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 judge's gavel sits upon an opened book.
By Jim Provance, The Blade | 05.22.2017

New rule allows inmates to appeal lower courts decision

COLUMBUS—Inmates already on death row may appeal a lower court’s decision...
A young mother holds a daughter with their heads gently touching. Their backs are away from the camera.
By Sneha Banerjee & Sarojini Nadimpally, The Wire [India] | 05.20.2017

Uterus transplants raise several ethical concerns drawing from the health risk posed to women, especially since the surgery is not

...
A gloved hand holds several connected test tubes filled with clear liquid.
By Anthony M. DeStefano, Newsday | 05.19.2017

A special state committee Friday approved a recommendation that New York State adopt the use of familial searching, an emerging...

Someone puts a coin into a piggy bank that has bandages on its side. A doctor's stethoscope surrounds the piggy bank.
By Maryam Zaringhalam, Slate | 05.18.2017

Which makes the AHCA’s removal of protections so much more frightening.

As currently written, the American Health Care Act allows...

Graphic of a double helix, with two nuceobase pairs highlighted as if being destroyed.
By Dietram A. Scheufele and David Beier, Scientific American | 05.18.2017

A report from the National Academies says scientists alone can't make the call—they must engage with the broader public

Meaningful...

Close up image of three double helixes positioned diagonally, and subtly highlighted.
By Abby Olena, The Scientist | 05.18.2017

Sangamo Therapeutics will use zinc finger nucleases to introduce the gene for a missing clotting factor into the livers of

...
A woman of color holds a circular glass object in her opened left palm.
By Jeremy Lent, Alternet | 05.17.2017

Will social inequality soon be programmed into our DNA?

The chasm between rich and poor in the world has become...

Two Q-tip swabs are vertically positioned next to each other. Blurred in the background, there is a container filled with other q-tips.
By Joel Winston, Medium | 05.17.2017

A word to the wise: Read the complete terms of service.

Don’t use the AncestryDNA testing service without actually reading the...