News

Surrogacy goes more mainstream

By Carly Mallenbaum, Axios [cites Emily Galpern] | 03.29.2026

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...

U.S. Federal

Eugenics and the Modern Synthesis, Part I

By Jessica Riskin, Los Ángeles Review of Books | 03.23.2026

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...

Civil Society

Surrogacy laws are all over the map

By Carly Mallenbaum, Axios [cites Surrogacy360] | 03.29.2026

Without a federal law, surrogacy in the U.S. is governed by a patchwork of state regulations/

Why it matters: Confusing...

Policies

Project Eugenics: The Rollback of Disability Rights

By Kiana Jackson and Shannon Stubblefield, New Disabled South | 02.09.2026

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This report documents a deliberate assault on disabled people in...

U.S. States

Taking responsibility: Asilomar and its legacy

By J. Benjamin Hurlbut, Science | 01.30.2025

In February 1975, leading molecular biologists gathered at the Asilomar conference center on the California coast to evaluate risks of...

Genomics

A Less Brutal Alternative to IVF

By Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic | 01.27.2025

After my 20th shot of hormones, I texted my boyfriend, only half kidding, “I’m dying.” We had decided to freeze...

Patents & Other IP

Technology for lab-grown eggs or sperm on brink of viability, UK fertility watchdog finds

By Hannah Devlin, The Guardian | 01.26.2025

Mass-producing eggs and sperm in a laboratory in order to have a baby with yourself or three other people in...

Genetic Selection

The CDC Won’t Give the Public a Full Picture of Fertility Treatment Risks

By Jackie Davalos, Rachel Adams-Heard, and Kendall Taggart, Bloomberg | 01.24.2025

For women in the US seeking fertility treatment or considering donating their eggs, there’s a fair amount of information they...

Policies

America’s Darkest Comeback Tour: From Racehorse Theory to Resistance

By Emes Ilyés, Common Dreams | 01.23.2025

^{“Donald Trump speaking with supporters at a campaign rally at the Prescott Valley Event Center in Prescott Valley, Arizona” by...}

U.S. States

The broligarchs have a vision for the new Trump term. It’s darker than you think.

By Sigal Samuel, Vox | 01.20.2025

^{Photo "Elon Musk Presenting Tesla's Fully Autonomous Future" by Steve Jurvetson on Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)}

There’s a dominant...

Society

a graphic depicting the selection of a set of DNA elevated over two other sets

Aspiring Parents Have a New DNA Test to Obsess Over

By Kristen V. Brown, The Atlantic | 01.15.2025

The first time Jamie Cassidy was pregnant, the fetus had a genetic mutation so devastating that she and her husband...

Patents & Other IP

Scientists call for revision on South Africa’s guidelines on genome engineering

By Di Caelers, Nature | 01.14.2025

Updates to South African research ethics guidelines which recognize significant potential for treating genetic diseases through heritable human genome editing...

Other Countries