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...

Five illustrated sperm cells "swim" toward the upper left corner.
By Wendy Kramer, BioNews | 02.27.2017

Since 2000, the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR) has connected more than 14,000 donor-conceived individuals with their donors and half-siblings. We've...

A white infant stares directly, with blue eyes. The baby's mouth is slightly opened.
By Marcy Darnovsky, Bioscience Technology | 02.27.2017

Over the past few years, researchers have developed a set of powerful new techniques for altering and synthesizing DNA. These...

Two youths--a male and female-- concentrate in a lab procedure. The male holds a pipette. The female holds the sample.
By Amy Dockser Marcus, Wall Street Journal | 02.26.2017

The Crispr technique lets amateurs enter a world that has been the exclusive domain of scientists

Kian Sadeghi has postponed homework...

A baby, sitting inside of a crib, playfully looks to the side. One hand is holding a bar of the crib. Light pours out from a nearby window.
By Lindsay Murdoch, Sydney Morning Herald | 02.26.2017

Up to 10 surrogacy-born babies with Australian biological parents are stuck in legal limbo in Cambodia after a crackdown on...

Double helix angled in the corner
By Francoise Baylis, Impact Ethics | 02.17.2017

Françoise Baylis wonders how it is that in 14 months (from December 2015 to February 2017), the U.S. National Academy

...
A test tube rack is filled with lab samples. A gloved hand picks up one container among them.
By Peter Pitts, Forbes | 02.15.2017

Genetic testing promises a revolution in healthcare. With just a few swabs of saliva, diagnostics can provide an unprecedented look...

By Andrea K. McDaniels, Baltimore Sun | 02.15.2017

The eldest son of Henrietta Lacks wants compensation from the Johns Hopkins University and possibly other institutions for the unauthorized...

Screenshot of Titanovo's testing kit advertisement for measuring telomeres as indicators for health information.
By Kristen V. Brown, Gizmodo | 02.15.2017

Recently, Vitaliy Husar received results from a DNA screening that changed his life. It wasn’t a gene that suggested a...