News

The National Health Research Ethics Council (NHREC) has confirmed that heritable human genome editing (HHGE) remains illegal in South Africa, after changes in the latest version of the South African Ethics in Health Research Guidelines sparked concern among researchers that...

A little-noticed change to South Africa’s national health research guidelines, published in May of this year, has put the country on an ethical precipice. The newly added language appears to position the country as the first to explicitly permit...

IN THE FALL OF 2016, I gave a talk at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton titled “Are Robots...

A US startup company is offering to help wealthy couples screen their embryos for IQ using controversial technology that raises...

a graphic featuring test tubes and gametes
By Sarojini Nadimpally and Gargi Mishra, The Wire | 12.15.2024

In-vitro fertilisation (IVF) as assisted reproductive technology (ART) has been in vogue for quite a few decades now. While IVF...

Scientist examining DNA
By Rob Stein, NPR | 12.13.2024

 

Lucy Landman was born with a very rare genetic disorder that causes severe intellectual disability, weak muscles and seizures...

egg retrieval graphic
By Michelle LePage, TorontoMet Today | 12.13.2024

As more people access fertility services in their journeys to becoming parents, Toronto Metropolitan University professor Katie Hammond says the...

global egg trade graphic
By Natalie Obiko Pearson, Jessica Brice, Susan Berfield, Vernon Silver, Kanoko Matsuyama, Cindy Wang, Sinduja Rangarajan, Fani Nikiforaki, Bloomberg | 12.12.2024

A single cell.
A global business worth billions.
A trade that can bring rewards—or human costs that cannot be measured...

DNA dissolving on multicolored background
By Aileen Editha, The Conversation | 12.11.2024

23andMe, a major company providing direct-to-consumer genetic testing, has been struggling financially since late 2023. In September 2024, the company’s...

superhero baby graphic
By Emi Nietfeld, Wired | 12.11.2024

FOR YEARS NOW, aspiring parents have been designing their children. Screening embryos for disease-causing genes during IVF, selecting their future baby’s...

a photo of Richard Lynn
By Hannah Devlin and David Pegg, The Guardian | 12.10.2024

"Richard Lynn" by Matt Gibson licensed under CC by SA 3.0 

A leading academic publisher is reviewing...

ivf graphic on blue blackground
By Kristine Servando, Bloomberg | 12.05.2024

(Bloomberg) — A woman in Hong Kong had to travel to two different countries to attempt conceiving a baby on...