CGS : Race

About Race & Human Biotechnology

Racist ideas and practices have marred the history of science, with low points including the eugenics movement and medical experiments on vulnerable populations. Public awareness and social oversight are needed to ensure that these sorts of occurrences are not repeated.

Today, some geneticists and biomedical researchers are searching for genetic differences between racial groups, raising concerns that these biological variations may be used to justify inequitable outcomes that are created by social, environmental, and economic forces. However well-meaning, this could lead to gross abuse.

Genetic researchers have been particularly interested in indigenous peoples. Their reproductive insularity has led to a genetic homogeneity that can facilitate searches for correlations between specific genes and phenotypic traits. Many indigenous people object to this work for a variety of practical and ethical reasons, including the patenting and commercialization of genetic information, the lack of fully informed consent, the potential for genetic discrimination, and the disproportionate allocation of public funds to genetic research rather than to direct health care and prevention programs.

What We Mean When We Say 'Race Is a Social Construct'by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The AtlanticMay 15th, 2013If you tell me that you plan to study "race and intelligence" then it is only fair that I ask you, "What do you mean by race?"

The Dark Art of Racecraftby Ta-Nehisi Coates, The AtlanticMay 13th, 2013Jason Richwine takes his place in a long history of research on race and IQ, one of the most discredited fields of study in modern history.

Conservative Immigration Scholar: Black and Hispanic Immigrants Are Dumber Than European Immigrantsby Adam Serwer, Mother JonesMay 8th, 2013Jason Richwine, who coauthored a Heritage Foundation study on immigration, didn't just argue that certain minorities are dumber in his scholarship—he also said it at a public panel.

Confusion Reigns on Genes, Race, and Alzheimer’sby Marcy Darnovsky, Biopolitical TimesApril 13th, 2013Wildly divergent headlines vividly illustrate the depth and breadth of the confusion that plagues our thinking about racial categories in genetic research.

Shifts in the Global Body Market: Access or Exploitation?by Jessica Cussins, Biopolitical TimesApril 1st, 2013PlanetHospital claims that new surrogacy regulations in India have ruined a “golden opportunity” and paints Mexico and Thailand as the surrogacy frontiers – where it happens to have business arrangements.

Beyond Tokenistic Inclusion: Science, Citizenship, and Changing the Questions by Ruha Benjamin, Huffington PostMarch 25th, 2013The scientific community prides itself on free and open inquiry, and yet when it comes to raising questions about the social and political implications of our work, a peculiar form of self-censorship seems to be at work.

Racial Differences in Allergy Rates: Genes or Environment?by Diane Tober, Biopolical TimesMarch 21st, 2013Popular news outlets too often depict inconclusive research as fact, and this tendency seems particularly strong when the topic is related to race and genetics.

Race as Biology in The New York Times by Diane Tober, Biopolitical TimesFebruary 21st, 2013A prominent science writer’s troubling choice of words about “race” suggest that it is biological reality rather than social category.

Too Much InformationSupreme Court 2013: Why collecting DNA from people who are arrested won’t help solve more crimes.by Brandon L. Garrett and Erin Murphy, SlateFebruary 12th, 2013Research shows that police solve more crimes not by taking DNA from suspects who have never been convicted, but by collecting more evidence at crime scenes.

Israel Admits Targeting Ethiopian Jews for Compulsory Contraception by Diane Tober, Biopolitical TimesFebruary 7th, 2013Israeli government officials have admitted to coercing Ethiopian Jewish immigrant women into taking long-acting contraceptive injections.

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