First they came for a small swab of cells in my cheek...
SFGate:
DNA study of human migration / National Geographic and IBM investigate spread of prehistoric peoples around world
In an unusual move, scientists are allowing anyone to join the study by buying a 'Participation Kit.' Participants will use a plastic stick to scrape mucous membrane cells from the inside of a cheek and mail the tissue to National Geographic. The kit costs $99.95 plus shipping and handling.
Perhaps the "informed consent" portion of the kit could also include a copy of Edwin Black's
IBM and the Holocaust, as a reminder that having your ethnic identity uploaded into IBM's computers hasn't always been a good omen.
(Which is not to say that I buy most of Edwin Black's critique of IBM or its Nazi-era German affiliates. Just providing fodder for thought.)
Technorati Tags: ibm, nazis, genome, genocide, eugenics
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