For years, I have been saying the genetics revolution is not just coming but already here. As we unlock the secrets of our genomes and systems biology more broadly, we…
read moreYou may have seen today’s New York Times article describing how scientists have for the first time successfully edited genes in unimplanted human embryos. As the article notes: “Scientists at Oregon…
read moreWith all our attention focused on the circus of US presidential politics, it’s easy to overlook other developments of even greater importance. As you know, I’ve been speaking and writing…
read moreIn my article in TechCrunch, released today, I call for a species-wide conversation on the future of human genetic enhancement. Such a dialogue has never before been carried out. We…
read moreIn my Foreign Affairs article out this week, I argue that we need to do a lot more thinking about the implications of the genetics revolution. It seems crazy to…
read moreOur species is on the cusp of a revolution that will change every aspect of our lives but we’re hardly talking about it.
After three and a half billion years of evolution, two hundred and fifty thousand years of them as the ass-kicking bipedal hominins we call homo sapiens, we are on the verge of taking control of our evolutionary process unlike never before. This revolution will take hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years to play out but it has already begun.
read moreGina Kolata’s important article in today’s New York Times (linked here) on the ethical questions surrounding preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and embryo selection only touches the very tip of the genetic iceberg.
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