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

Scientists should counter the myth of biological race

By Marcia L. O’Connell, Zachariah I. Grochau-Wright, and Christopher T. Fisher, The Philadelphia Inquirer | 09.20.2021

The University of Pennsylvania’s medical school apologized last month for unethical experiments on incarcerated, mostly Black men, often without their...

Society

a magnifying glass shows a strand of DNA in front of a background of multicolored squares

“Gattaca” and the Ethics of Genetic Selection

By David K. Johnson, The Great Courses Daily [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 09.19.2021

The film Gattaca is set in a world in which gene manipulation is common. When parents decide to have children...

Genetic Selection

Jeopardy!, Eugenics and Me

By Cynthia Greenlee, Harper's Bazaar | 09.17.2021

In 1994, when I heard my beloved game show Jeopardy! was searching for college contestants, I somehow convinced my parents...

Eugenics

Temple researchers take another step toward curing HIV

By Marie McCullough, The Philadelphia Inquirer | 09.17.2021

In 2014, Temple University researchers proved they could use state-of-the-art molecular scissors to cut out dormant HIV hiding in human...

Human Genetic Modification

Picking Embryos With Best Health Odds Sparks New DNA Debate

By Carey Goldberg, Bloomberg | 09.17.2021

Rafal Smigrodzki won’t make a big deal of it, but someday, when his toddler daughter Aurea is old enough to...

Genetic Selection

Biology Starts to Get a Technological Makeover

By Steve Lohr, The New York Times | 09.16.2021

^{Photo by igemhq on Flickr}

BOSTON — Two white-coated lab technicians, seated at work stations in a corner, are vastly...

Synthetic Biology

An anti-racist action plan for studying the human genome

By Eric D. Green, The Hill | 09.16.2021

^{Image Credit: Ernesto Del Aguila III, Courtesy of NHGRI}

Throughout my career as a leader in genomics, I have frequently...

U.S. Federal

two white cartridges for covid antigen testing

Theranos and COVID-19 Testing Are Mirror-Image Cautionary Tales

By Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic | 09.15.2021

^{Photo by Steve Nomax on Unsplash}

Last week, prosecutors and defense attorneys made opening statements in the criminal trial of...

U.S. Federal