Evaluation of General Sources

In this post, I will evaluate two online news articles I found that describe a controversy regarding genetic engineering in human embryos. Both of these articles focus on an experiment in China in which scientists attempted to modify the genes of human embryos in an attempt to cure a blood disorder called beta-thalassemia.

1. "Critics Lash Out at Chinese Scientists Who Edited DNA in Human Embryos"

Chandra, Swati, "Screenshot of 'Critics Lash Out At Chinese Scientists Who Edited DNA In Human Embryos.'" 09/04/2015 via National Public Radio. 

This article, found on http://www.npr.org, describes the event in China, in which scientists genetically engineered human embryos in order to possibly cure the blood disorder beta-thalassemia. It went on to describe the public outrage that this experiment has caused. In the following list, I will evaluate the credibility of this source.

• URL: The URL of this website shows that this article is by National Public Radio, a nationally renowned media organization. Some research into the background of NPR indicates that it is well-known and generally reputable. It is also a non-profit organization, which reduces the risk for possible bias in its news stories.
• Author: The author, Rob Stein, is an award winning science journalist, according to his biography on NPR's website. He has over 25 years of experience, and his stories generally focus on health, ethics, public policy, and other such topics. In addition, his Twitter account focuses on topics related to health, health policy, and current events within the discipline, further adding to his credibility.
• Last Updated:  This article was last updated on April 23, 2015, showing that it is a relatively recent event. Additionally, although it doesn't explicitly say when the event occurred, most of the similar articles I found were also written around this time. This shows that the event probably occurred around the same time as the article was written.
• Purpose: The article seems to have a primarily informative motive, as it first summarizes the event that sparked the outrage. It then goes on to describe the debate that ensued, referring to specific researchers who disapproved of the experiment.
• Graphics: The article begins with a large artistic rendering of the structure of DNA. This may have been used to illustrate the main idea of the article, as well as to draw the reader in with the large, unmistakable visual representation of DNA.
• Position on the Subject: Although I was wary of the use of several opinionated words in the title of the article (for instance, the title begins with "critics lash out"), this article seems to use a relatively neutral tone. The description of the event seems to be for purely informative sources, and the author spends an equal amount of time describing both sides of the debate. He even directly quotes both the Chinese researchers and researchers who disapprove of the experiment.
• Links: The author provides a direct link to the scientific report that the article is based on. In addition, each of his sources is directly cited using links throughout the article, so it is easy to see that his sources are credible.

2. "Chinese Team Reports Gene-Editing Human Embryos"

Chandra, Swati, "Screenshot of 'Chinese Team Reports Gene-Editing Human Embryos.'" 09/04/2015 via MIT Technology Review.

This article, found in the MIT Technology Review, again summarizes the experiment that sparked an ethical debate regarding genetic engineering. I will again evaluate its credibility in a series of steps:

• URL: The article URL shows that this article was published by the MIT Technology Review. After some research, it seems that this website is a reliable source for news that relates to science and technology. It specializes in related subject matter, showing that it may be a credible source for information about this conspiracy.
• Author: This article was written by Antonio Regalado, the senior editor for biomedicine in the MIT Technology Review. This shows that he does specialize in this type of news. His Twitter account also shows similar results, although his account seems a bit more personalized and informal compared to the previous author.
• Last Updated: This article was last updated on April 22, 2015. This correlates with the publishing date of the aforementioned NPR article, again adding to the article's credibility.
• Purpose: Similar to the NPR article, this article focuses on informing the audience of the experiment that took place. It acknowledges the criticism that the event faced, as well as the support that it received.
• Graphics: There are no graphics included in the article, perhaps to give it a more professional tone.
• Position on the Subject: The article seems to be relatively neutral since it summarizes the events that took place, and it speaks of both the approval and disapproval that it sparked. However, it does seem to demonstrate a slight bias towards the side of the debate that claims that the event was not as controversial as it is made out to be. The author places emphasis on the fact that the researchers realize that the process of genetically engineering embryos is too risky to actually use on normal human embryos. The experiment was conducted on abnormal embryos, which the author says is common practice in both the US and China.
• Links: The article does seem to have substantial backing, as links are provided to other articles that relate to both sides of the debate. All of the sources seem to be linked to other websites, which again adds to its credibility.