Author Archives: Chris MacDonald

In the coming years, expect to see more and more countries (and states & provinces) enacting legislation to impose restrictions on genetic testing — what kinds of tests can be done, whether they require a physician’s involvement or can be … Continue reading →

I’ve blogged about “personalized genomics” quite a lot, both here and on the Business Ethics Blog. (See, e.g., Advertising Ethics & Personalized Genomics and Personal Genomics: the Ethics of Shared Uncertainty.) These services have received a lot of media attention … Continue reading →

It’s about parents having their kids genetically tested for athletic aptitude. (A version of this story came out a couple of months ago, before I started this blog, but it’s still of interest.)From ABC30, Fresno: Playing with Genetics: D.N.A. & … Continue reading →

This story is from 2007, but it’s new to me and I’m guessing it will be new to many of you. And it’s a great read. By Marc Gunther, writing for Fortune: Attack of the mutant rice America’s rice farmers … Continue reading →

There’s nothing quite like seeing pharma whining about the bad rap it gets. Check out this editorial by Dr Richard Barker, Director General of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, published in BBC News: ‘What have drugs companies done … Continue reading →

Here are a handful of books I’ve read & found useful. It’s not an exhaustive list. Just a few off the top of my head. Food Biotechnology in Ethical Perspective, by Paul B. Thompson (I wish I’d written this book. … Continue reading →

One of the weirder food biotechnologies to make headlines in the last few years is ‘synthetic’ or ‘in vitro’ meat. Just as human skin cells are currently grown in laboratories in order to make skin grafts to treat burn victims, … Continue reading →

Everyone who knows anything about genetics know that clones are not copies. They’re genetic copies (and even then not perfect copies, since for example, the cloning process does not copy mitochondrial DNA). A lot of different aspects of our environment … Continue reading →

Old laws don’t always fit new technologies well. Intellectual property laws, for example, have been an awkward fit with modern discoveries in genetics (hence the debate over patenting genes). Similarly, privacy laws may run aground with regard to genetic testing: … Continue reading →

From the Genetic Future blog: 23andMe targeting pregnant women using “mommy bloggers” Personal genomics company 23andMe has just launched an online community of “mommy bloggers” – a move I can only describe as sheer marketing genius. I’ll give you a … Continue reading →