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

Bringing back the woolly mammoth and other extinct creatures may be impossible

By Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | 03.09.2022

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An extinct rat that once lived on an...

Animal Biotechnologies

US man who got 1st pig heart transplant dies after 2 months

By Lauran Neergaard and Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press | 03.09.2022

^{Photo by Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash}

The first person to receive a heart transplant from a pig has died, two...

Animal Biotechnologies

Could drugs prevent Alzheimer’s? These trials aim to find out

By Alison Abbott, Nature | 03.09.2022

^{Brain scan by Philippi et al via wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)}

Every two weeks, a nurse visits 43-year-old...

Genomics

Major CRISPR patent decision won’t end tangled dispute

By Heidi Ledford, Nature | 03.09.2022

^{Patent Law by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images}

A long-running dispute between two groups that...

Policies

Bias and Inaccuracy in Marketing Noninvasive Prenatal Tests

By Editors, The Hastings Center | 03.08.2022

^{Photo by Scott via wikimedia}

Bias and inaccuracy are pervasive in the marketing of noninvasive prenatal tests (NIPTs), concludes an...

Other Countries

Gene-edited beef cattle get regulatory clearance in US

By Candice Choi, Associated Press | 03.07.2022

^{Photo by Etienne Girardet on Unsplash}

U.S. regulators on Monday cleared the way for the sale of beef from gene-edited...

Policies

‘It’s a real-life Hunger Games’: a lifesaving drug costs $2m, but not every child can get it

By Hannah Devlin, The Guardian | 03.05.2022

^{Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash}

Elizabeth Wraige remembers the first time she delivered the diagnosis. “Parents feel as if...

U.S. Federal

Genetically Engineered Golden Rice: Real Hope or Misplaced Hype?

By Melissa Waddell, Living Non-GMO | 03.03.2022

The biotech industry loves to talk about precision.

For example, advocates for genetic engineering and genetic modification have adopted the...

Synthetic Biology