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This incredible figure I saw in a genetics class in college solidified my interest in population genetics. It shows that using a clustering technique (PCA) you can capture the ethnicity of the Europeans so perfectly it matches a map! But...
#ABigConversation #BlackInGeneticsWeek
#ABigConversation #BlackInGeneticsWeek
While genetics may be able to link related individuals or people of the same ethnic group, it has no place in conversations about race.
Race is a social construct, not a biological one. Period.
Race is a social construct, not a biological one. Period.
I was shocked to learn my first semester of my PhD that many Black Americans are on average admixed with 25-30% European DNA.
This is why I was especially shocked to recently learn about race-based medical algorithms... https://www.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMms2004740
This is why I was especially shocked to recently learn about race-based medical algorithms... https://www.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMms2004740
These algorithms use a patient's race as a stand in for genetic differences, adjusting the measure if the patient is identified as Black.
But if Black folks have 1/3 European DNA, how do you know whether their DNA is African or European at the relevant site of the genome?
But if Black folks have 1/3 European DNA, how do you know whether their DNA is African or European at the relevant site of the genome?
There are so many of these convos in biomedical science that we just never have: The historical atrocities committed against POC, The history of white supremacy & eugenics in the field, The lack of diversity in who is included in genetics studies today https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(19)30231-4
I hope, especially for people still in school, that you'll demand an anti-racist genetics education.
Genetics, as a field has blood on its hands.
The quickness, even today, to dismiss the effects of racism as biological deficiencies of POC is terrifying.
It stops with us.
Genetics, as a field has blood on its hands.
The quickness, even today, to dismiss the effects of racism as biological deficiencies of POC is terrifying.
It stops with us.
(Re: the first tweet, I hope it’s clear that genetics can tell us a lot—it can pinpoint where in the world ppl look most similar to you genetically, but it is no more real than the borders between European countries are. It’s all a spectrum and a social construct)
