Francis Collins Online: Race and the Genome

From: SteamDoc@aol.com
Date: Mon Mar 25 2002 - 22:22:49 EST

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    A question to Dr. Collins and any other informed people who might be around:

    Some recent stories in the press have stated that one insight from the Human
    Genome Project has been that our concept of "race" is pretty meaningless --
    that the genetic differences that make up "race" are pretty small in
    comparison to all the diversity in the genome. People are saying things like
    "race is a social construct, not a scientific one" and suggested that
    biomedical research that makes race a big factor is on an unproductive path.

    A couple of questions:

    1) Do you agree with the statements above?

    2) Do you see these results as potentially helpful in advancing the Christian
    ideal that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, etc.," and making
    progress against racism? Or are the people who most need to be cured of
    racism the most unlikely to pay heed to such scientific results?

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    Dr. Allan H. Harvey, Boulder, Colorado | SteamDoc@aol.com
    "Any opinions expressed here are mine, and should not be
     attributed to my employer, my wife, or my cats"



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