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...

Close-up of a mouse against a white background
By Deborah Netburn, Los Angeles Times | 12.07.2017

The revolutionary gene editing tool CRISPR-Cas9 is best known for helping scientists edit a strand of DNA more precisely and...

A group of women raning in age, with their heads covered by scarves,m arching in line in a building. These women are the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo.
By Kelly McLaughlin, Daily Mail | 12.06.2017

An Argentine woman has been reunited with her relatives 40 years after she was stolen as a newborn by the...

A woman scientist is turned away from the camera, and faces a laboratory desk filled with equipment.
By Christie Aschwanden, FiveThirtyEight | 12.06.2017

The easiest way to undermine good science is to demand that it be made “sound.”

Science is being turned against...

Three burning white candles, in a dark room. Candle wax drips on each.
By Tess McClure, Vice | 12.05.2017

How a powerful group of New Zealanders attempted to wipe out 'mental defectives' and improve the white race.

Oh Mother...

A person leans and covers their head, expressing sadness.
By Sheila Wayman, Irish Times | 12.05.2017

The day Ruth drove her car up to Howth harbour in Co Dublin and contemplated driving off the side, she...

Bird's eye view of a large group of people who are seated around a round table, looking at laptops, and infographics, with coffee mugs placed on the table.
By Rebecca Robbins, STAT | 12.04.2017

Investors searching for a new way to make big money in medicine have hit upon an age-old problem: infertility.

The...

Grayscale image of a pregnant woman, with exposed belly, sitting with her bare feet in focus in front of her. Her face is not shown, and the picture displays only her body from the shoulders down.
By Jessica Hamzelou, New Scientist | 11.29.2017

Would-be parents seeking IVF treatment use published success rates to choose a clinic – but the stats don't reflect the...

A group of Biohackers. In the middle, one of the members holds an Apple laptop. Josiah Zayner  stands beside the laptop
By Kristen V. Brown, Gizmodo | 11.29.2017

Josiah Zayner took a swig from his beer and squinted into the spotlight. He was already kind of drunk. He...