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

Journal Retracts Paper Based On DNA of Vulnerable Chinese Minorities

By Mara Hvistendahl, The Intercept | 12.13.2021

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A highly regarded scientific journal has retracted a paper based on...

Society

The Eugenics Movement in Retrospect

By Rob DeSalle, Natural History | 12.11.2021

One hundred years ago, the Second International Congress of Eugenics was held from September 22-28, 1921, at the American Museum...

U.S. States

On the legacies of eugenics

By Marius Turda, Challenging Pseudoscience (Apple Podcast) | 12.10.2021

This episode is a recording of a talk given by medical historian, Marius Turda, at the Royal Institution in September...

U.S. States

The big idea: how much do we really want to know about our genes?

By Daniel M Davis, The Guardian | 12.06.2021

While at the till in a clothes shop, Ruby received a call. She recognised the woman’s voice as the genetic...

Genetic Selection

GM ‘designer babies’: breakthrough or nightmare?

By Dave King, Red Pepper | 12.06.2021

^{Hongjie mao, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons}

In late 2018, when He Jiankui announced that he had created...

Human Genetic Modification

IVF used by some to avoid passing on genetic diseases to offspring

By Jamie Talan, The Washington Post | 12.04.2021

^{By Fotograf Kallestad, Gorm / NTB Scanpix. CC BY NC 4.0}

In vitro fertilization (IVF), widely known as a way...

Assisted Reproduction

Science misinformation alarms Francis Collins as he leaves top NIH job

By Nidhi Subbaraman, Nature | 12.03.2021

This month, Francis Collins will step down as director of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) after more than...

Genomics

Scientists claim big advance in using DNA to store data

By Paul Rincon, BBC | 12.01.2021

^{DNA microarray image by Guillaume Paumier,}
^{Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0}
^{Unported licence, via Wikimedia Commons}

Scientists say...

Genomics