News

A Chinese scientist horrified the world in 2018 when he revealed he had secretly engineered the birth of the world's first gene-edited babies.

His work was reviled as reckless and unethical because, among other reasons, gene-editing was so new...

INTRODUCTION

Baby bonuses. Motherhood medals. Fertility tracking. You may have heard of these policy proposals as solutions from the Trump administration to help encourage women to have more children.

Besides falling short of ensuring that people have what they need...

Adapted from Mitochondrial DNA at
National Human Genome Research Institute

Recently, media outlets around the world have been reporting on...

A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer...

A strand of DNA and a computer animated child's face in profile with white skin and blonde hair
By Jim Kozubek, Scientific American | 01.21.2019

A Chinese researcher recently disrupted the CCR5 gene, which builds a protein that acts as an entryway that HIV uses...

He Jiankui sitting and speaking into a microphone with a panel of speakers
By Dennis Normile, Science | 01.21.2019

He Jiankui, the Chinese researcher who claimed to have edited the genomes of twin baby girls in a heritable way—and...

Photo of He Jiankui in a lab
By Austin Ramzy and Sui-Lee Wee, The New York Times | 01.21.2019

HONG KONG — A Chinese scientist who claimed to have created the world’s first genetically edited babies “seriously violated” state...

Bensalem police car parked in front of fence
By Heather Murphy, The New York Times | 01.21.2019

BENSALEM, Pa. — They call it the “magic box.” Its trick is speedy, nearly automated processing of DNA.

“It’s groundbreaking...

Two twin girls with brown hair standing next to each other
By Charlsie Agro and Luke Denne, CBC | 01.18.2019

One set of identical twins, two different ancestry profiles.

At least that's the suggestion from one of the world's largest...

DNA inside a syringe on a blue background.
By Françoise Baylis and Marcy Darnovsky, The Hastings Center | 01.17.2019

Despite the appearance of agreement, scientists are not of the same mind about the ethics and governance of human germline...

Old black and white photograph of young James Watson
By Mary Papenfuss, Huffington Post | 01.14.2019

Nobel laureate James Watson has been stripped of honorary titles by the laboratory he once led after spewing more racist...

Stem cells in syringe being injected into knee
By Max Levy, Vox | 01.13.2019

Inside Mark Berman’s clinic in Rancho Mirage, California, is a sign he’s obliged by law to post. It reads “Not...