Abstract
In the summer of 2010 the Deans of the College of Letters and Science at University of California at Berkeley launched a risky educational experiment. They sent a letter to incoming Berkeley freshmen inviting them to submit their DNA for genetic testing. The project quickly garnered national attention and heated debate among social science and anthropology faculty. The Center for Genetics and Society and the Council for Responsible Genetics called for a halt to the Bring‐Your‐Genes to Berkeley program. After having their DNA analyzed, students would be given information about three genetic codes concerning their tolerance for alcohol, lactose (in milk), and folic acid deficiency. Why did this educational and health project become so controversial? Nancy Scheper‐Hughes unpacks the issues that led to a legislative hearing in Sacramento and to a California State Department of Public Health order to stop the DNA test results from being transmitted to Berkeley students.
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