In the Media: Rebooting Views on the Risks and Benefits of Genetic Information
Years ago, when the Human Genome Project began, bioethicists and geneticists had misplaced expectations for genetic research. Bioethicists feared that giving people their genetic test results would cause psychosocial distress such as depression. Geneticists thought single genes would have tremendous impact on common diseases. As the geneticists’ hopes were overblown, so were the bioethicists’ concerns, write Hastings Center research scholar Erik Parens and Hastings Center Fellow Paul Appelbaum, of Columbia University, in Stat. They explain that new findings have led to a “conceptual reboot.” Read more.
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