News

A Chinese scientist horrified the world in 2018 when he revealed he had secretly engineered the birth of the world's first gene-edited babies.

His work was reviled as reckless and unethical because, among other reasons, gene-editing was so new...

INTRODUCTION

Baby bonuses. Motherhood medals. Fertility tracking. You may have heard of these policy proposals as solutions from the Trump administration to help encourage women to have more children.

Besides falling short of ensuring that people have what they need...

Adapted from Mitochondrial DNA at
National Human Genome Research Institute

Recently, media outlets around the world have been reporting on...

A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer...

I voted stickers on a black background
By Jaipreet Virdi, The Washington Post | 11.04.2022

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

Democrat John Fetterman’s performance in Pennsylvania’s lone Senate debate provoked intense discussions about his fitness...

a bunch of sperm on a black background
By Vanessa Caldwell, CBC | 11.03.2022

There are dozens of “Karbaat children” in the Netherlands. Their biological father is Jan Karbaat, a Dutch fertility doctor who...

crispr cas9
By Matthew Herper, STAT | 11.03.2022

The first time I remember hearing the words “biology’s century,” it was a sales pitch.

I was standing by the...

sperm colored blue swimming across a black background
By Sarah Todd, Quartz | 11.03.2022

Trying to decide on a sperm donor means sorting through a dizzying amount of information.

Log onto the site of...

pacifier frozen in a block of ice
By Ellen Trachman, Above The Law | 11.02.2022

Disclaimer:  I attended and presented at this meeting, as discussed in the column. The views expressed are mine alone...

a virus
By Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept | 11.01.2022

Part 1Part 2

IT STARTED WITH a bold idea. “Someone finally convinced me to do something really, really stupid,” virologist...

influenza virus
By Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept | 11.01.2022

Part 1Part 3

AT THE MOMENT that the ferret bit him, the researcher was smack in the middle of...

gray mouse
By Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept | 11.01.2022

Part 2Part 3

THE GRADUATE STUDENT was alone in the lab on a Saturday, handling a mouse infected...