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...

Promotional logo for the global summit, featuring an illustration of a double helix positioned horizontally, with "2015" inside two strands, and abstract shapes of a globe.
By Paul Root Wolpe, et al., Nature Biotechnology | 11.09.2017

Recent developments in bioengineering promise the possibility of new diagnostic and treatment strategies, novel industrial processes, and innovative approaches to...

Microscopic image of skin cells
By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times | 11.08.2017

For a soccer-playing, holiday-loving boy on the brink of death from a rare inherited skin disease, doctors have accomplished a...

Female laboratory technician sitting at computer that displays a DNA microarray
By Bonnie Rochman, KQED | 11.06.2017

Excerpts from “The Other Scarlet ‘A’: Abortion’s Relationship to Genetic Testing” from THE GENE MACHINE by Bonnie Rochman.

When the...

Grayscale photo of a person's refection from a puddle of water, as they walk .
By Alison Motluk, Hazlitt | 11.06.2017

They wanted a baby, she wanted to carry it for them—for a fee. It’s a common transaction but illegal in...

Close up of a baby's foot, when lying down, with a hospital tag attached to their ankle.
By Jim Kozubek, Undark | 11.03.2017

A cutting-edge study foreshadows what genetic science might bestow to human health, but the public is rightfully wary.

HARVARD MEDICAL...

A white toddler with long black hair and dressed in a pick dress, is held by an adult mother. The toddler sits on a table, with their hands extended reaching for another adult's masculine hand in front of the toddler.
By Antonio Regalado, MIT Tech Review | 11.01.2017

Image via WikiMedia

 

Nathan Treff was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 24. It’s a disease that runs in...

Transparent glass frames, with the repeating letters ATCG in bold black font.
By Osagie K. Obasogie , Scientific American | 11.01.2017

What would it mean to embrace new gene-editing technologies such as CRISPR–Cas9 at the very moment white supremacy is, once again, on...

Landscape photo of The Hollywood sign
By Zoe Williams, The Guardian | 10.30.2017

In Europe, 77% of IVF treatments fail – and doctors have suggested that famous people should be more honest about...