The Human Genome Project and Minority Communities: Ethical, Social, and Political Dilemmas

by Peter J. Balint, Raymond A. Zilinskas

Overview

Zilinskas and Balint and their contributors examine the divisions between minority groups and the scientific community, particularly in the area of medical and genetic research. Minorities have reasons to be skeptical of medical research in general and genetics research in particular. The sad history of the Tuskegee experiment, in which black men with syphilis were left untreated so that the course of the disease could be studied, undermined confidence in the ethics of medical researchers. More recently, publication of The Bell Curve reanimated controversy over purported genetic distinctions among the races that could have powerfully negative social implications.

In contrast, as the essays make clear, the Human Genome Project, conducted in accordance with the highest ethical standards, has the potential to make dramatic positive contributions to the health of all human beings. Members of minority communities in particular—who statistically are at high risk of adverse health outcomes in the United States—have much to gain from innovative medical diagnostics and therapies that will result from the study of human genetics. Therefore, if we are to benefit fully from this new knowledge, it is vital that the distrust, skepticism, and misconceptions relating to genetics research be overcome. This is a provocative collection for scholars, students, researchers, and community leaders involved with minority and public health issues.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275969615
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/30/2000
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.30(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

RAYMOND A. ZILINSKAS is a Senior Scientist at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies in Monterey, CA. Dr. Zilinskas has worked for the Office of Technology Assessment, the UN Industrial Development Organization, and the Center for Public Issues in Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute. He is an adjunct Associate Professor at the School of Hygiene and Public Health, The Johns Hopkins University. Among his earlier books is Biological Warfare: Modern Offense and Defense.

PETER J. BALINT is an Adjunct Lecturer in Quantitative Methods at the University of Maryland. He has published on such subjects as biotechnology policy, US trade policy, and drinking water and sanitation in the developing world. Along with Dr. Zilinskas, he coedited Genetically Engineered Marine Organisms: Environmental and Economic Risks and Benefits.

Table of Contents

Preface
The Age of Biology and the Responsible Ancestor by Martha A. Krebs and Daniel Drell
The Human Genome Project: Hereditary Diseases and Implications for Gene Therapy by Karen E. Nelson
The Genetics of Human Behavior: Lessons from the Human Genome Project by Jonathan Beckwith
The Human Genome Project and the African American Community: Race, Diversity, and American Science by Fatimah Jackson
Scientific and Folk Ideas about Heredity by Jonathan M. Marks
Social and Medical Implications of New Genetic Techniques by Robert F. Murray, Jr.
Genetic Education to African American and Russian Immigrant Communities in Northwest Baltimore by Ilana Suez Mittman
The Human Genome Project and Buddhism by Akey C. F. Hung
Thoughts on the Human Genome Project and Maryland by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend
The Human Genome Project: Reaching Minority Communities in Maryland, A Report of Results of the Conference Evaluation Study prepared by the Survey Research Center
The Human Genome Project and Minority Communities: The Importance of Dialogue and Access to Information by Raymond A. Zilinskas and Peter J. Balint

Editorial Reviews

Geneticists, biologists, statisticians, and even a lieutenant governor contributed to the June 1991 conference in Baltimore that the 11 essays here document. They look at the tensions between the justifiable skepticism of medical research in general and genetic research in particular among minority citizens, and the potentially positive contributions that a well conducted human genome project could make among minority groups that are statistically at a high risk of adverse health outcomes. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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