UC Berkeley Fends off DTC Genomics Critics; Other Schools Mull Genetic Tests as Educational Tools
By Turna Ray,
GenomeWeb
| 05. 25. 2010
[Quotes CGS]
[updated May 26]
Going ahead with its plans to offer voluntary genetic testing to incoming freshman, the University of California, Berkeley, seems to not be deterred by numerous detractors of the direct-to-consumer genomics model who have criticized the effort.
UC Berkeley last week announced its plan to launch a voluntary program this fall that will test students in the Class of 2014 for three genes involved in the metabolization of alcohol, lactose, and folates. The announcement capped several controversial weeks for the DTC genomics sector, during which the marketing practices of Pathway Genomics brought regulatory action from the US Food and Drug Administration and spurred a congressional probe into the consumer genomics industry (PGx Reporter 05/19/10).
Upon announcing its gene testing plans as part of its "On the Same Page" program intended to introduce incoming students to an intellectual or thought-provoking experience, at least two organizations, the Center for Genetics and Society and the Council for Responsible Genetics, urged UC Berkeley to halt its plans.
In a statement on the CGS website, an analyst from the center pointed...
Related Articles
By Yelena Biberman and Jonathan D. Moreno, Bioethics Forum | 04.16.2024
A quiet biological revolution in warfare is underway. The genome is emerging as a new domain of conflict. The level of destruction that only nuclear weapons could previously achieve is fast becoming as accessible as a cyberattack.
Now for the...
By Jorge Barrera and Rachel Houlihan, CBC | 04.09.2024
A Canadian DNA laboratory knowingly delivered prenatal paternity test results that routinely identified the wrong biological fathers — ruling out the real dads — and left a trail of shattered lives around the globe, a CBC News investigation has found...
By Timnit Gebru and Émile P. Torres, First Monday | 04.14.2024
The stated goal of many organizations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), an imagined system with more intelligence than anything we have ever seen. Without seriously questioning whether such a system can...
By Carey Gillan, UnSpun | 03.18.2024
A Mexican standoff with the United States turned into a Mexican smack-down this month with the release of Mexico’s formal rebuttal to US efforts to overturn limits Mexico has ordered on the use of genetically modified (GM) corn and the...