Monday, April 02, 2018

mind Africa's genomes

Africa has been left behind by much of modern biomedical science and biotechnology, so it is always good to see when new initiatives aim to spread the benefits to this continent, as the newly launched NeuroGAP and NeuroDEV programmes for psychiatric genetics do. However, one also has to watch out very carefully, not to create the impression that Western scientists extract samples and scientific insights from the continent in a one-way system. Empowering local scientists and building capacity in situ have to be important parts of any such projects.

I've tried to gain a balanced perspective of all this in my latest feature, which is out now:

Mind the genome diversity gap

Current Biology Volume 28, Issue 7, 2 April 2018, Pages R293–R295

FREE access to full text and PDF download




Sites in South Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda are involved in the projects.
Credit : Susanna M. Hamilton, Broad Communications


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