Center For Genetics And Society: Monthly News [5/2/13]
WEBSITE<http://www.
Talking Biopolitics with Miriam Zoll <http://www.
Join us for a series of live web conversations with cutting-edge thinkers
Coming up May 21: Award-winning writer and international public health and reproductive rights advocate Miriam Zoll, author of Cracked Open: Liberty, Fertility and the Pursuit of High Tech Babies.
Made-to-Order Embryos: You Want to Sell What?!<http://www.
by Jessica Cussins
The fact that a fertility clinic can own and sell made-to-order embryos for a profit raises novel concerns that should not be collapsed into pre-defined frameworks of more accepted reproductive technologies.
California Lawmakers Consider Paying Women to Provide Eggs for Research<http://www.
by Diane Tober
A new bill claims to be motivated by concerns for women’s equity and for advancing responsible medical research, but in fact undermines both.
“World's First GM Babies Born”: 12-Year-Old Article Continues to Cause Confusion<http://www.
by Jessica Cussins
An undated Daily Mail article that is actually over a decade old continues to spread misinformation about human genetic modification.
Direct Action? Seats at the Table? All of the Above?<http://www.
by Pete Shanks
Last week, some 15 French activists in chimpanzee masks disrupted a Forum on Synthetic Biology in Paris, raising questions about the appropriateness of that kind of activism.
Earth Day in Biopolitics<http://www.
by Jessica Cussins
In honor of Earth Day, let’s hope for a move away from “greenwashed” PR stunts and techno-fixes toward conservation, sustainability, and social responsibility.
The Baby Blueprint [VIDEO]<http://www.
[With CGS's Marcy Darnovsky]
Al Jazeera English
Would you choose your child's genetic potential? Live debate with Marcy Darnovsky, Stuart Newman, Julian Savulescu, and Nita Farahany.
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by Sean Coughlan, BBC News
Experiments in areas such as synthetic biology, nanotechnology and machine intelligence are hurtling forward into the territory of the unintended and unpredictable.
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by Ari Schulman, The American Conservative
Ray Kurzweil's new book might be dismissed on the bluster of its title alone, were it not the latest work from the famed futurist, inventor, and artificial-intelligence pioneer who has been hired as a director of engineering at Google.
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TechEye
Genetic data is massively revealing. It can be used to identify relatives, and to assess the potential for passing recessive genetic disorders on to children.
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by Adam Tanner, Forbes
A Harvard professor has re-identified the names of more than 40% of anonymous participants in a high-profile DNA study, highlighting the dangers of personal data available in the Internet era.
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by Caroline Wright, Genomes Unzipped
Despite a plethora of genetic variants associated with disease, cases in which we can accurately predict the severity, onset and clinical implications are still few and far between.
Prenatal DNA Sequencing<http://www.
by Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review
Reading the DNA of fetuses is the next frontier of the genome revolution. Do you really want to know the genetic destiny of your unborn child?
Cracked Open: New Book Looks at Fertility and Reproductive Technology<http://www.
by Rachel, Our Bodies Our Blog
Just out: A new book by award-winning writer and international public health and reproductive rights advocate Miriam Zoll, Cracked Open: Liberty, Fertility and the Pursuit of High Tech Babies.
That “Pernicious” Notion of the “Best Interests of the Child”<http://www.
by Michael Cook, BioEdge
A Harvard Law School bioethicist argues that “the best interests of the child” is not a concept which is applicable to assisted reproductive technology.
Nuffield Report: Parents Should Decide Whether or Not to 'Tell'<http://www.
by Wybo Dondorp, BioNews
A new report from the Nuffield Council on Bioethics says it's usually, but not always, better for parents to tell a child that he or she was donor conceived.
Nation’s First Egg Bank Deluged With Donors<http://www.
by Mizuho Aoki, The Japan Times
Japan's first egg bank does not pay women for their eggs and requires that donors attend multiple consultations prior to giving consent to ensure they understand the health risks and other issues they may face.
DNA at 60: Still Much to Learn <http://www.
by Philip Ball, Scientific American
On the diamond jubilee of the double helix, we should admit that we don't fully understand how evolution works at the molecular level.
As iPS Cell Studies in Humans Approach, Accessible Relevant Pre-Clinical Data Remains Minimal<http://www.
by Paul Knoepfler, Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog
We all want to get stem cell-based medicines to patients who need them as soon as possible, but there is such a thing as moving too quickly.
Shame and Guilt in Minnesota <http://www.
by Carl Elliott, Bioethics Forum
A petition asking the governor to investigate a research scandal at the University of Minnesota has been steadily gathering momentum.
Patenting Parthenotes: High Court Asks if Parthenotes are 'Human Embryos' Under the Biotech Directive<http://www.
by Antony Blackburn-Starza, BioNews
The UK's High Court has asked the Court of Justice of the European Union to clarify if human parthenotes fall under the definition of a human embryo for the purposes of patentability.
In Australia, Gene Patents Also Subject of High Court Struggle<http://www.
by Leigh Dayton, Science
Australia's Full Federal Court has begun proceedings in an appeal of an earlier decision that upheld the validity of breast cancer diagnostic tests developed by Myriad Genetics.
Startup uBiome Will Catalog Your Microbes, Again and Again<http://www.
by Susan Young, MIT Technology Review
Customers can now order a swab kit for checking on the bacteria living in their gut, mouth, nose, genitals, or behind the ear. And while your genome may not change, but your microbiome will.