“race-based medicine” and “raced-based genomics” are deeply flawed… |
Although race is void of biological foundation, it has a profound social reality. All too apparent are disparities in health and welfare. Despite all the evidence indicating that “race” has no biological or evolutionary meaning, the biological-race concept continues to gain strength today in science and society, and it is reinforced by those who design and market DNA-based technologies. Race is used more and more in forensics, medicine and the genetic-ancestry business. Tattersall and DeSalle confront those industries head on and in no uncertain terms, arguing that “race-based medicine” and “raced-based genomics” are deeply flawed. Individuals fall ill, not populations. Belonging to any socioculturally defined race is a poor predictor of an individual’s genes, and one’s genes a poor predictor of one’s health.
Jan Sapp, “Race Finished: Book Review,” American Scientist, April-May, 2012. http://www.americanscientist.org/bookshelf/pub/race-finished.
Tags: American Scientist, Ian Tattersall, Jan Sapp, Rob DeSalle