What does the Chinese military want with your unborn baby’s genetic data?
By Arwa Mahdawi,
The Guardian
| 07. 10. 2021
The BGI group has used data from its popular prenatal test to help the People’s Liberation Army improve ‘population quality’ but they are far from the only ones normalizing eugenics
Your unborn baby is already being monetized
Could data harvested from millions of pregnant women pave the way for genetically enhanced super-soldiers? According to a recent Reuters investigation, BGI Group, the manufacturers of a popular prenatal test, is working with the Chinese military towards that very goal.
BGI group offers a test called Nifty (“Non-Invasive Fetal TrisomY”), which is offered in more than 50 countries and is used to look for genetic abnormalities such as Down’s syndrome early on in a pregnancy. According to Reuters, more than 8 million women have taken these tests, and BGI has used the genetic data it has collected to help the Chinese military improve “population quality”. Reuters reports that US government advisers have warned that access to this massive databank could “propel China to dominate global pharmaceuticals, and also potentially lead to genetically enhanced soldiers, or engineered pathogens to target the US population or food supply”. BGI has issued a statement rejecting these claims.
“China is stealing your intimate data for evil purposes” is a popular genre in western journalism – see, for...
Related Articles
By Rob Stein, NPR | 12.13.2024
Lucy Landman was born with a very rare genetic disorder that causes severe intellectual disability, weak muscles and seizures, among other symptoms.
"She is expected to very much never be able to live independently, likely never be potty trained...
By Aileen Editha, The Conversation | 12.11.2024
By Staff, Center for Food Safety | 12.03.2024
Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
SAN FRANCISCO—In a precedential victory for food and environmental safety, a federal district court ruled today that genetically engineered (GE) organisms must be regulated. The Court's ruling overturns the 2020 rule overhaul by the...
By Hannah Devlin and David Pegg, The Guardian | 12.10.2024
"Richard Lynn" by Matt Gibson licensed under CC by SA 3.0
A leading academic publisher is reviewing its decision to publish research papers by the late British professor Richard Lynn, an influential figure in the discredited field...
