What Genes Are, and Why There Are No 'Genes For Race'

Abstract

With the completion of the sequencing of the human genome in 2001, the debate over the existence of a biological basis for race has been revived. In "Revisiting Race in a Genomic Age", interdisciplinary scholars join forces to examine the new social, political, and ethical concerns that are attached to how we think about emerging technologies and their impact on current conceptions of race and identity.Essays explore a range of topics that include drug development and the production of race-based therapeutics, the ways in which genetics could contribute to future health disparities, the social implications of ancestry mapping, and the impact of emerging race and genetics research on public policy and the media.As genetic research expands its reach, this volume takes an important step toward creating a useful interdisciplinary dialogue about its implications.