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Will you be in the Bay Area on Friday, October 18?
Join us for "Climate Crisis, Designer Babies, Our Common Future," an evening with environmentalist Bill McKibben and scholar john a. powell. RSVP today for this important discussion about how climate change and human genome editing will influence the future of our planet and our shared humanity – and what we can do about it. Sponsored by the Center for Genetics and Society, the Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society, and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health.
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Will Putin Prevent Rebrikov from Attempting Heritable Genome Editing?
Pete Shanks, Biopolitical Times | 10.08.2019
Denis Rebrikov, the Russian molecular biologist who has threatened to edit the genomes of human embryos, is growing impatient with what he describes as “yammering” among decision-makers at the government agencies to whom he has appealed for approval. The ultimate decision-maker, however, may be Russia’s president, who has expressed more than a passing interest in heritable genome editing.
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We’re a Disability Rights Organization, and We Oppose AB 922
Silvia Yee, Biopolitical Times | 10.05.2019
People with disabilities have a particularly complex relationship with genetic testing and research. This bill, if signed into law by Governor Newsom, would expand the research market for women’s eggs. It would not improve health disparities that affect the lives of people with disabilities. It may, in fact, worsen them.
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More Than a Misstep: The NAS Twitter Debacle Represents an Abuse of Authority
Pete Shanks, Biopolitical Times | 10.01.2019
The National Academies of Sciences recently posted a highly controversial tweet that linked to an equally brow-raising video about the future of heritable genome editing. Critics were quick to point out that both the trivializing tone and the skewed content fell short.
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It’s Past Time to Compensate Survivors of Eugenic Sterilization
Emily Galpern, Biopolitical Times | 09.25.2019
It’s been five years since California passed a law banning eugenic sterilization in state prisons. Since then, other states have gone one step further, offering redress to survivors of state-sanctioned reproductive abuses. Despite repeated efforts to pass a similar bill, California has not. Why?
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Twenty Years Later, What Have We Learned from Jesse Gelsinger’s Death?
Pete Shanks, Biopolitical Times | 09.11.2019
When Jesse Gelsinger was 18, he decided to volunteer for a gene therapy trial. He had a severe adverse reaction and died four days later. Many scientists lament that his death set the field of gene therapy back ten years, but—given what emerged about the misconduct surrounding his treatment—this is not the most salient lesson.
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California Shouldn't Expand the Market for Women's Eggs
Lisa Ikemoto and Diane Tober, San Francisco Chronicle | 09.12.2019
Proponents of AB 922 insist it would not exploit vulnerable women, but a sizable group of feminist scholars and reproductive rights, women’s health, LGBTQ rights and public interest organizations are deeply troubled by this bill, and have called on Governor Newsom to veto it.
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Despite Calls for a Moratorium, More ‘Three-Parent’ Babies Expected Soon
Emily Mullin, One Zero | 09.16.2019
At least 10 babies have been born as a result of a controversial in vitro fertilization procedure (misleadingly referred to as “mitochondrial replacement”) that involves combining a mother’s egg with a donor egg. Fertility experts in Europe are urging caution.
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Future of Genetically Modified Babies May Lie in Putin's Hands
Stepan Kravchenko, Bloomberg | 09.28.2019
A secret meeting in Moscow this July discussed threats by biochemist Denis Rebrikov to produce genetically modified children. The meeting included some of Russia's top geneticists, health officials, and a "special guest" - an endocrinologist long believed to be the daughter of Vladimir Putin.
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When Might Human Germline Editing Be Justified?
Jennifer M. Gumer, The Hastings Center | 09.26.2019
The number of cases in which germline editing is the only option for parents with heritable diseases to have a genetically related child is extremely small. This fact must be emphasized in the discussions surrounding its use and regulation.
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How Dismantling Welfare Continues the Legacy of Eugenics
Audrey Farley, The Washington Post | 09.17.2019
Proposed cuts to SNAP are ostensibly based on the idea that aid to the poor incentivizes poverty. In reality, these cuts aren’t about helping people out of poverty; they're about population control.
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U.S. Government Plans to Collect DNA from Detained Immigrants
Caitlin Dickerson, The New York Times | 10.02.2019
The Justice Department is developing a federal regulation that would give immigration officers the authority to collect DNA from immigrants detained in detention facilities. The samples would be added to a national database of evidence taken from people arrested, charged, or convicted in connection with serious crimes.
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DNA Company Tampered With Results, Former Employees Say
Kristen V Brown, Bloomberg Business Week | 09.11.2019
Seventeen people who used to work for Orig3n say its test kits—which are supposed to reveal which kinds of food, exercise, and beauty products are right for your particular genetic profile—sometimes failed to work as advertised. The company also reportedly cut corners, tampered with or fabricated results, and failed to meet basic scientific standards.
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Ukraine's 'Baby Factories': The Human Cost of Surrogacy
Madeline Roache, Al Jazeera | 09.13.2019
Ukraine is becoming an increasingly popular destination for individuals and couples who wish to form families through commercial surrogacy. But an increasing number of intended parents and surrogates report that the intermediary companies they initially trusted became abusive, provided poor living and medical conditions, and engaged in deceptive practices.
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