Tuesday is the 210th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth. Roughly eight-in-ten U.S. adults say humans have evolved over time.
Evolution remains a contentious issue. When asked about it, highly religious Americans' responses can vary depending on how the question is asked.
The U.S. public has mixed views on using gene editing to reduce babies' risk of serious diseases, with parents of children younger than 18 especially wary.
Still, white evangelical Protestants and religious "nones" are somewhat less likely than members of other religious groups to support a vaccine requirement.
In 2016, Pew Research Center examined an array of topics in America – from immigration to the growing divide between Republicans and Democrats – as well as many from around the globe.
Thanks to scientific advancements, brain chip implants are already being tested in individuals to help them cope with an injury or ailment. But when it comes to the potential use of such implants to give an already healthy and capable person abilities that they do not currently have, Americans are more wary than enthusiastic. Some […]
Human enhancement may be just around the corner. How do Americans view these emerging technologies that may one day enhance our human capabilities?
Americans are more worried than excited or enthusiastic about the potential for healthy people to use synthetic blood (63% vs. 36%). And a majority of Americans – roughly six-in-ten – said they would not want synthetic blood substitutes in their own body to improve their abilities, while 35% would be open to it.
A new gene-editing method called CRISPR exemplifies how the technology is rapidly becoming a present-day reality. Yet, Americans are wary of editing embryos, according to a survey on the broader field of “human enhancement.”
Emerging technologies that draw from biomedical technology, nanotechnology, information technology and other fields may lead to any number of ways people might be able to “upgrade” themselves. But a majority of Americans greet the possibility of these breakthroughs with more wariness and worry than enthusiasm and hope.
