The privacy of people who donate tissue and DNA for research in Britain
should be protected by a panel of experts, says a House of Lords committee. The
Medical Data Panel would vet all research proposals on donated DNA. “They’d be
almost acting as trustees for the data,” says Ron Oxburgh, chairman of the House
of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, which launched a report on
genetic databases last week. Oxburgh says that the panel would be constantly
changing its members to ensure its judgements reflected the moral tone of the
time.
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from New Scientist
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending New Scientist articles
1
The world's fastest spider tops 3.5 metres per second
2
Babies are born with the neural foundations for maths
3
Where, when and how to watch the 2026 solar eclipse
4
We’ve uncovered a master gene that switches on human development
5
Humans sleep the least of all apes – is it the secret to our success?
6
US government wants to have a useful quantum computer by 2028
7
This physicist is hunting for the biggest black hole in the universe
8
Screwworm could be the first species targeted by an 'extinction drive'
9
Remote-controlled cockroach swarm can now breathe underwater
10
Our verdict on The Selfish Gene: An unpopular piece of popular science
