The Human Genome Diversity Project: medical benefits versus ethical concerns.
Wallace RW.
By the year 2005 the entire human genome should have been sequenced and the genes identified. But the resulting genomic sequence, although a marvelous accomplishment, will be a composite of just a handful of individuals selected at random. The Human Genome Diversity Project was proposed as a means to overcome these limitations by obtaining genetic information from many diverse populations of the world. This would give medical geneticists a handle on the variations in susceptibility to disease among different populations, as well as being of anthropological value. But would such a project risk exploiting the indigenous populations involved?
PMID: 9547791 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]