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 breast cancer cell, captured in black and white by an electron microscope
By Heidi Ledford, Nature | 04.05.2017

Scientists face tough decisions when the latest gene-editing findings don’t match up with the results of other techniques.

It seemed...

Adult feet and baby feet are next to each other. They are positioned as if the adult is sitting down and the baby is between their legs. They both wear bright blue clothing.
By G. Owen Schaefer, The Conversation | 04.03.2017

Blood is thicker than water, or so the saying goes, reflecting the value we put on biological relationships. But is...

A newborn baby lays in a  hospital crib
By Andy Coghlan, New Scientist | 04.03.2017

Some concerns have been voiced over the way in which a clinic last year created the first three-parent baby born...

A scientist with eye glasses holds a DNA strand in their left hand at eye level. In their right hand they have an instrument containing missing DNA pieces.
By Bonnie Rochman, Boston Globe [cites CGS] | 04.02.2017

Recently, two eminent groups of scientists and health and medical experts made a startling statement: Under very limited circumstances, it...

Four doctors surround a paitent undergoing surgery.
By Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times | 03.31.2017

Jim Durgeloh, 59, was desperate to avoid surgery. After a career as a construction contractor and hours of leisure time...

A baby stiffly lays in a cardboard box, surrounded by package bubble wrap.
By Marcy Darnovsky & Elliot Hosman, GeneWatch | 03.31.2017

As of this year, the creation of genetically engineered and enhanced future human beings is no longer a scientific hypothetical...

Portrait of Alondra Nelson deeply engaged at a speaking event.
By Misha Angrist, Genome Magazine | 03.30.2017

Why did you choose to examine African-Americans’ approach to genetic ancestry in The Social Life of DNA?
Given the Tuskegee...

A neon sign reading "Vacancy" in capital letters.https://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenprofeta/5097380126/in/photolist-8Lrpwf-4xU5NQ-efqavK-bGRjKH-9zp4r9-7STqbm-8nwj2a-99UV3B-i9iEN7-6dHfiP-fyQKPK-PKXPCX-oEDvPk-baVPrZ-7XcErJ-4s7tj5-cCkJxo-kVxaG-cNZx15-Ly8Tj-8dqxxR-4mLmJS-bzQc3J-AtPFq-yUrYU-tZM6D-9Wh7M-8dqkPx-5QbpJ9-7MSQk3-z2zc8-4RqMqz-8dqjcD-AeMGrE-9vdtxw-7KN4Y7-8dqyKK-8dtCtd-z2ADA-6Yp8Nd-fEsd3-e1M8YX-rkgkKf-z2Gmf-4wP7wC-cbM7F9-BmUs8-z2Bpy-5gRdJt-z2Gbh
By Cecilia Kang & Michael D. Shear, New York Times | 03.30.2017

WASHINGTON — On the fourth floor of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, the staff of the White House chief technology...