News

The Mysterious Eugenics of Aesthetic Taste

By Michael Rossi, The Los Angeles Review of Books | 01.11.2026

This is the 10th 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 Osagie K. Obasogie in...

Arts & Culture

The mirage of AI deregulation

By Alondra Nelson, Science | 01.15.2026

One of the most interventionist approaches to technology governance in the United States in a generation has cloaked itself in the language of deregulation. In early December 2025, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce a forthcoming “One...

Global Governance

More and “Better” Babies: The Dark Side of the Pronatalist Movement

By Daphne O. Martschenko and Julia E. H. Brown, Hastings Bioethics Forum | 01.14.2026

There is growing concern that falling fertility rates will lead to economic and demographic catastrophe. The social and political movement...

Genetic Selection

Bay Area Startups Want to Make Genetically Engineered Babies. What Could Go Wrong?

By Grace Won, KQED Forum [with CGS' Katie Hasson] | 12.02.2025

In the U.S., it’s illegal to edit genes in human embryos with the intention of creating a genetically engineered baby...

Genetic Selection

Cracking the Egg Donation Market

By Katherine McKeen, The Regulatory Review | 10.13.2021

“Earn up to $50,000 dollars!” “Help a family!” “Donate your eggs!”

Such slogans appear regularly on college bulletin boards and...

U.S. Federal
Mural with an image of Henrietta Lacks and short bio

WHO honors Henrietta Lacks, woman whose cells served science

By Jamey Keaten, Associated Press | 10.13.2021

"Henrietta Lacks" by Crawford Brian is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The chief of the World Health Organization on Wednesday...

Global Governance
Hawaiian double hulled sailing canoe setting out on ceremonial voyage

Genomes Show the History and Travels of Indigenous Peoples

By Keolu Fox, Scientific American | 10.13.2021

Robert Cudney / CC-BY-SA-4.0

I am the proud descendant of people who, at least 1,000 years ago, made one of...

Bioethics

California's Multi-Billion Dollar Plan for Spending on Cell and Gene Therapy Is Nearing Completion

By David Jensen, The California Stem Cell Report | 10.11.2021

The 35 directors of the $12 billion California stem cell agency are scheduled to meet next week for a full...

Policies
Graphic of a test tube, DNA, and 5 people

Heritable human genome editing: Who decides? Science or society?

By Françoise Baylis, Journal of Medical Ethics Blog | 10.11.2021

Many describe the move from bench to bedside (from basic science to therapeutic or preventive applications) as a sprint –...

Human Genetic Modification
silhouette of a seated man with trees in background

‘Lies and trauma’: donor-conceived adults are still haunted by their origins

By Gary Nunn, The Guardian | 10.09.2021

Photo by Emiliano Vittoriosi on Unsplash

Brendan Ritter, 22, recently discovered he was donor conceived.

When he was told, his...

Genomics
Placque-ridden neurons in a brain affected by Alzheimer's

The most common Alzheimer’s risk gene may also protect against memory loss

By Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | 10.07.2021

Photo by NIH Image Gallery on Flickr

A common genetic variant called APOE4 raises a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s disease...

Genetic Selection
illustration shows a padlock hanging from a DNA helix

Genetic discrimination: The next great health battle likely to wash up on NZ shores

By Chelsea Daniels, NewstalkZB | 10.06.2021

There’s growing concern about genetic discrimination in New Zealand – and the lack of Government intervention in this fast-moving field.  ...

Policies