National Academies calls for transforming use of racial and ethnic labels in genetics research
Saying genetics researchers inconsistently and inappropriately use racial and ethnic labels that fail to capture the complex patterns of human genetic variation, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued a report Tuesday calling for a transformation in how such descriptors are used.
Outdated methods of grouping people may result in poor scientific results and misguided interpretations, said the report. “It is time for us to reshape how genetics studies are conceptualized, conducted, and interpreted,” the authors wrote, noting that genomic research is growing exponentially due to technological advances such as cheaper and faster sequencing.
