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...

Scientist examines images of stem cells in a lab.
By Megan Molten, Wired | 12.13.2016

If Sammy Jo Wilkinson had a spirit animal, it would be Marty McFly. For the past four years, the 51...

A black and white photo of an enthusiastically excited audience cheering, clapping, and smiling.
By Nathaniel Comfort, Aeon | 12.12.2016

Science has always issued medical promissory notes. In the 17th century, Francis Bacon promised that an understanding of the true...

An open bottle of prescribed medicine lays on top of several US dollar bills. The pills from the bottle are spread spilling over.
By Ed Silverman, STAT | 12.12.2016

Imagine being prescribed a medicine when neither your doctor nor the manufacturer has any clue whether it will actually work...

Folders from storage filing cabinet are lined on a table.
By Ronnie Cohen, Reuters Health | 12.12.2016

Hundreds of Californians who were forcibly sterilized based on eugenics laws in the last century might still be alive and...

A pale baby's hand is shown holding a flower.
By Michael Le Page, New Scientist | 12.09.2016

Many more three-parent babies will soon be on their way. A clinic in Mexico is planning to use the technique...

DNA Printout
By Chau Lam, Newsday | 12.09.2016

A day after the Queens district attorney announced he’d asked the state to approve a new type of DNA analysis...

A court gavel lays on top of a court ruling book.
By Sara Reardon, Nature | 12.07.2016

It was a tough day in US patent court for the University of California, Berkeley.

On 6 December, lawyers for...

Several chess pieces are photographed in black and white, with an emphasized black king piece standing tall.
By Sheila Kaplan, STAT | 12.05.2016

Sponsors of the 21st Century Cures Act call it a win-win: a fusion of funds for medical research with new...