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Surreptitious genome sequencing could come from discarded coffee cups

widdowquinn
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A federal panel is calling for stronger privacy protections for human genetic data.

In a report out Thursday, the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues said “whole genome sequencing” — which provides a unique blueprint of each person’s DNA — holds great promise for advancing medical research and clinical care.

But the Commission said genetic data can also be misused and need to be adequately protected.

In a conference call with the press, Commission Chair Amy Gutmann said right now, genetic data are subject to an inconsistent patchwork of state and federal regulations.

“Someone could legally pick up your discarded coffee cup, send a sample of your saliva out for sequencing to see if you show a predisposition for certain diseases, and only about half the states in our country offer protections against surreptitious commercial testing," Gutmann said.

The Washington University Genome Institute, which bills itself as a world leader in genomics research, declined to comment for this story.

Véronique LaCapra first caught the radio bug while writing commentaries for NPR affiliate WAMU in Washington, D.C. After producing her first audio pieces at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies in N.C., she was hooked! She has done ecological research in the Brazilian Pantanal; regulated pesticides for the Environmental Protection Agency in Arlington, Va.; been a freelance writer and volunteer in South Africa; and contributed radio features to the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. She earned a Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology from the University of California in Santa Barbara, and a B.A. in environmental policy and biology from Cornell. LaCapra grew up in Cambridge, Mass., and in her mother’s home town of Auxerre, France.