No public funding for the biologization of social inequality!
By Staff,
Gen-ethisches Netzwerk e.V.
| 09. 12. 2022
Statement on the objectives and use of genetic data in the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) of DIW Berlin (German Institute for Economic Research)
Time and again there are attempts to look to genetics to find the causes of social inequality between individuals or population groups. This erroneous focus on biology, however, paves the way for stigmatization, discrimination and violence. It is for this reason we draw attention to a new, publicly funded research project of this kind in Germany, which we believe to be in urgent need of critical monitoring by the media and the scientific community.
The Gene-SOEP project collects and analyses the genetic data of participants in a sub-group of the so-called Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). The SOEP, or "Living in Germany", is the largest long-term study on social developments in Germany and is also one of the most comprehensive studies of this kind worldwide.
In the Gene-SOEP, genetic data of the approximately 2.600 participants are combined with demographic and social data. As a first publication of the project shows, these datasets are then used to explore the...
Related Articles
By Josie Ensor, The Times | 12.09.2025
A fertility start-up that promises to screen embryos to give would-be parents their “best baby” has come under fire for a “misuse of science”.
Nucleus Genomics describes its mission as “IVF for genetic optimisation”, offering advanced embryo testing that allows...
By Hannah Devlin, The Guardian | 12.06.2025
Couples undergoing IVF in the UK are exploiting an apparent legal loophole to rank their embryos based on genetic predictions of IQ, height and health, the Guardian has learned.
The controversial screening technique, which scores embryos based on their DNA...
By Frankie Fattorini, Pharmaceutical Technology | 12.02.2025
Próspera, a charter city on Roatán island in Honduras, hosts two biotechs working to combat ageing through gene therapy, as the organisation behind the city advertises its “flexible” regulatory jurisdiction to attract more developers.
In 2021, Minicircle set up a...
By Vardit Ravitsky, The Hastings Center | 12.04.2025
Embryo testing is advancing fast—but how far is too far? How and where do we draw the line between preventing disease and selecting for “desirable” traits? What are the ethical implications for parents, children, clinicians, and society at large? These...
