Hand Over a Vast and Unconstitutional DNA Database to Trump Emily Tucker, Truthout | 01.07.2025 Over the last four years, ICE and Customs and Border Patrol have been conducting “mass biological surveillance” by taking DNA samples from people they detain, often without their knowledge. The samples are stored indefinitely, with little regulation to limit what the federal government can do with the data.   If you’ve read this far, you clearly care about the fight to reclaim human biotechnologies for the common good. Thank you!  Will you support CGS by making a donation today? DONATE       SUBSCRIBE | WEBSITE | ABOUT US | CONTACT       DONATE The Center For Genetics and Society | 2900 Lakeshore Avenue | Oakland, CA 94610 US Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice