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 double helix structure positioned horizontally.
By Joel Michael Reynolds, Time | 08.09.2017

On August 2nd, scientists achieved a milestone on the path to human genetic engineering. For the first time in the...

Microscopic image of oocyte.
By Tom Ashbrook, NPR On Point [features Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.08.2017

After the blockbuster announcement a U.S. team successfully edited human embryos come the tough medical and ethical questions. We’ll talk...

Model of an egg surrounded by sperm, and illuminated by a light angled from above.
By Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review | 08.07.2017

Scientists are trying to manufacture eggs and sperm in the laboratory. Will it end reproduction as we know it?

Let’s...

An empty room with several rows of chairs facing a stage with a screen that reads "FDA"
By Kristen V. Brown, Gizmodo | 08.07.2017

John Zhang, a New York fertility doctor, wanted to push the boundaries of science and fertility by giving women at...

FDA building and sign
By Rachel Becker, The Verge [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.05.2017

On Friday, FDA sent him a letter notifying him of his violations

The doctor who created a genetically modified “three-parent...

An incomplete puzzle featuring an image of a double helix, with several pieces scattered around the puzzle.
By Pam Belluck, New York Times [cites Marcy Darnovsky] | 08.04.2017

Now that science is a big step closer to being able to fiddle with the genes of a human embryo...

A DNA molecule is positioned toward the left. In the background, there are several floating molecules. The background is a gradient blue,
By Editorial Board, Los Angeles Times | 08.03.2017

In a process that can be likened to the creation of GMO crops, scientists have edited genes in human embryos...

Two young girls face each other, and both appear to be using American Sign Language to communicate. They seem to be signing gum, candy, or apple.
By Rachel Kolb and Dakota McCoy, San Francisco Chronicle | 08.03.2017

Last month, researchers in Oregon broke new scientific ground when they used CRISPR/Cas-9 to genetically modify human embryos, a first...