Introducing the Genetic Choice Project!
I have a major announcement! Some bioethics colleagues and I have launched a new initiative: the Genetic Choice Project.*
The Genetic Choice Project aims to inform academics, healthcare and fertility practitioners, policymakers, and citizens on the latest news on reprogenetics and to become a knowledge and community hub for reprogenetics professionals.
The website and newsletter cover:
The latest human genetic studies (e.g. correlating genes with health and personality outcomes)
The latest on the use of and policies on reprogenetic technologies (such as preimplantation genetic testing, embryo selection, and germline gene editing)
And the debates on the right and wrong use of these technologies, such as for genetic therapy and enhancement.
The initial core product is the Reprogenetic News Roundup newsletter. This aims to provide a comprehensive overview of major studies, news, and debates on human reprogenetic technologies and genetic studies. In order to be genuinely global and overcome a certain “Western centrism” which is all too common, the newsleter tries to give full attention to other regions where reprogenetics and genetic studies are advancing rapidly—such as Israel, the Gulf states, and East Asia.
My recent study and graduation in bioethics from KU Leuven was motivated, in no small part, by my belief in the importance of genetics. Today, the cheapness and mass democratization of gene sequencing, the ability of computers and AI to analyze huge amounts of genetic and phenotypic data, and gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR are enabling two things like never before: a better scientific understanding of human nature and the drastic amplification of individuals’ ability to make reproductive choices, ultimately with implications for the future evolution of the human race. This is a momentous development which certainly merits more understanding and debate.
For this reason, I invite you all to subscribe to the Genetic Choice Project! And don’t hesitate to share it with anyone you think might be interested in these issues. Thanks!
* In fact the project was soft-launched about a month ago, but we wanted to sort out all the bugs and find our feet before giving wider attention.