GLP podcast: Assessing the Cass report; Fetal genome surgery could treat disease during pregnancy; How ‘body-tracking data’ threatens privacy

The recently released Cass report has intensified an already ferocious debate over gender-affirming care for children. What are the key takeaways from the controversial review? An emerging field of medicine known as fetal genome surgery could allow doctors to prevent serious genetic disorders before children are born.  Our health and ancestry data is increasingly tracked and shared today. Could governments and corporations use this sensitive information against us?

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Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 265 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

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• • Viewpoint: Once greatly critical of those using unregulated medications, liberals now endorse unregulated puberty blocking drugs for kids as young as 10. Should we end this dangerous ‘experiment’?

The recently released Cass report has raised some critical questions about so-called gender-affirming care for minors. Among its many findings, the 388-page review concluded that some of the effects of puberty blockers are not reversible; that gender incongruence among children is normal and doesn’t necessitate transitioning; and that sex reassignment does not reduce the risk of suicide in transgender children. How will the incendiary review impact the ongoing cultural debate over transgenderism?

• Saving human lives: Using gene therapy and fetal surgery to cure diseases in the womb
  

• Viewpoint: ‘Body-tracking data is so much a part of our daily lives that we sometimes forget it can be used against us’

From calorie counting apps to digital medical records, body-tracking data can improve our quality of life in many ways. But every technology has potential downsides. In this case, access to personal health data can be abused by governments, big corporations and even hackers looking for a payday. Simply opting out of the use of body-tracking technologies was sufficient in years past to protect our privacy, though that’s increasingly difficult to do as biometric data becomes more commonly used, especially for security measures. Is it possible to protect ourselves in a world where widespread data sharing is the norm?

Dr. Liza Dunn is a medical toxicologist and the medical affairs lead at Bayer Crop Science. Follow her on X @DrLizaMD

Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow him on X @camjenglish