Recommended Readings: Personal Genetics
In the spirit of a call from Ethan Zuckerman, director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, for more “wide news” — news that reflects society’s diversity of opinions — we’ve been sending out some recommended readings for each of our events that cut across the spectrum. This month, our topic is “Personal Genetics: Power to the People or Buyer Beware?” We have a few suggested starting points, selected to offer a variety of angles on this month’s topic.
Please note that these are by no means meant to be thorough, but rather, the readings are merely meant as a place to begin our conversation, as well as a way of showcasing some of the conversations already happening.
Some Background from our Guest Speaker, BU Professor Catharine Wang:
- The Dodgy World of Do-it-Yourself Genetics, Boston Globe
Privacy, Risks, and Possibilities:
- Why You Should be Careful About 23andMe’s Health Test, NY Times Opinion
- How Will You Protect Yourself on National Data Privacy Day?, Baylor College of Medicine (blog)
- All the Reasons 2018 was a Breakout Year for DNA Data, MIT Technology Review
- 5 Biggest Risks of Sharing Your DNA with Consumer Genetic-Testing Companies, CNBC
- Results of At-Home Genetic Tests for Health Can Be Hard to Interpret, NPR
-Adam Gismondi, @AdamGismondi, Civic Media Researcher for Civic Series