Survey wants to know about world opinion genetic information

There is no consensus on data dissemination of research participants.
Result should guide medical behavior policies. The Wellcome Trust, a British organization that funds research in the biomedical area, launched a questionnaire to find out people's views on the use of genetic data obtained in surveys.

Learn maisEspecialistas discuss the boundary between the genetic research and ethics

The query comes to enrich the ethical debate about the work of researchers in the field of human genetics.

A study regarding a specific disease – for example, breast cancer – provides genetic data that can predict the risk of developing some other disease – Alzheimer's disease, for example. The researchers ' doubt is: scientists should inform patients about these minor discoveries? Today, there is a consensus in the medical community about what should be done.

"We need to understand what people want from research with the genome," said Anna Middleton, a researcher in the ethics of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, on material released by the organization.

The questionnaire can be answered over the internet by anyone who has an interest, even if you don't have knowledge on genetics; simply access the site www.genomethics.org (in English). People from all over the world are invited to participate.

The organisers want this query provides the largest database now available on the subject and that it can be used to guide search policies.

"The policy is being written around the world about what the researchers must disclose in genome studies and a lot of it is based on intuition", completed Middleton.