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

"MC0_8230" via Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by 2.0 

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

U.S. States

Don’t Shut the Door on the Synthetic Biology Debate

By Jack Stilgoe, The Guardian | 05.08.2014
The Inter-Academy Panel, a network of the world’s science academies including our own Royal Society, today issued a statement...
Environmentalism

Dolly the Sheep’s Clones Deemed Unpatentable by U.S. Court

By Susan Decker, Bloomberg | 05.08.2014

The Scottish scientists famous for concocting “Dolly” the sheep lost a bid to get U.S. patent protection for the cloned...

U.S. Federal

Counsyl Gets Funding for New Genetic Tests

By Stephanie M. Lee, San Francisco Chronicle | 05.08.2014

No genetic test is needed to predict a bright future for Counsyl.

Armed with $28 million in new venture capital, the...

Biotech & Pharma

Scientists Add Letters to DNA’s Alphabet, Raising Hope and Fear

By Andrew Pollack, The New York Times | 05.07.2014

Scientists reported Wednesday that they had taken a significant step toward altering the fundamental alphabet of life — creating an...

Bioethics

Their Foremothers’ Daughters

By Helen Chernikoff, The Jewish Week | 05.07.2014
‘Give me children or I shall die,” said Rachel to her husband Jacob, speaking for many women of the Bible...
Human Genetic Modification

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: a Case of Potential Harm

By Nancy Fliesler, Vector | 05.05.2014

Last November, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a “cease and desist” order to 23andMe, a major purveyor of...

Bioethics

Fertility Guru's IVF warning: Rich Could Pay to Have Brighter Babies

By Mario Ledwith and Fiona Macrae, Daily Mail | 05.05.2014
Breakthroughs in IVF could ‘threaten our humanity’ by prompting parents to demand designer babies, Robert Winston has warned.

The fertility...
Genomics

Consumer Gene Tests Face Uncertain Future

By Andrea Kissack, KQED | 05.05.2014
Untitled Document

Consumers who want to find out about their genetic health risks without going to the doctor and paying...

Genomics