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

Why we Should Opt Out of the Government's New Patient Database

By Edward Hockings, The Guardian | 01.31.2014
We have until March to opt out of the care.data initiative. The ‘theoretical risk’ that we might be...
Bioethics

Kercher Trial: How Does DNA Contamination Occur?

By Melissa Hogenboom, BBC | 01.30.2014
Potential for the contamination of forensic DNA evidence has been highlighted by the Meredith Kercher murder trial. But just how...
Bioethics

First Monkeys with Customized Mutations Born

By Helen Shen, Nature | 01.30.2014
The ultimate potential of precision gene-editing techniques is beginning to be realised. Today, researchers in China report the first monkeys...
Assisted Reproduction

Stem Cell Timeline: The History of a Medical Sensation

By Andy Coghlan, New Scientist | 01.30.2014
Stem cells are the cellular putty from which all tissues of the body are made. Ever since human embryonic stem...
Biopolitics

Stanford Consortium Wins $40 Million to Create Stem Cell Genomics Center

By David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report | 01.29.2014
Directors of the California stem cell agency today approved a $40 million proposal ultimately targeted at creating medical treatments tailored...
Biopolitics

Should we Cut Back on IVF?

By Lara Salahi, The Boston Globe | 01.29.2014
In vitro fertilization (IVF) has given about 5 percent of couples who suffer from infertility a shot at parenthood. But...
Biotech & Pharma

Genetic Determinism: Why we Never Learn — And Why it Matters

By Nathaniel Comfort, Genotopia | 01.29.2014
Here it is, 2014, and we have “Is the will to work out genetically determined?,” by Bruce Grierson...
Biopolitics

Study Says New Method Could Be a Quicker Source of Stem Cells

By Andrew Pollack, The New York Times | 01.29.2014
A surprising study has found that a simple acid bath might turn cells in the body into stem cells that...
Bioethics