A History of the National (UK) DNA Database
Chris Williams of The Register has a review of the National DNA Database (NDNAD) in Britain, which I’ve covered at length here at Genetics and Health. The piece focuses on the state of forensic science and DNA analysis, mentioning DNAboost that is capable of analyzing contaminated or degraded DNA samples. And, of course, there is a great deal of discussion about the NDNAD’s “mission creep.”
The government revealed the full extent of the NDNAD’s innnocents roster only recently, bumping it up to 1,139,445 in response to a parliamentary question. The new figure is eight times a total given earlier in the year.
Such civil libertarian collywobbles do not wash with the Prime Minister, who on a visit to the FSS said there should be “no limits” to the size of the NDNAD, and has volutarily submitted his own genetic profile.
Whether we like it or not, all of our genetic information will eventually be in one or more databases; attached to our medical records or accessible by law enforcement. The bigger issue, I think, is not that we are no longer able to keep our DNA sequences (and mutations) a secret, but finding a way to control how that data will be used, especially if it will be used against us.
Let’s lock up the criminals! Just don’t confuse me for one of them.
Tags: genetics, genes, dna, dna database, ndnad, crime, criminals, health, law, privacy
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POSTED IN: Genetics: Legislation, Policies, Ethics, Law
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1 opinion for A History of the National (UK) DNA Database
Genetics and Health » Mistaken Collection of DNA Jeopardizes Criminal Cases
Feb 22, 2007 at 10:18 am
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