Gizmodo
Should the FDA have a say in ‘do-it-yourself’ biohacking?
In the past few months, the possibility of do-it-yourself genetic engineering has exited the realm of the purely hypothetical. ...
CRISPR food coming soon: USDA decision speeds up regulatory process for gene-edited crops
In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave the green light to a version of the plant Camelina sativa, an important oilseed crop that ...
Can a genetic test tell you how to lose weight? 23andMe is trying to find out
23andMe is kicking off a massive study into the genetics of weight loss that the company says will involve 100,000 people crowdsourced ...
Potential CRISPR setback jolts investors, but researchers say there’s no need to panic
On [January 8], the world of science awoke to news that suddenly cast uncomfortable doubt on many of the past ...
Saudi Arabia requires premarital genetic screening. How is it working out?
In Saudi Arabia, if you’re planning to tie the knot, there’s a step you must go through that doesn’t happen ...
Looking back at 2017’s genetics breakthroughs
It was a big year for the building blocks of life. Here were the most significant breakthroughs in genetics research ...
Scientists sound alarm over DIY gene therapy, calling it ‘unsafe’
In just the past few months we’ve seen not one, but two examples of people pursuing unregulated gene therapy. … [T]he largest organization of ...
Skin color and ‘race’: Genetics reveal complicated relationship
For much of recorded history, skin color has been loaded with powerful social meaning. Skin color plays a major part ...
Canadian researchers can’t use CRISPR in human embryo research
In the United States, using genetic engineering techniques such as CRISPR to make genetic alterations that can be passed on ...
‘Awakened’ vegetative man shows how viral stories raise false hopes
A man recently “woke” from a vegetative state, crying again after “regaining consciousness,” creating a flurry of news coverage. Yet as exciting ...
Biohackers help ‘patient’ inject himself with experimental HIV treatment—live on Facebook
[Tristan] Roberts is about to inject himself with an experimental gene therapy for HIV, a DIY prototype treatment designed by ...
Healthy bacon? Headlines mislead on Chinese CRISPR gene-edited low-fat pigs
On October 23, Chinese scientists published a paper heralding a truly remarkable feat: Using the genome-editing technique CRISPR, they created 12 healthy ...
Why won’t pharmaceutical companies invest in male birth control?
Male birth control is the great promise that never was. We’ve been just a few years away from a male ...
Genetic testing pitfall: Major genetic company missed 50,000 cancer screenings
As fun as it is to find out where your great-great-great grandparents came from, the real promise of genetic testing ...
Viewpoint: Many consumer DNA tests rely on pseudoscience, ‘useless’ data
In the past decade, DNA sequencing has gotten really, really cheap, paving the way for an onslaught of direct-to-consumer genetic testing ...
Healthcare inequality and genetic screening: Will the poor be left behind?
Today in America, if you are poor, you are also more likely to suffer from poor health... Imagine now, that ...
Do your kids have ‘soccer genes’? The pseudoscience of many genetic tests
[A] growing number of scientists [are] pushing back against wild claims in the consumer genetics market, which is flush with tests promising ...
Black Death: Was the plague actually good for the environment?
From 1347 to 1351, a nightmare disease ravaged Europe, afflicting victims with putrid black boils, fevers, vomiting, and in short order, ...
In-vitro screwup: What happens when your baby has someone else’s DNA?
It’s a nightmare scenario straight out of a primetime drama: a child-seeking couple visits a fertility clinic to try their ...
New Zealand mulls using gene drive to eliminate country’s largest ecological threat: Weasel-like stoat
The stoat—a small, adorable, weasel-like mammal—is the one of the largest ecological threats in New Zealand. It’s a fierce invader ...
‘Three-parent babies’ may be born soon at first licensed UK fertility clinic
A fertility clinic in Newcastle was just granted permission to start performing what’s known as the ‘three-parent baby’ technique, a ...
No egg? No sperm? No problem. First artificial embryo made from stem cells
Using stem cells in grown-on 3D scaffolding in a laboratory petri dish, scientists have for the first time created an ...
‘Superbugs’ could be killed with ‘genetic chainsaw’ version of gene editor CRISPR
When folks talk about the gene-editing tool CRISPR, they’re usually talking about CRISPR-Cas9, a combination of DNA and enzymes that ...
Who should own revolutionary gene editor CRISPR? Scientists or the public?
In a one sentence ruling, an appeals board granted the rights to the powerful gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas9 to the ...
‘Netflix for genetics’: Will DNA-based lifestyle guides become the latest health craze?
DNA Lifestyle Coach isn’t the only company hoping to turn our genetics into a lifestyle product. In the past decade, ...
Biohacker crackdown? Germany threatens gene-editing hobbyists with fines, jail
The German government...is none too pleased with [how easily people can conduct gene editing experiments outside of labs thanks to ...
Hobbyist gene editing could cure dogs of genetic disorders–or not. What will the FDA do about biohackers?
[Editor's note: An FDA proposal for the regulation of gene editing in animals has been widely criticized by animal biotechnologists ...
Tuberculosis-resistant cows developed using CRISPR gene editing by Chinese scientists
Tuberculosis has long been a problem for cattle farmers in developing countries, especially in Asia and Africa. Now, scientists from ...
