The latest from the Center for Genetics and Society ‌ ‌ ‌ October 29, 2020 New Research Shows That Heritable Genome Editing Is Prohibited in Most Countries with Relevant Policies 70 countries categorically prohibit heritable human genome editing, a finding in striking contrast to previous assumptions. Read CGS' press statement about a new article published in The CRISPR Journal. Climate Crisis, Designer Babies and Pandemics: Challenging the Techno-Utopianism of the Genetically Engineered Age The September webinar featuring author and activist Bill McKibben, evolutionary biologist Stuart Newman, and social theorist Marsha Darling, moderated by Pat Thomas of the Organic Consumers Association, is available on demand. In addition to the full video, we’ve posted brief excerpts and a lightly edited transcript of the wide-ranging and fascinating conversation. Human Germline and Heritable Genome Editing: The Global Policy Landscape Françoise Baylis, Marcy Darnovsky, Katie Hasson, and Timothy M. Krahn, The CRISPR Journal | 10.20.2020 New research just published finds that 70 countries categorically prohibit heritable human genome editing. These results contrast with widespread underreporting of existing policies, as well as with claims that international cooperation would be unlikely on the issue of heritable genome editing for human reproduction. ICE Sterilizations Should Be a Wake-Up Call to California and its Governor Emily Galpern, Alexandra Minna Stern, Laura Jiménez, Carly A. Myers, and Diana Block, Biopolitical Times | 10.26.2020 Governor Newsom now has the opportunity to confront the state’s shameful legacy once and for all: the Governor must include the request to compensate survivors of forced sterilization in his upcoming January budget. Proposition 14 Update: Will Cash and Connections Overwhelm Skepticism from the Press? Pete Shanks, Biopolitical Times | 10.28.2020 Proponents have raised over $16 million; opponents, $250. There just isn’t an organized campaign against Prop 14. But major newspapers around the state recommend voting NO. Billions more of public money for stem cell research? Pete Shanks, Capitol Weekly | 10.26.2020 At a time of budget crisis, Proposition 14 commits California to spending $5 billion (plus interest) that we don’t have, on a bureaucracy we don’t need, in pursuit of cures no one can guarantee. Crispr Gene Editing Can Lead to Big Mistakes in Human Embryos Amy Dockser Marcus, Wall Street Journal | 10.29.2020 A Columbia University study of Crispr technology found it made unwanted chromosomal changes in human embryos. “There is still a window to have a meaningful conversation about the social questions” on heritable genome editing, said Marcy Darnovsky, CGS executive director and one of the authors of a recently published global policy study. UC Berkeley is disavowing its eugenic research fund after bioethicist and other faculty call it out Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | 10.26.2020 Osagie Obasogie, bioethics professor at UC Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Center for Genetics and Society, sounded alarm bells after learning about a $2.4-million fund to support research and education on eugenics at the School of Public Health. Eugenics expert Alexandra Minna Stern, Professor of American Culture at the University of Michigan and member of the CGS Advisory Board, pointed out, “Eugenics does exist today but it’s morphed and changed. Some people call it ‘newgenics’ instead of eugenics.” Gene Editing Cannot Be Separated From The Violent History of Eugenics and Medical Racism Jude Casimir, Wear Your Voice | 10.27.2020 For all the promises of gene editing, its study cannot be separated from the violent history that has inspired many of its endeavors — like the ordeal of Henrietta Lacks and her cells—and the gleeful brutality of white supremacy, which would be more than happy to leverage its achievements. Californians Asked to Pony Up for Stem Cell Research — Again Rachel Bluth, California Healthline | 10.21.2020 Much like its predecessor, the campaign for Prop 14 may be giving people unrealistic expectations and false hope, said Marcy Darnovsky, executive director of the Center for Genetics and Society. “It undermines people’s trust in science. No one can promise cures, and nobody should.” EUGENICS | DISABILITY RIGHTS | RACISM | STEM CELL RESEARCH | HERITABLE GENOME EDITING | ASSISTED REPRODUCTION | DATA AND PRIVACY | VARIOUS EUGENICS Eugenics is making a comeback. Resist, before history repeats itself Adam Cohen, Los Angeles Times | 10.14.2020 Seventy-five years after the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, a United States president not only spoke about “good genes” in racialized terms — he believed that his observations would help him to win in the relatively liberal state of Minnesota. A Brief History of Sterilization Abuse in the U.S. and its Connection to ICE Mass Hysterectomies in Georgia Gabriela Salas, National Women’s Health Network | 10.02.2020 In light of the recent horrific news about an ICE detention center, the National Women’s Health Network presents a brief history of sterilization and reproductive abuse in the U.S. and makes clear that this is an ongoing issue for the reproductive rights of marginalized communities. DISABILITY RIGHTS Kicked From the Curb in Alabama Ari Ne’eman, New York Times | 10.28.2020 The Supreme Court’s ruling to restrict access to voting is a reminder of the importance of disability rights laws for protecting the civil rights of all Americans. How Trump Exemplifies Our Ableist Culture Steven W. Thrasher, Scientific American | 10.07.2020 The idea that we must “beat” or “get over” illness helps explain the grotesque carnival we’re now seeing in the White House RACISM Two Black university leaders urged their campuses to join a Covid-19 vaccine trial. The backlash was swift Nicholas St. Fleur, STAT | 10.12.2020 