Race And The Personalized Medicine Debate
The Washington Post: Race Reemerges In Debate Over 'Personalized Medicine'Federal examiners have rejected patents for genetic screening tests because the applicants did not explore their effectiveness for different races, adding to the debate about whether race has scientific validity in modern DNA-based medicine. Some geneticists, sociologists and bioethicists argue that "black," "white," "Asian" and "Hispanic" are antiquated categories that threaten to revive prejudices. Others, however, say that meaningful DNA variations can track racial lines and that ignoring them could deny many benefits of "personalized medicine," which aims to develop tests and treatments tailored to a person's genetic makeup (Stein, 7/31). This is part of the Morning Briefing, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.