The latest from the Center for Genetics and Society ‌ ‌ ‌ DONATE April 29, 2022 What Does "the Public" Think About Heritable Genome Editing?  Pete Shanks, Biopolitical Times | 04.28.2022 New opinion polls on human enhancement technologies find that Americans regard them “with a degree of caution and uncertainty." As with all such surveys, the results should be taken with a grain of salt. UCLA names Alex Stern dean of humanities Sean Brenner, UCLA News | 04.14.2022 CGS Advisory Board member Alexandra Minna Stern has been named Dean of Humanities at the University of California, Los Angeles. Stern, currently associate dean for humanities at University of Michigan, is the founder and co-director of the Sterilization and Social Justice Lab. Her research has explored the history of eugenics in the US and Latin America, and the cultures and ideologies of the far right and white nationalism. The First Baby Born After Polygenic Embryo Screening Kalina Kamenova and Hazar Haidar, Voices in Bioethics | 01.08.2022 Responses to the first baby’s birth using polygenic risk scores on IVF embryos show growing awareness of these tests’ unethical aspects, including false representation of their accuracy and their potential to lead to a eugenic future that normalizes discrimination based on people’s genes. Antiracism in Biomedical Research and Practice: A conversation with Dorothy Roberts Watch the recording of last week’s Stanford School of Medicine Antiracist Virtual Community Conversation with the Fatal Invention author, law and sociology professor, and member of the CGS Advisory Board. HUMAN GENE EDITING | SURROGACY360 | PRENATAL GENETIC TESTING ASSISTED REPRODUCTION | EUGENICS | POLICY HUMAN GENE EDITING China focuses on ethics to deter another ‘CRISPR babies’ scandal Smriti Mallapaty, Nature | 04.27.2022 China’s State Council has asked research institutions to expand and improve their ethics training. The directive is aimed at addressing gaps in oversight exposed when Chinese researcher He Jiankui shocked the world by creating the first babies with edited genomes in 2018. The scientist who co-created CRISPR isn’t ruling out engineered babies someday Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review | 04.26.2022 CRISPR creator Jennifer Doudna says that the technology should not be used for heritable genome editing right now and recognizes the need for “widespread societal consideration of the implications of that type of use to make heritable changes in human beings.” Leaked reports allege that Penn officials led ‘shameless cover-up’ to protect Gene Therapy Program Conor Murray and Pia Singh, The Daily Pennsylvanian | 04.21.2022 Top university officials allegedly manipulated an investigation, removing all allegations against program director James Wilson. Two decades ago, Wilson led a gene therapy trial that caused the death of teenager Jesse Gelsinger, and was banned from working on clinical trials for five years. Now he heads a leading gene therapy program and is building an empire of biotechnology companies. "He is untouchable," said one employee involved with the investigation. SURROGACY360 Will India’s surrogacy ban drive childless couples and poor women underground? Amrit Dhillon, South China Morning Post | 04.16.2022 The Surrogacy Regulation Act outlawed commercial surrogacy in India in December 2021. Though some worry about the emergence of a black market, one doctor argues that the law is fair and protects surrogates and newborns. PRENATAL GENETIC TESTING Study Raises Questions About Popular Genetic Test for ‘Abnormal’ Embryos Azeen Ghorayshi, The New York Times | 04.21.2022 Preimplantation genetic testing leads people undergoing IVF to discard thousands of embryos each year, but new research questions the accuracy of these tests, as implanting some “abnormal” embryos has resulted in healthy live births. FDA Cautions of False Results From Prenatal Genetic Tests GenomeWeb | 04.20.2022 Despite the warning, industry analysts suspect that it will have limited effect on NIPT developers. Genetic Non-Invasive Prenatal Screening Tests May Have False Results: FDA Safety Communication FDA | 04.19.2022 The FDA is warning patients and health care providers about the risks of false results with widely used genetic non-invasive prenatal screening tests. None have yet been authorized, cleared, or approved by the FDA, and the tests may give false results. ASSISTED REPRODUCTION Trans men's eggs have been matured in the lab–and could help them have children Jessica Hamzelou, MIT Technology Review | 04.26.2022 A new technique means eggs can be grown from the ovaries of transgender men, even after years of testosterone therapy. It could offer them new ways to start a family. FDA Faces Push to Loosen Rules for Sperm Donation Amy Dockser Marcus, The Wall Street Journal | 04.25.2022 The FDA has long prohibited donations from men who acknowledge having had a male sex partner within the previous five years. Families, medical groups, and sperm banks are asking the agency to make it easier for gay and bisexual men to be donors. Generations later, the rights of donor-conceived people are becoming law Naomi Cahn and Sonia Suter, The Hill | 04.23.2022 The Colorado Senate is considering legislation that would give donor-conceived people the right, once they turn 18, to learn the identity of their donor. It would also limit the number of families who create children through any particular donor. 2022 Survey of U.S. Sperm Banks U.S. Donor Conceived Council | 04.19.2022 Most U.S. sperm banks do not follow industry guidelines or best practices that protect the needs and interests of donor-conceived persons. This reiterates the urgent need for proper regulation of the donor gamete industry to protect donor-conceived people and their families. EUGENICS Harvard pledges $100 million to atone for role in slavery Collin Binkley, The Columbian | 04.26.2022 A new report details how the nation’s oldest and wealthiest college profited from the slave trade throughout its early history. Emory Drops Names of Eugenicist and Slavery Defender Josh Moody, Inside Higher Ed | 04.25.2022 Emory will remove the name of Robert Yerkes, a eugenics supporter, from a research facility currently known as the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, and rename two professorships in the school of law that are named for L. Q. C. Lamar, whom the university described as a “staunch defender of slavery.” How a Race-Based Medical Formula Is Keeping Some Black Men in Prison Joseph Goldstein, The New York Times | 04.22.2022 The formula, which helps estimate kidney health, has been discarded by many hospitals. But some judges still use it to decide whether to release those potentially endangered by Covid-19. Adjusting the kidney-function scores of Black prisoners amounts to “race-based discrimination.” Athletics, IQ, Health: Three Myths of Race Alan Goodman and Joseph L. Graves, Jr., Sapiens | 04.14.2022 The falsehood of biological race persists because those in power need a way to explain very real inequalities in wealth, health, and other important indicators as if they are natural outcomes of human differences, rather than the result of racist policies, laws, and institutions. POLICY Can Alondra Nelson Remake the Government’s Approach to Science and Tech? Nancy Scola, Politico | 04.28.2022 Nelson has taken on the job of considering what advances in science and tech are for, and who is served by them. Nelson is not just being asked to fill the role of OSTP director. She is being asked to remake it. It’s time for Congress to stop blocking mitochondrial replacement therapy Walter G. Johnson and Diana M. Bowman, STAT News | 04.22.2022 The U.S. should follow Australia and the U.K. in taking the next responsible, cautious steps forward with mitochondrial replacement therapies. ‌ 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 | WHO WE ARE | CONTACT ‌ ‌ ‌ DONATE The Center for Genetics and Society | 2900 Lakeshore Ave., Oakland, CA 94610 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected] powered by Try email marketing for free today!