Genomic research is at risk from ‘race science’ activists’ discredited ideas

We were alarmed to read the findings of your investigation into an international network of “race science” activists seeking to influence public debate with discredited ideas on race and eugenics (Revealed: International ‘race science’ network secretly funded by US tech boss, 16 October).

As organisations representing leading researchers and clinicians working in human genetics, we can state unequivocally that race is a fluid social, historical and political construct with no biological or genetic basis. There is convincing evidence that there is more genetic variation within self-identified racial groups than there is between them. It is also widely recognised that the eugenics movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was not based on scientific evidence, as set out recently by the Royal College of Physicians in a statement on the history of the UK’s eugenics movement.

We firmly believe that equality, equity, diversity, inclusion and respect for data privacy are central to improving healthcare through research. We recognise that it may not always be possible to prevent malicious actors from hacking datasets and databases and from making...