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's back is turned away from the camera. In front of her, a man in a suit points at a piece of paper within a binder on his desk.
By Gina Kolata, New York Times | 05.12.2017

Pat Reilly had good reason to worry about Alzheimer’s disease: Her mother had it, and she saw firsthand the havoc...

Labelled test tubes are placed on a rack.
By Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic | 05.11.2017

Should scientists give results to participants in research studies if they haven’t been validated in a clinical lab?

SALT LAKE...

Several black chess pieces are positioned side by side, standing upright.
By Amy Webb, Wired | 05.11.2017

BIOLOGY HAS EMERGED as one of the most important technology platforms of the 21st century. With the arrival of the gene-editing...

A pale hand holds an unlit light bulb.
By Nature Editorial | 05.10.2017

Presenting science as a battle for truth against ignorance is an unhelpful exaggeration.

Antimatter annihilates matter. Anti-science, it is said...

Archived black and white photo from the Tuskegee study. A white doctor draws blood from a black study participant with two others observing.
By Associated Press | 05.10.2017

TUSKEGEE, Ala. — Decades later, it’s still hard to grasp what the federal government did to hundreds of black men...

Close up photo of a yellow winged moth against a white background.
By Eric Niiler, Wired | 05.10.2017

A HALF-INCH-LONG MOTH that devours kale, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts may not inspire the same fear as a Zika-carrying mosquito, but...

Circular dial containing birth control pills.
By Theresa Vargas, Washington Post | 05.09.2017

The message wasn’t subtle in one of the first advertisements for the birth control pill. Greek mythological figure Andromeda is...

Black and white photo, in bug's eye view, looking up at a person balancing on a tightrope.
By Friends of the Earth, Emerging Tech Project | 05.09.2017

The Australian Academy of Sciences has joined a growing number of groups calling for a national discussion on a range...