News

Surrogacy goes more mainstream

By Carly Mallenbaum, Axios [cites Emily Galpern] | 03.29.2026

More Americans are turning to surrogacy to build their families, as the practice becomes more common and more publicly discussed.

Why it matters: As surrogacy becomes more visible and accessible, ethical, legal and cultural tensions become harder to ignore...

U.S. Federal

Eugenics and the Modern Synthesis, Part I

By Jessica Riskin, Los Ángeles Review of Books | 03.23.2026

This is the first part of the 14th installment in the Legacies of Eugenics series, which features essays by leading thinkers devoted to exploring the history of eugenics and the ways it shapes our present. The series is organized by...

Civil Society

Surrogacy laws are all over the map

By Carly Mallenbaum, Axios [cites Surrogacy360] | 03.29.2026

Without a federal law, surrogacy in the U.S. is governed by a patchwork of state regulations/

Why it matters: Confusing...

Policies

Project Eugenics: The Rollback of Disability Rights

By Kiana Jackson and Shannon Stubblefield, New Disabled South | 02.09.2026

^{"MC0_8230" via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 2.0}

This report documents a deliberate assault on disabled people in...

U.S. States

sperm colored blue swimming across a black background

What does the booming sperm-donor industry owe to people it helps conceive?

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...

Policies

Historic Meeting Ushers In New Era In US Donor Conception

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...

Policies

Experimenting With Disaster, Part 3

By Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept | 11.01.2022

Part 1; Part 2

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

U.S. Federal

Experimenting With Disaster, Part 2

By Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept | 11.01.2022

Part 1; Part 3

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

U.S. Federal

Experimenting With Disaster, Part 1

By Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept | 11.01.2022

Part 2; Part 3

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

Other Countries

Gene Treatment for Rare Epilepsy Causes Brain Side Effect in 2 Children

By Erika Check Hayden, The New York Times | 10.26.2022

Weeks after Valeria Schenkel took an experimental drug named after her, the daily seizures that had afflicted her from birth...

Genomics

a painting of skulls stacked on top of each other

How scientists want to make you young again

By Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review | 10.25.2022

^{Paul Cézanne, Pyramide de crânes, via Wikipedia}

A little over 15 years ago, scientists at Kyoto University in Japan made...

Human Genetic Modification

Why gay men and other groups are banned from donating sperm

By Amber Ferguson, The Washington Post | 10.20.2022

TreVaughn Roach-Carter had been waiting to donate his sperm for nearly two years in early 2020 when he visited the...

Policies