News

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...

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...

Without a federal law, surrogacy in the U.S. is governed by a patchwork of state regulations/

Why it matters: Confusing...

"MC0_8230" via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 2.0 

This report documents a deliberate assault on disabled people in...

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...

A large, multicolored representation of DNA fragments
By Rob Stein, NPR | 11.29.2017

Eli Wheatley and Christian Guardino are among a growing number of patients whose lives are apparently being saved or radically...

Gray scale photo of an adult's hand holding a baby's.
By Tina Hesman Saey, ScienceNews [cites CGS’ Marcy Darnovsky] | 11.28.2017

A doctor explains to a young couple that he has screened the pair’s in vitro fertilized embryos and selected those...