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Yale Law Student Wants Government To Have Everybody's DNA
An anonymous reader writes "Michael Seringhaus, a Yale Law School student, writes in the NY Times, 'To Stop Crime, Share Your Genes.' In order to prevent discrimination when it comes to collecting DNA samples from criminals (and even people who are simply arrested), he proposes that the government collect a DNA profile from everybody, perhaps at birth (yes, you heard that right)."
Regarding the obvious issue of genetic privacy, Seringhaus makes this argument: "Your sensitive genetic information would be safe. A DNA profile distills a person’s complex genomic information down to a set of 26 numerical values, each characterizing the length of a certain repeated sequence of 'junk' DNA that differs from person to person. Although these genetic differences are biologically meaningless — they don’t correlate with any observable characteristics — tabulating the number of repeats creates a unique identifier, a DNA 'fingerprint.' The genetic privacy risk from such profiling is virtually nil, because these records include none of the health and biological data present in one’s genome as a whole."
...my fingers don't even have to be cold and dead to pry my DNA out of them.
PHEM - party like it's 1997-2003!
I think you a word.
Is there some kind of strange black oil rolling around on the surface of his eyeballs?
I just did a quick mental cross-reference, and I'm pretty sure this kid is destined to be a member of Congress.
-Peter
He accidentally, of course.
Circumcision is child abuse.
Oh, and where's the gattaca tag?
Um, its different for each person?
It is a legitimate danger. You never know when your evil twin will steal a Law Giver, frame you for murder, and get you cast out in the Cursed Earth to be eaten by fundamentalist cannibalistic cybernetic hillbillies. Happens all the time.
"I'm not a quack, I'm a mad scientist! There's a difference." - Dr. Cockroach
I don't have a fucking clue,
but I am ready for Chapter 2.
If only we could figure out what random sequence of genes accounted for this kind of behavior, and we had a database to compare his DNA to, we could weed these kinds of people out before they are even born.
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
"Your sensitive genetic information would be safe." Is there a Sith Lord running Yale?
Sorry to be OT, but it reminds me of a joke.
Q: Who did you vote for president in 2004?
A: I voted for the rich Yale graduate.
Similar to the upcoming US election results
Free man number NNN-NN-NNNN. (Redacted)
"Speaking the Truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act." -- George Orwell
>>I've fought a few simple traffic tickets and watched how everyone from the attorneys to the cops to the judge would just lie and gloss over laws. It's a joke.
Yep. The CHP officer had sword under oath two different speeds when I protested one ticket. Judge didn't care in the slightest.