News

The Mysterious Eugenics of Aesthetic Taste

By Michael Rossi, The Los Angeles Review of Books | 01.11.2026

This is the 10th 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 Osagie K. Obasogie in...

Arts & Culture

The mirage of AI deregulation

By Alondra Nelson, Science | 01.15.2026

One of the most interventionist approaches to technology governance in the United States in a generation has cloaked itself in the language of deregulation. In early December 2025, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to announce a forthcoming “One...

Global Governance

More and “Better” Babies: The Dark Side of the Pronatalist Movement

By Daphne O. Martschenko and Julia E. H. Brown, Hastings Bioethics Forum | 01.14.2026

There is growing concern that falling fertility rates will lead to economic and demographic catastrophe. The social and political movement...

Genetic Selection

Bay Area Startups Want to Make Genetically Engineered Babies. What Could Go Wrong?

By Grace Won, KQED Forum [with CGS' Katie Hasson] | 12.02.2025

In the U.S., it’s illegal to edit genes in human embryos with the intention of creating a genetically engineered baby...

Genetic Selection

Emboldened anti-abortion groups create wishlist for second Trump term

By Carter Sherman, The Guardian | 11.17.2024

The anti-abortion movement is ready for its comeback in 2025.

With the return of Donald Trump to the White...

Policies

The Legal and Ethical Debate on Human Heritable Genome Editing (HHGE) in South Africa

By Jantina de Vries, EthicsLab | 11.15.2024

The conversation around human heritable genome editing (HHGE) in South Africa is marked by controversy and conflicting interpretations of the...

Other Countries

Ethics Washing: The Misappropriation of Ubuntu in the Ethics of Heritable Human Genome Editing (HHGE)

By Anye Nyamnjoh, EthicsLab | 11.15.2024

In their argument for equal access to heritable human genome editing (HHGE) as a healthcare service for future generations...

Other Countries

Elon Musk Has Always Been Like This. So Has Silicon Valley.

By Colette Shade, The New Republic | 11.14.2024

^{Photo "Elon Musk" by Daniel Oberhaus on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)}

Would Donald Trump have won reelection if not for...

Policies

Kennedy’s F.D.A. Wish List: Raw Milk, Stem Cells, Heavy Metals

By Christina Jewett, The New York Times | 11.12.2024

^{"Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at Legends Event Center in Phoenix, Arizona."...}

U.S. Federal

Fertility agencies accused of promoting eugenics with embryo selection

By Ewan Bolton, The Telegraph | 11.12.2024

Fertility agencies offering embryo selection for IVF and surrogacy have been accused of promoting eugenics and misleading consumers about the...

Genetic Selection

Opening the Door to ‘Designer Babies’? South Africa’s Genome Editing Guidelines Spark Global Debate

By Bernice Lottering, Gene Online | 11.08.2024

South Africa’s updated health-research ethics guidelines, which now include heritable human genome editing, have sparked concern among scientists. The revisions...

Assisted Reproduction

What Trump’s election win could mean for AI, climate and health

By Jeff Tollefson, Max Kozlov, Mariana Lenharo and Traci Watson, Nature | 11.08.2024

^{“Donald Trump” by Gage Skidmore is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0}

From repealing climate policies to overturning guidance...

U.S. Federal