genetics

The Fallacy of Intelligence and Genetic Determinism

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By Kathleen Sloan, Consultant to the CBC Once again, the mainstream media has jumped on the bandwagon of the latest attempt to link intelligence with genetics, hailing the “wunderkind” behind it. The Wall Street Journal of February 16, 2013, grabbed attention with the headline “A Genetic Code for Genius?” Any serious geneticist would easily dismiss [...]

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Darwinian Joins Scientific “Regressives” Against Genetic Engineering

Neo eugenicists and would-be genetic engineers often claim that those of us who oppose their intention to engage in biological alchemy do so for strictly religious reasons. Not me. I oppose eugenics in all its forms because it violates the fundamentals of human exceptionalism by assuming that some people can be better than other people [...]

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What Could Go Wrong?

Wanted: “Extremely Adventurous Female Human” to be Surrogate Mother for Neanderthal Baby No, this is not a tabloid headline you read while waiting to checkout at the grocery store or something you might find on Craigslist in the Help Wanted ads. This comes from a line by Harvard University’s prestigious geneticist, George Church, highlighted in [...]

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When Greed Trumps Public Health

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By Kathleen Sloan, Consultant to the CBC Myriad Genetics, producer of the world’s biggest-selling gene test for breast and ovarian cancers, has become synonymous with corporate greed. In an egregious breach of bioethics, the company refuses to share groundbreaking knowledge that could benefit cancer patients. Myriad Genetics is deliberately withholding data that could help other [...]

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Supremes to Decide Others Can Own Your Genes

The Supreme Court will decide whether human genes can be patented. From the Reuters story: The nation’s highest court in a brief order agreed to review a case over whether Myriad Genetics Inc may patent two genes linked to hereditary breast and ovarian cancer. In a 2-1 ruling on August 16, a panel of the [...]

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The “Gay Gene” and the New Eugenics

We don’t know what factors lead to a propensity for homosexuality. (Frankly, I don’t think any “one” thing, but that’s an unexpert opinion.) But some believe we will discover a “gay” gene. If so, that has very real eugenic implications — which I fear would mostly accrue to the deadly detriment of fetuses with said [...]

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Hey Baby, Wanna See My Gene Scan?

The Telegraph has an interesting article out about how mating in the future will be based on compatibility of genetic codes. From, “DNA Testing ‘Will Screen Out Lovers’:” Couples will soon be able to choose their life partner solely based on the compatibility of their genes instead of through love, a scientific conference has heard. [...]

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Tiny, Happy People

By C. Ben Mitchell, Ph.D., CBC Board Member Just when you think you have heard it all, someone pushes the envelope. According to three ethicists writing in the journal Ethics, Policy and the Environment, because geoengineering might be too risky a way to combat global climate change, we should alter the human species instead. Here [...]

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Transhumanism’s Mission to Create Ubermenchen Children is Coercive

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Reason magazine’s science writer, Ron Bailey, has long been in the thrall of transhumanism. (We debated once at CUNY). He has swallowed the immortality project without even chewing and has baptized himself in the scientism neo-faith that The Singularity will usher in a new era [...]

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Infant Genetic Screening Financial and “Quality of Life Ethic” Worries

By Wesley J. Smith, J.D., Special Consultant to the CBC Preventive screening has, in some cases, become controversial. Example: PSA blood tests for signs of prostate cancer. Some believe that false positives can lead to unnecessary further testing or treatment — adding to the strain on health care resources and putting some men through unnecessary [...]

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