Genetic diversity survey.

Abstract

Elizabeth Pennisi, in her News & Comment article about a new National Research Council (NRC) report “Evaluating human genetic diversity” (24 Oct. p. [568][1]), states that the committee (which I chaired) that wrote the report gave “a cautious nod of approval” to a proposed global survey of human genetic diversity. The committee strongly endorses such a survey, provided that it is conducted in a way that protects the individual identities and rights of the participants. However, contrary to what the article says, the committee neither approved nor disapproved of the so-called “consensus document” that has been identified as the Human Genome Diversity Project, although we have taken issue with some of the recommendations in the consensus statement. As stated in the executive summary of our report, after an exhaustive examination, the committee found that this document does not clearly explain the purpose of the project or provide the necessary safeguards for protecting participants. Accordingly, the committee focused its attention on the scientific merits of a global study of human genetic variation and the ethical, legal, and organizational difficulties such a study would have to confront. [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.278.5338.568