DNA database - oppression or opportunity?
DNA database - oppression or opportunity?
Written by Ken Sunday, 10 August 2008 15:12
National DNA database – oppression or opportunity?
Opinion
A recent Home Office report advises that some of the data in Britain’s forensic DNA database – one of the largest in the world, with 4 million people on it – should be destroyed. Playing devils advocate, DinkyKitty suggests that keeping that data could ultimately result in improved healthcare and a boost to the British pharmaceutical industry.
On the 29th of July, the Human Genetics Commission – the Home Office watchdog for genetics – published the report of a Citizens Inquiry into the UK DNA database. The more than four million records in the police database include those of over one million people who have never been found guilty of any offence.
Critics of the database point out that while 40% of young black men are included, only 13% of Asian men and around 9% of white men are (although one senior judge cited this ethnic bias as a reason to include everyone in the UK, and all visitors, on the database). There are also 100,000 records of children, often taken following minor complaints such as breaking a window with a football.
The Human Genetics Commission report calls for the database to be taken out of the hands of the police and put under the control of an independent body at one remove from the government. It also recommends clearer explanations of why DNA samples are taken, ethnic anonymity, and that records on people who are acquitted should be removed from the database.
There is always a sharp distrust of any technology that can uniquely identify someone, with biometrics such as face recognition, universal fingerprinting and retinal scanning coming under similar scrutiny at the moment. Genetics has far more potential for harm in the wrong hands though, since not only can it uniquely identify you, but it is also possible to tell if you are predisposed to a range of medical conditions. Many people are worried that insurance companies could refuse you cover, or companies refuse to employ you, if you are shown to be at increased risk (scenarios that are explored in films such as Code 46 and Gattaca).
However, if you turn the issue on its head, there exists an opportunity to make the most of the improvements in DNA sequencing technology in order to benefit everyone. This will only be possible if we don’t allow public mistrust and paranoia to force through crippling restrictions and legislation.
Imagine a scenario a few years in the future, where everyone’s DNA is routinely taken by the NHS and fully and completely sequenced (existing forensic DNA databasing only looks for a few hundred genes out of billions). These DNA records are cross-referenced to our medical records using some of the most powerful computers on the planet, allowing the NHS to identify more and more genes that cause illnesses from cancer to heart disease to asthma, and even aging itself. This information is passed on to universities, and licensed to pharmaceutical companies to develop cures and treatments, boosting the NHS coffers and British industry at the same time.
An undertaking of this size wouldn’t be feasible in a country with private healthcare, which gives the UK an immediate advantage. Carrying out such a scheme would require legislation to protect an individual’s data, since all of your most personal information would be linked together in one place. This scheme would also require massive investment in technology and IT, and of course a dose of foresight that politicians never seem to have.
What is needed is a faster, more accurate way of reading an entire DNA helix without having to smash it into little bits first. One of the most promising methods is that of trying to read the sequence of the DNA strand as it is “unzipped”. When a strand of DNA replicates itself, it splits down the middle, starting from one end, just like a zipper undoing itself. As each DNA base pair separates, it exposes a tiny electrical charge, and this is different depending on which molecule makes up that section of the DNA.
Researchers are trying to develop ultra-fast electronics that can read these charges and record them, although at the moment the speed at which DNA unzips and the weakness of the electrical charge are causing problems. A novel and promising solution is to unzip a DNA strand through a nanometre-scale pore in a solid state material, which allows the speed of the unzipping to be controlled. The pores can also be used to read the DNA base pair as it goes past, either electronically or optically by bonding them to fluorescent molecules.
The other major hurdle to overcome is that of computing power. In order to be useful, a full medical DNA database would have to be cross-referenced against medical records and the genetic record for other people. This means statistically comparing some 3 billion base pairs for each of around 60 million people. The necessary computing power is astronomical.
However, our computing power is doubling every few years, and shows no sign of slowing down in the next decade, so it’s reasonable to assume we will soon have the ability to store and process the necessary data. This increased computing capability will also allow us to more accurately model chemical interactions, and predict the effects of drug treatments and gene therapy.
Given the rate of technological advance, it is once again likely to be our cultural preconceptions that take the longest time to overcome. People are still afraid, often irrationally, of anything to do with genetics. Linked with the fear of what could be done with our personal data in the wrong hands, and it might be impossible to get public consent for a scheme that would benefit everyone as outlined above.
If we want to make the most of the genetic advances that technology will allow us in a decade, we need to start debating, planning and legislating right now. If, as seems possible, the national DNA database is taken out of the hands of the police and given to an independent body to oversee, steps should be taken to make sure that medical uses for DNA are safeguarded and even encouraged. Hopefully our politicians won’t be blinded by the mob hysteria and allow a minority of ignorant but vocal doubters to rob our country of a chance to use the NHS and our DNA database as a tool to improve the health of everyone.
Are we wrong? Should DNA data be destroyed? Will keeping a massive database allow a future government to control and track us? Discuss this article in our forums: