Category: Genetic Engineering
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CRISPR/Cas9: the genetic engineering century
If you were in and around genetics laboratories in the early 2010’s, one thing would be immediately apparent: CRISPR was going to revolutionize the field. Many research groups were shifting from their long-preferred genetic engineering techniques to th…
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The genetic future is here
In the year 2000, there was one single human genome. In 2010 there were fewer than 100 human genomes (you could look them up in a spreadsheet!). Today there are likely 1,000,000 human genomes. Good luck cataloging them all. Outside of the purview of our species, there are now efforts to sequence every animal on…
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Welcome to our brave new 21st century
Sometimes you know something is going to happen. But you don’t know when it’s going to happen. It’s inevitable, but you don’t know when that inevitability is going to realize itself. In a way, death is like that for most of us.And so it is with genetic…
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The presumption of parental choice in genetics
In various forms, I’ve been talking about genetic modification and testing of children for years. As most of you know my older son was whole-genome sequenced before he was born. This was in large part scientific activism. I wanted to show people it could be done, and it’s not scary. Genes are not destiny, they’re…
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Prop 37 and the right to have the government enforce your right to know
With the election coming up, California Proposition 37, Mandatory Labeling of Genetically Engineered Food, is on my mind. From Ballotpedia: If Proposition 37 is approved by voters, it will: * Require labeling on raw or processed food offered for sale …
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Tomatoes!
This story in The New York Times, Flavor Is Price of Scarlet Hue of Tomatoes, Study Finds, is pretty cool: Yes, they are often picked green and shipped long distances. Often they are refrigerated, which destroys their flavor and texture. But now resea…
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The social goods of individual actions
Over at Genetic Future Dr. Daniel MacArthur has a measured response to a Nature commentary by David Goldstein, Growth of genome screening needs debate. As Dr. MacArthur notes an excessive portion of Goldstein’s piece is taken up with inferences …
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Engineering the Messiah
In the 1920s the Soviet Union sponsored a “humanzee” breeding program. From what I recall the ultimate rationale for the funding was that the program might create a race of superior warriors, combing the incredible physical strength on a per pound basis of the chimp, with the greater level of intelligence found in human beings.…