News

During his 2015 State of the Union address, then-President Barack Obama announced what he promised would be an ambitious public health project. “Tonight, I’m launching a new Precision Medicine Initiative to bring us closer to curing diseases like cancer and diabetes...

This is the 15th 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. You can read the first part here. The series...

Justin Schleede reaches onto a black lab bench to pick up a tray of small plastic tubes.

"These are saliva...

"If proven to be safe, we believe preventive gene editing could be one of the most important health technologies of...

A pregnant person stands close to a baby's crib.
By Didi Kirsten Tatlow, The New York Times | 11.17.2016

BEIJING — The Singapore government has deployed financial incentives and even Mentos mints to increase births. In Russia, more money...

An archived, black and white photo of David Starr Jordan who advocated eugenic practices.
By Jacqueline Lee, San Jose Mercury News | 11.17.2016

Incorporating the topic of eugenics and the city’s history with that practice into lesson plans at Palo Alto schools is an idea...

Microscopic image of nerological cells-- as an example of nondividing cells.
By Ian Johnston, The Independent [UK] | 11.16.2016

Scientists have discovered a new way to edit DNA that could fix “broken genes” in the brain, cure previously incurable...

Silver US Mail box, with the statement, "Approved by the Post-Master General." In the background of mailbox are leaves from a bush.
By Phil Galewitz, KQED California Healthline | 11.16.2016

When the abortion pills arrived in her mailbox this summer, she felt anxious but also in control, knowing she could...

Blueprint image of crystal structure of Cas9 in complex with guide RNA and "Target DNA"
By David Cyranoski, Nature News | 11.15.2016

The move by Chinese scientists could spark a biomedical duel between China and the United States.

A Chinese group has...

Philip Morris cigarette advertisement that promote it as "luxury to the lips... preventing tongue  and throat irritation."
By Liza Gross, The Intercept | 11.15.2016

At a time when public mistrust of science runs high, and non-experts are hard-pressed to separate fact from industry-sponsored spin...

Several blood bags are filled.
By Jessica Hamzelou, New Scientist | 11.15.2016

Blood plasma from young people has been found to rejuvenate old mice, improving their memory, cognition, and physical activity. The...

In a darkened tunnel, the silhouette of a human figure flees.
By Alison Abbott, Nature News | 11.14.2016

Davide Vannoni is barred from offering a controversial stem-cell therapy in Italy but may be continuing his work abroad.

Public...