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<h1 class="entry-title">New on ISN: Genetic Testing of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by Governments and Companies</h1>
<div class="entry-meta"><span class="meta-prep meta-prep-entry-date">Published: </span><span class="entry-date"><abbr class="published" title="2014-06-05T18:31:58+0000">June 5, 2014</abbr></span> </div>
<div class="entry-content"><p><em>Independent Science News</em> has just published: “<strong><a title="Link to ISN website article: Genetic Testing of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by Governments and Companies" href="http://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/genetic-testing-of-citizens-is-a-backdoor-into-total-population-surveillance/" target="_blank">Genetic Testing of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by Governments and Companies</a></strong>” by Helen Wallace, PhD, Executive Director of GeneWatch UK.</p><p>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?</p><div> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p>Read the complete article on <em>Independent Science News</em>: <strong><a title="Link to ISN website article: Genetic Testing of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by Governments and Companies" href="http://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/genetic-testing-of-citizens-is-a-backdoor-into-total-population-surveillance/" target="_blank">Genetic Testing of Citizens Is a Backdoor into Total Population Surveillance by Governments and Companies</a></strong>.</p><p>For scientific references relevant to this topic visit the Bioscience Resource Project’s resource page: <a title="BSR Resource Page: Human Genetic Predispositions – the hidden politics of genomic science" href="http://www.bioscienceresource.org/resources/human-genetic-predisposition/"><strong>Human Genetic Predispositions – the hidden politics of genomic science</strong>.</a></p><p><strong><a href="http://www.genewatch.org/">GeneWatch UK</a></strong>
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.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p></div></div></div></div></div><div apple-content-edited="true"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; 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"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div>Allison Wilson, PhD</div><div>Science Director</div><div>The Bioscience Resource Project</div><div><br></div><div>phone: 1 (607) 319 0279</div><div><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><div><a href="mailto:a.wilson@bioscienceresource.org">a.wilson@bioscienceresource.org</a></div><div><a href="http://www.independentsciencenews.org/">www.independentsciencenews.org</a><br>and<br><a href="http://www.bioscienceresource.org/">www.bioscienceresource.org</a></div></div><div><br></div><div>"Good with Science"</div></div></div></div></div></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span></div></span> </div><br></body></html>