News

A Chinese scientist horrified the world in 2018 when he revealed he had secretly engineered the birth of the world's first gene-edited babies.

His work was reviled as reckless and unethical because, among other reasons, gene-editing was so new...

INTRODUCTION

Baby bonuses. Motherhood medals. Fertility tracking. You may have heard of these policy proposals as solutions from the Trump administration to help encourage women to have more children.

Besides falling short of ensuring that people have what they need...

Adapted from Mitochondrial DNA at
National Human Genome Research Institute

Recently, media outlets around the world have been reporting on...

A newly available kind of genetic testing, called polygenic embryo screening, promises to screen for conditions that can include cancer...

a piece of DNA colored white over an american dollar bill on a blue background
By Rob Stein, NPR | 05.02.2023

When Chase Finazzo was just a few years old, his parents noticed Chase was pretty clumsy. But they didn't think...

A eugenics poster
By Émile P. Torres, Truthdig | 05.01.2023

When most people hear the word “eugenics,” they immediately think of the Nazis. And for good reason: the Nazis force-sterilized...

an anti abortion ban protest
By Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times | 05.01.2023

Among the dubious points that U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk makes in his recent ruling suspending the Food and Drug...

a sickle cell red blood cell with its characteristic shape
By Carolyn Y. Johnson, The Washington Post | 04.28.2023

DACULA, Ga. — For as long as he can remember, Jimi Olaghere felt he was destined to be a father...

sperm colored blue swimming across a black background
By Claire Moses, The New York Times | 04.28.2023

A man who has fathered between 550 and 600 children over the past 16 years is not allowed to donate...

A gloved pink cartoon hand holding a cartoon vial with blue liquid and 3 pink embryos in it
By Kristine Thomason, Women's Health | 04.27.2023

At 22, Arianna W. was certain she wanted to freeze her eggs—one day.

It was 2016, and she was interning...

drawing of a scientist writing on a clipboard with two strands of DNA above, one labeled with a check mark and the other with an X
By Christos Konstantopoulos, The Collector | 04.27.2023

What is the first period that comes to mind when one hears the term “eugenics”? For many, the answer is...

a black and white photo of a striped bed with a baby peaking over the edge. The left side of their face is visible.
By Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review | 04.26.2023

Elizabeth Carr is head of commercial development at Genomic Prediction, a New Jersey genetic testing startup that says it...