GWG 2024 Conference
Keynote Speaker
Kate Zernike
Kate Zernike has been a reporter for The New York Times since 2000. She was a member of the team that won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting for stories about al-Qaeda before and after the 9/11 terror attacks. She was previously a reporter for The Boston Globe, where she broke the story of MIT’s admission that it had discriminated against women on its faculty, on which The Exceptions is based.
We’re inviting a diverse representation of speakers from industry, academia, students, postdocs, professors, and more. Would you like to know when you can submit an abstract and register for the conference? Sign up for our email newsletter to receive dates and program details.
We are a scientific society with a diverse membership. The Genome Writers Guild (GWG) includes scientists, physicians, students, entrepreneurs, investors, government representatives, futurists, science communicators, and artists focused on the responsible use of powerful new tools for genome engineering and gene editing.
The Genome Writers Guild is a growing organization that seeks to engage the broader public in such discussions. We are made up of researchers, physicians, students, entrepreneurs, investors, government representatives, futurists, artists, and public members with the goal of helping people both understand the science and applications of genetic engineering and develop informed opinions on these important topics.
The plethora of tools are propelling the field into the next genomic revolution. What are the new technologies? What will we make with them? How are the innovations impacting society and our individual lives? We discuss these questions and current research at our annual conference and satellite events. Find out more about the GWG and how to join.
Waking Sleeping Beauty
"Waking Sleeping Beauty" animated video (below) is the story of Minnesota scientists who resurrected an ancient "molecular fossil" and engineered its sequence to use as a biomedical tool. You may know it as the “Sleeping Beauty Transposon System,” and recognize genome engineers in the video, Drs. Largaespada, Hackett, McIvor, and Ekker. They’re also founding members of the Genome Writers Guild. The 4-min video was designed by GWG member Lynn Fellman.
GWG NEWS
Koob brings his genetic puzzle-solving mastery to COVID-19 Koob has figured out how to replace entire genes of laboratory mice with their human counterparts, transporting huge segments of human DNA to their proper corresponding location in mouse chromosomes. Now he is applying his genetic puzzle-solving ingenuity to the scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reports of Human Germline Editing in China - The reports coming from China regarding the birth of human twins following gene editing experimentation have naturally concerned many scientists and public alike. Incomplete information regarding the experimental approach, validity of results, institutional oversight, and ethics statement preclude a full understanding of these developments at this time. However, if these reports are found credible, many are left wondering what impact these developments could have on science, medicine, and humanity.