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

Black and white image of a women's rights demonstration related to reproductive health

RNC approves platform that would give rights to fetuses, endangering abortion, IVF

By Amanda Becker and Shefali Luthra, The 19th | 07.08.2024

_{Image by Duke University Archives from Flickr}

Republicans have adopted a slate of policy positions ahead of next week’s convention...

Policies

DNA strands and moneybags on green background

Why isn’t gene therapy available to more patients? Blame millionaire prices and uncertainty as to its effectiveness

By Oriol Güell, El País | 07.07.2024

_{Image by Nick Youngson from Pix4free}

Darius is 15 years old and is a dazzling example of how medical research...

Human Genetic Modification

Work on synthetic human embryos to get code of practice in UK

By Ian Sample, The Guardian | 07.04.2024

Biological models of human embryos that can develop heartbeats, spinal cords and other distinctive features will be governed by a ...

Policies

Purple-colored sickle cells over a white background

A pill to treat sickle cell disease? Compound that activates fetal gene raises new hope

By Robert F. Service, Science | 07.04.2024

_{Image by Ed Uthman from Flickr}

Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two gene therapy procedures...

Human Genetic Modification

a photo of Japan's Supreme Court buildinghttps://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Supreme_Court_of_Japan_(10357245203).jpg

Court orders Japanese government to pay damages over forced sterilisations

By Justin McCurry, The Guardian | 07.03.2024

^{Photo "Supreme Court of Japan" by Big Ben Japan on Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by SA 2.0}

Japan’s supreme...

Society

Surrogacy money scandal leaves parents-to-be in limbo nightmare

By Gilma Avalos, NBC | 07.03.2024

_{Image by Josh Appel from Unsplash}

The dream of becoming parents is turning into a nightmare for hundreds of people...

U.S. Federal

A Retracted Stem Cell Study Reveals Science’s Shortcomings

By Peter Aldhous, Scientific American | 07.02.2024

In June a notice posted on the website of the journal Nature set a new scientific record. It withdrew what...

Human Genetic Modification

With its 'Chevron' ruling, the Supreme Court claims to be smarter than scientific experts

By Michael Hiltzik, LA Times | 07.02.2024

_{Photo by Claire Anderson on Unsplash}

Second only to the Supreme Court’s ruling Monday on when presidents are immune from...

U.S. Federal