The Color of Our Genes

A group of faculty members from Stanford University recently published a set of guidelines for using race in human genetics research. These guidelines, called the “Ten Commandments of Race and Genetics” by the New Scientist, provide both a descriptive account of the relevance of race to biomedical research and normative suggestions that call for using racial categories in a responsible manner.

These recommendations come at a time when the race and genetics conversation is at a fever pitch. Many hope that advances in human biotechnology will yield profound medical, scientific, and social advances. But what often goes unacknowledged is that if we are not extremely careful, commercial and forensic applications utilizing human biotechnology may resuscitate harmful ideas about the significance of genetics to understanding racial difference and the cause of racial disparities. To help mitigate such misunderstandings, policy tools such as race impact assessments should be adopted widely across several regulatory agencies. By facilitating greater engagement between public policy and human biotechnology, race impact assessments can provide a forum for multiple stakeholders to work with government...