[ShareTompkins] Genetic Testing of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by Governments and Companies -- new on Independent Science News

[A Wilson]

New on ISN: Genetic Testing of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total  
Population Surveillance by Governments and Companies

Published: June 5, 2014
Independent Science News has just published: “Genetic Testing of  
Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by  
Governments and Companies” by Helen Wallace, PhD, Executive Director  
of GeneWatch UK.

Why is Britain’s Health Service (the NHS), which is legendarily short  
of money, nevertheless willing to spend hundreds of millions of pounds  
to collect and store DNA, and build electronic health databases? The  
official answer is that these databases will benefit population health  
and reduce costs in the long term. Yet this official explanation has  
negligible scientific support. Ongoing research indicates that genetic  
inheritance plays only an occasional role in health outcomes and is  
largely irrelevant to common diseases. Nor, even when such groups can  
be identified, are there benefits in separating populations into high  
and low genetic risk groups. So, are Britain’s gene database projects  
attributable to common misunderstandings about the power of genetics  
to determine disease risk? Or are they stealthy attempts to partner  
with pharmaceutical giants and genomics companies? Or even attempts to  
complement surveillance information gained in other ways?


Read the complete article on Independent Science News: Genetic Testing  
of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by  
Governments and Companies.

For scientific references relevant to this topic visit the Bioscience  
Resource Project’s resource page: Human Genetic Predispositions – the  
hidden politics of genomic science.

GeneWatch UK is a not-for-profit that aims to ensure genetic  
technologies are developed and used in the public interest — so that  
they promote human health, protect the environment, and respect human  
rights and the interests of animals. Genewatch covers human genetics,  
genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and biological weapons. They  
also monitor research agendas (including DNA databases and biobanks)  
and patenting. GeneWatch UK plays an essential role in keeping  
scientists and the public informed on key genetic issues.







Allison Wilson, PhD
Science Director
The Bioscience Resource Project

phone: 1 (607) 319 0279
a.wilson at bioscienceresource.org
www.independentsciencenews.org
and
www.bioscienceresource.org

"Good with Science"

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