Your Baby, DNA and Government Database
I've never been one to think that there is a government conspiracy, but this article caught my eye as being wrong on so many levels. Apparently there may be a database of newborn DNA gathered without the parents' knowledge.From the article:
According to The Texas Tribune, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) routinely collected blood samples from newborns to screen for a variety of health conditions, before throwing the samples out.
But beginning in 2002, the DSHS contracted Texas A&M University to store blood samples for potential use in medical research. These accumulated at rate of 800,000 per year. The DSHS did not obtain permission from parents, who sued the DSHS, which settled in November 2009.
See also www.getpregnantover40.com for more on pregnancy and fertility over 40
Now the Tribune reveals that wasn't the end of the matter. As it turns out, between 2003 and 2007, the DSHS also gave 800 anonymised blood samples to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) to help create a national mitochondrial DNA database.
from:
www.newscientist.com/blogs
