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The president says patients should own their genetic data. He's wrong

Nature Biotechnology volume 34, pages 585–586 (2016)Cite this article

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To the Editor:

As reported by the New York Times1, US President Obama recently told a gathering of scientists, policymakers and patient advocates that individuals should own the data that comes from studying their DNA. He observed that “if somebody does a test on me or my genes...that's mine.” Although, at first blush, the idea that we should own our data has an intuitive appeal, it contradicts a century of US legal precedent and, if put into effect, could have serious ramifications for biomedical research.

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References

  1. Hirschfeld, D.J. President weighs in on data from genes. New York Times p.A15 (25 February 2016).

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  1. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

    Jorge L Contreras

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  1. Jorge L Contreras
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Correspondence to Jorge L Contreras.

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Contreras, J. The president says patients should own their genetic data. He's wrong. Nat Biotechnol 34, 585–586 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3608

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