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 short-tail weasel peaks its head out of rocks.
By Carl Zimmer, New York Times | 11.16.2017

In 2013, scientists discovered a new way to precisely edit genes — technology called Crispr that raised all sorts of...

Close up of microscopic image of egg and sperm fertilization
By Carrie Arnold, Quanta Magazine | 11.15.2017

In the winner-takes-all game of fertilization, millions of sperm race toward the egg that’s waiting at the finish line. Plenty...

Bird's eye view of a patient's hand resting , with several wires hooked up, as a gloved hand inserts an IV needle.
By Marilynn Marchione, Associated Press | 11.15.2017

Scientists for the first time have tried editing a gene inside the body in a bold attempt to permanently change...

Grayscale close up of a child looking wide-eyed as they lay bundled in blankets.
By Amber Dance, Nature Biotechnology [cites CGS' Marcy Darnovsky] | 11.09.2017

As the technology to create genetically modified babies moves closer to practice, what questions should we ask before such procedures...

Microscopic image of IVF
By Insoo Hyun & Catherine Osborn, Nature Biotechnology | 11.09.2017

To the Editor:

Recently, a team from the United States used CRISPR–Cas9 on viable human embryos to correct a gene...

Grayscale image of an adult woman laying on a couch, with a toddler nestled in her arms. Both she and the toddler look affectionately at each other.
By Arthur Caplan, Wendy Dean and Brendan Parent, Washington Post | 11.09.2017

New York City police officer Wenjian Liu died while on duty in 2014. More than two years later, his daughter...

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...