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information from which companies can obtain the DNA sequence, and hence protein sequence, of all the proteins in humans, includ- ing those which are the potential targets of new drugs. The Human Genome Project will also be of substantial assistance in medical genetics, including the diagnosis of inherited predisposi- tion to disease. The first complete human genome sequence is expected to be a ‘composite person’ with both an X and Y sex chromosome. This would formally make the ‘composite person’ a male, but ‘he' would comprise autosomes taken from men and women of several nations: the United States, European countries and Japan. He would be a multinational, multiracial mélange, a kind of "Adam II", his essence encoded for the 21st century and beyond. from HTLV-1 blood samples. As documented by RAFI, several key US research institutes— including the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control—and the US Navy have global research pro- grams tasked with collecting blood samples for HTLV-1 research. Some readers of NEXUS will be familiar with the AIDS-HTLV link, reported in 1988 (see the NEXUS supplement, AIDS: The Real Story). HTLV-1 can be used to manufacture large quantities of the AIDS-related virus, HTLV-3. nations: the United States, European countries and Japan. He | NAZI EUGENICS AND ECONOMIC RATIONALISM would be a multinational, multiracial mélange, a kind of "Adam A plethora of ethicists and historians have raised concerns II", his essence encoded for the 21st century and beyond. about connections between experimental processes involving human biotechnology and the Nazi ‘legacy’. THE HUMAN GENOME AS A WEAPON OF WAR Nazi genetic experiments were not an historical aberration that The Human Genome Project is a vital part of the US post-Cold can be dismissed. The forces that inspired them did not die with War military strategy. Psychological, biological and defensive them. The Nazis drew inspiration from many sources, not least of technology for conflict short of war is of growing importance. To which was the eugenics movement in the USA. this end, the human genome was recently declared a potential Indeed, fear of a eugenics revival is a key anxiety surrounding weapon of war. the Human Genome Project in the United States and Europe. Eighty member-countries of the Biological and Toxic Weapons Eugenics involves any attempt to improve the biological char- Convention added "molecular biology" and "any application acter of a 'race'. Under Adolf Hitler, German scientists—among resulting from genomic studies" to the list of technologies, such as the most respected in the world before the Nazi era—took part in genetic engineering, that could possibly be employed as weapons. an ignominious attempt to create an Aryan blue-eyed, blond- Scientists are concerned that haired master race through genetic aggressors might develop a disease manipulation and experimentation. or poison to which only an enemy is In a paper titled "Nazi Biomedical genetically susceptible. "once the human genome has Policies", published in the book, The member countries failed to . . When Medicine Went Mad, Robert N. agree to a deadline for monitoring been mapped, it has the potential Proctor gives this stern reminder: breaches of the convention because to become a standard, or norm, The Nazis sought to transform of opposition from a group of . . roblems of racial, sexual or nations including Russia and Tndia, for all people—against which we vocial deviance into medical In October 1989, at the Human will then be measured for our problems; Germany's social and Genome I Conference held in San . son political problems would be Diego, USA, James B. Watson, the normality or abnormality. solved by diagnosis, disinfection Human Genome Project's first direc- tor (and co-discoverer of DNA's structure in 1953) told the audience: and surgery. Murder was prac - tised in the name of quarantine; apartheid in the name of public We have to be aware of the really terrible past of eugenics, health... where incomplete knowledge was used in a very cavalier and Could modern ‘eugenics’ programs be prompted by the engine rather awful way, both here in the United States and in of economic rationalism now driving the economies of most Germany. We have to reassure people that their own DNA is nations? Policies are characterised as eugenic if their intent is to private and that no one else can get it... further a social or public purpose, such as reducing costs or spar- In light of the above reports about gene patenting, it would ing future generations unnecessary suffering. seem that Watson's words of caution fell on deaf ears. Could genetic inheritance become a new basis for discrimina- tion? This was a topic of discussion at the Human Genome HUMAN GENOME DIVERSITY PROJECT Organization's Second International Genome Summit, held in The Human Genome Project should not be confused with the Canberra, Australia, in October 1996. It was an informal meeting Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), which is a separate of about 50 people. Australian GeneEthics Network Coordinator but related project concerned with collecting cells from over 700 Bob Phelps was the lonely voice of the people in a wilderness of indigenous clans and tribes worldwide. heavyweight experts including scientists and lawyers. The unscrupulous methods for collecting cells and the traffick- The GeneEthics Network is involved in lobbying against genet- ing and trade in indigenous people's biological materials is well ic engineering of plants, animals and humans and raising public documented by the Rural Advancement Foundation International. awareness of biotechnology. Most recently the network has been The US Navy has also been undertaking its own private involved with a campaign against Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" research activities involving the collection of cells and tissues genetically engineered soybean. from remote tribes and clans in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, At the Australian Genome Summit, one participant, Dr David Peru and Colombia. Of particular interest are blood samples con- Cox of the Stanford School of Medicine, California, USA, stated: taining the retrovirus HTLV-1. Genetic discrimination to exclude people from employment, The previously mentioned Hagahai cell line, patented by the US insurance and access to health care is a potential adverse National Institutes of Health, contains the human leukaemia retro- consequence of the data generated by the Project. Protection virus HTLV-1. Thymus lymphocytes (T-cells) can be separated against such discrimination should prevail over conflicting HUMAN GENOME DIVERSITY PROJECT The Human Genome Project should not be confused with the Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), which is a separate but related project concerned with collecting cells from over 700 indigenous clans and tribes worldwide. The unscrupulous methods for collecting cells and the traffick- ing and trade in indigenous people's biological materials is well documented by the Rural Advancement Foundation International. The US Navy has also been undertaking its own private research activities involving the collection of cells and tissues from remote tribes and clans in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Peru and Colombia. Of particular interest are blood samples con- taining the retrovirus HTLV-1. The previously mentioned Hagahai cell line, patented by the US National Institutes of Health, contains the human leukaemia retro- virus HTLV-1. Thymus lymphocytes (T-cells) can be separated 34 NEXUS JUNE - JULY 1997 normality or abnormality."