The latest from the Center for Genetics and Society DONATE May 12, 2022 “He is untouchable”: Penn officials allegedly cover up workplace abuse at James Wilson's Gene Therapy Program Katie Hasson, Biopolitical Times | 05.11.2022 A major scientist whose wrongdoings 20 years ago led to the death of a teenage research subject is now embroiled in more controversy, and top university officials are suspected of covering it up to protect the profits brought in by his thicket of companies. In Search of Limits in the Age of Genome Editing CGS’ Katie Hasson will speak on Friday, May 13 at this in-person event, organized by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Global Observatory for Genome Editing. The workshop will explore limits to technological applications, to research, and to knowledge; limits on the scope of deliberation and extent of participation, on the range of moral questions that should be asked, and on the forms of reasoning, evidence, and expertise required to make informed and democratic decisions. California’s little-known history of eugenics Crystal Qian and Elizabeth Cheng, The Epic | 05.12.2022 "We really haven’t had a historical reckoning in this country with eugenics," said Marcy Darnovsky. "There’s so much more that has to be done to unpack these histories, the persistence of these ideas and the resurgence in some circles.” Remembrances of Sheldon Krimsky (1941-2022): Preeminent chronicler of conflict-of-interest and profit motive in the industry-university complex Stuart A. Newman, Biopolitical Times | 05.09.2022 Over eight decades, Krimsky distinguished himself as a gentle, but insistent, deeply knowledgeable and courageous voice against the destructive forces unleashed by purveyors of modern technology. HUMAN GENE EDITING | ASSISTED REPRODUCTION EUGENICS | GENOMICS | SURROGACY360 | VARIOUS HUMAN GENE EDITING Human genetic engineering is coming. We must discuss the social and political implications now Samira Kiani, The Globe and Mail | 05.06.2022 CRISPR is on the verge of altering the course of human history. While there may be beneficial applications, it is by nature seductive to our darkest impulses. If there’s any hope of the biotech industry of the future having a moral, equitable and inclusive basis, the rules of engagement with CRISPR need to be determined now. Putting an End to Heart Attacks by Editing Human DNA Angelica Peebles, Bloomberg | 05.06.2022 Verve Therapeutics is developing an experimental gene therapy to stop the buildup of bad cholesterol, which if left untreated can reduce blood flow in the arteries and result in heart attacks or strokes. ASSISTED REPRODUCTION Questions raised by the draft US Supreme Court decision on abortion Alison Motluk, HeyReprotech | 05.10.2022 The overturning of Roe v. Wade will affect not just people who want to terminate a pregnancy — but those who want to carry one as well. Fertility treatment use is on the rise – new legislation could increase protections for donors and families in an industry shrouded in secrecy Naomi Cahn and Sonia Suter, The Conversation | 05.03.2022 The Colorado bill could set a precedent for how other states regulate fertility treatment and protect the interests of all those involved. Australia Moves Ahead Cautiously with '3-Parent IVF' Emily Mullin, Wired | 04.29.2022 Australia is the second country after the U.K. to legalize 3-parent IVF. The controversial technique involves a genetic change that can be passed to future generations. EUGENICS Where Harvard's Legacy of Slavery Lives Today Cara J. Chang, Isabella B. Cho, Ella L. Jones, And Monique I. Vobecky, The Harvard Crimson | 05.02.2022 A landmark University report released last week found that at least 41 prominent Harvard affiliates enslaved Black and Indigenous people — and many others propagated discrimination and racism through their leadership and scholarship. Our Obsession with Ancestry Has Some Twisted Roots Maya Jasanoff, The New Yorker | 05.02.2022 From origin stories to blood-purity statutes, we have long enlisted genealogy to serve our own purposes. The history of genealogy makes clear that stories about ancestry can function as instruments of exclusion. As PopSci turns 150, we reflect on the highs and lows of our long history Corinne Iozzio, Popular Science | 05.02.2022 In the early 20th century, Popular Science lent credence to the eugenics movement. Eugenic ideology applied advances in our understanding of evolution and genetic inheritance to support racist, sexist, and xenophobic policies that disproportionately impacted Black, Latinx, and Indigenous people. Substituting genetic ancestry for race in research? Not so fast Anna C. F. Lewis, STAT | 05.02.2022 Race, widely used as a variable across biomedical research and medicine, is an appropriate proxy for racism — but not for anything biological. Proposals to use genetic ancestry instead of race are at risk of perpetuating the same problems. Not the full story: Seeking eugenics history in Yale’s science curriculum Tigerlily Hopson, Yale Daily News | 04.29.2022 The mark of eugenics has not left campus. Now, students and faculty are having conversations about what this history means, and how it can be addressed. GENOMICS New Prenatal Genetic Screens Pose Underappreciated Ethical Dilemmas Daniel Navon, Scientific American | 05.05.2022 Non-invasive prenatal testing has complex eugenic effects — not because of 20th-century coercive and racist government programs, but because thousands of legitimate, intensely personal decisions will transform the population-level distribution of some forms of disability and difference. A single genetic mutation made humans more susceptible to cancer Alice Klein, New Scientist | 05.03.2022 Since humans split from chimpanzees, a single letter change in our DNA appears to have made us more likely to get cancer, possibly as a trade-off for extra fertility. SURROGACY360 'It's a Terrible Thing When a Grown Person Does Not Belong To Herself' Susan Dominus, The New York Times Magazine | 05.04.2022 The starkness of war has laid bare the many ethical tensions that exist in surrogacy arrangements, casting into bold relief the power dynamics that underlie a contract in which a woman signs over the whole of her physical self. VARIOUS New York court halts family DNA searches for crime suspects Michael R. Sisak, Associated Press | 05.06.2022 A DNA tool that has helped crack cold cases and put murderers behind bars has also raised privacy and racial discrimination concerns. And state lawmakers never approved the practice. The gene-edited pig heart given to a dying patient was infected with a pig virus Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review | 05.04.2022 The pig heart transplanted into an American patient earlier this year in a landmark operation carried a porcine virus that may have derailed the experiment and contributed to his death two months later. 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!