Recruitment efforts will need to overcome the deep-seated suspicions of many Black Americans toward medical researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and the government that stem from long-standing racial injustices perpetrated by those institutions. The Mythical Taboo on Race and Intelligence John P. Jackson, Jr., Andrew S. Winston, Review of General Psychology | 10.07.2020 Recent discussions have revived old claims that hereditarian research on race differences in intelligence has been subject to a long and effective taboo. These claims are a myth. STEM CELL RESEARCH With wildfires burning and Covid-19 spreading, can California afford stem cell research? Voters are set to decide Usha Lee McFarling, STAT | 10.26.2020 Opponents say the stem cell field is now flush with research funding from the federal government, venture capitalists, and philanthropists like Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, and its supporters have no business asking California residents to pony up for continuing research — especially when the state faces a dire budget outlook due to the pandemic and wildfires, and struggles to fund public education and curb homelessness. Proposition 14: First CEO of California Stem Cell Agency Says $5.5 Billion Stem Cell Measure Not Needed David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report | 10.26.2020 Zach Hall, now retired and living in Wyoming, says a justification for the stem cell agency existed in 2004 when it was created by voters via another ballot measure, but "the rationale and need are not so evident today for a state-supported agency dedicated to stem cell research." California Voters to Decide Future of Stem Cell Funding Agency Katarina Zimmer, The Scientist | 10.24.2020 Jeff Sheehy, longtime CIRM board member and AIDS activist, notes that the majority of board members are executives at institutions that compete for grants. In addition to his concerns about conflicts of interest, he says, “I have huge issues with paying for this with debt to begin with...Stem cell research should be judged in the context of all the other state needs.” HERITABLE HUMAN GENOME EDITING Why the Nobel Prize shows the US and China need to work together on gene editing Mahlet N. Mesfin and Scott Moore, The Hill | 10.18.2020 As the global leaders in biotechnology, U.S. and Chinese scientists should find ways to lead in dialogue about how path-breaking research should be conducted, especially on biotechnology and bioethics issues. Fresh Off Her Nobel Prize Win, Jennifer Doudna Predicts What’s Next for CRISPR Emily Mullin, Future Human | 10.12.2020 “I don’t think [heritable human genome editing] needs to be completely off-limits,” Doudna says. “I personally think there are more viable strategies today, like embryo screening and selection in an IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinic, rather than using genome editing.” The Promise and the Reality of Gene Editing Carl Zimmer, New York Times | 10.07.2020 Review of Editing Humanity: The Crispr Revolution and the New Era of Genome Editing by Kevin Davies. “The dream seems straightforward, but its path to existence — through experiments, research grant applications, investment pitches, regulatory approval, manufacturing agreements, supply chains and all the rest — is long and twisted.” ASSISTED REPRODUCTION Russian investigators target gay fathers Elena Barysheva, DW | 10.17.2020 Single fathers whose children were born to surrogate mothers are worried about being implicated in a human trafficking case that critics say is being instrumentalized for homophobic reasons. The Assisted Reproduction Technology (Regulation) Bill 2020: A critical overview Gauri Agarwal, The Times of India | 10.19.2020 While the ART Bill in principle is a welcome measure, there is much room for improvement. It appears to be intrinsically discriminatory, provides only limited protection of egg donors, and includes many ambiguities that need clarification. DATA AND PRIVACY Christine Jessop’s killer identified: Solved cold case raises questions about genetic privacy Julia Creet, The Conversation | 10.22.2020 Should we forgo our privacy in the interests of solving violent crimes, old and new? Or should we limit access to these new forensic tools? The question of law enforcement access to genetic genealogy databases needs to be publicly and strenuously argued. In Singapore, facial recognition is getting woven into everyday life Aloysius Low, NBC | 10.12.2020 Residents of the island state will soon use their faces to sign in to pay taxes and access over 400 digital services. Live facial recognition is tracking kids suspected of being criminals Karen Hao, MIT Technology Review | 10.09.2020 In Buenos Aires, the first known system of its kind is hunting down minors who appear in a national database of alleged offenders, risking unwarranted arrests and criminal records — and their long-lasting repercussions. The Xinjiang Data Police Darren Byler, Noema | 10.08.2020 In western China, the government has deputized an army of mostly young men to surveil the digital and real lives of people in their own communities. VARIOUS The two months in 1980 that shaped the future of biotech Henry T. Greely, STAT | 10.17.2020 Five events in a two-month span in 1980 propelled both the nascent biotech industry and university bioscience research into the future. Home-Made Covid Vaccine Appeared to Work, but Questions Remained Kristen V Brown, Bloomberg | 10.10.2020 Do-it-yourself scientist Josiah Zaynor set out to shortcut the vaccine approval process by testing a homemade vaccine on himself. He concluded that “messy” human biology requires large-scale clinical trials after all. SUBSCRIBE | WEBSITE | ABOUT US | WHO WE ARE | CONTACT ‌ ‌ ‌ DONATE The Center For Genetics and Society | 1122 University Ave. Suite 100, Berkeley, CA 94702 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!