Darkness in El Dorado: human genetics on trial
Darkness in El Dorado: human genetics on trial
A recent book by a freelance journalist makes major accusations against genetic studies by J. V. Neel in the Amazon a generation ago. Contrary to these charges, there was no connection of Neel’s work with human experiments conducted by the Rochester Manhattan Project twenty years earlier, nor did the studies serve as a control for survivors of the atomic bombs in Japan. Neel was not a eugenicist. His program of measles vaccination reduced mortality, and was not in any sense an experiment. Given the passage of time and lack of supporting evidence, further investigation of these charges is pointless. However, the political climate in which human populations are studied has changed dramatically over the last generation. Unless guidelines reflect an international consensus, the benefits of population studies to human welfare and science will be jeopardized. The World Health Organization guidelines should be extended to cover current research.
45-52
Morton, Newton E.
c668e2be-074a-4a0a-a2ca-e8f51830ebb7
2001
Morton, Newton E.
c668e2be-074a-4a0a-a2ca-e8f51830ebb7
Morton, Newton E.
(2001)
Darkness in El Dorado: human genetics on trial.
Journal of Genetics, 80 (1), .
Abstract
A recent book by a freelance journalist makes major accusations against genetic studies by J. V. Neel in the Amazon a generation ago. Contrary to these charges, there was no connection of Neel’s work with human experiments conducted by the Rochester Manhattan Project twenty years earlier, nor did the studies serve as a control for survivors of the atomic bombs in Japan. Neel was not a eugenicist. His program of measles vaccination reduced mortality, and was not in any sense an experiment. Given the passage of time and lack of supporting evidence, further investigation of these charges is pointless. However, the political climate in which human populations are studied has changed dramatically over the last generation. Unless guidelines reflect an international consensus, the benefits of population studies to human welfare and science will be jeopardized. The World Health Organization guidelines should be extended to cover current research.
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Published date: 2001
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Local EPrints ID: 24872
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/24872
PURE UUID: 828d8c02-67c9-45dd-aa1c-43f795b3d109
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Date deposited: 06 Apr 2006
Last modified: 29 Nov 2023 18:19
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Newton E. Morton
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