Genetic Research
Who decides what medical research is done? Some genetic research can bring benefits to health, but is genetic research always conducted in the public interest?
Recent Articles
Resources
- Reports
- Bioscience for Life? 5th April 2010
- Summary & Conclusions: History of proposal for data-sharing without consent 26th January 2009
- History of the proposal for data-sharing without consent 26th January 2009
- Giving Your Genes to Biobank UK: Questions to Ask 1st December 2001
- Briefings
- Briefing 32: HUMAN CLONING AND STEM CELLS: unravelling the issues 1st June 2005
- Briefing 23: Pharmacogenetics: Better, Safer Medicines? 30th June 2003
- MPs' Briefing: Human Genetics No. 3: Biobank UK – A Good Research Priority? 1st November 2002
- Briefing 14: Human Bio-Collections: Who Benefits from Gene Banking? 31st March 2001
- Briefing 12: Human Gene Therapy: A Cure for all Ills? 30th September 2000
- Briefing 11: Privatising Knowledge, Patenting Genes: The Race to Control Genetic Information 9th June 2000
- Articles
- The Iceland Weather Report: Why I won't give a sample of my DNA to Decode Genetics (11th May 2014)
- Slate: Genetics' Rite of Passage (27th October 2013)
- Bio-IT World: Geneticists Debate the Value of Genome-Wide Association Studies (15th April 2009)
- New York Times: Genes show limited value in predicting common diseases (15th April)
-
Scientific paper by GeneWatch's HM Wallace
This scientific paper looks at how data from twins and families is analysed. It concludes that the usual method is likely to exaggerate the importance of genetic differences in common diseases such as cancer. Breast cancer, for example, could often run in families because family members are exposed to the same environmental or lifestyle factors, rather than because relatives share some of their genes. If so, expensive research studies may be looking for "susceptibility genes" which do not exist or will be impossible to find.
- Consultation Responses
- GeneWatch submission to BBSRC consultation 23rd July 2009
- Submission to the data-sharing review 10th July 2008
- Submission to House of Lords 'Genomic Medicine' Inquiry 20th April 2008