Author: lrw27749

Uighur Muslim Genetic Testing Lauren Rose Wilkes

What is happening?

The Chinese government has started collecting the genetic information of Uighur Muslims, an ethnic minority group in Western China. This is happening while the Chinese government is currently detaining as many as 1 million people in internment camps. Although they claim they have not been hurting them, there is much speculation as to what the Chinese government is doing in these camps(5). They claim they are using the camps to re-educate the Muslims and assimilate them into Han Chinese culture, very similar to the Native American internment camps that the United States and Canada used to have. To collect the Uighur DNA, the Chinese government will make the population come in for mandatory health checks, where they will then draw their blood and use that to collect and store their genetic information without their consent. In many cases, they were strongly coerced into giving up their genetic information(3).

What technology is being used?

The DNA being collected is primarily used to distinguish between ethnic groups. Uighur DNA is compared to samples from other ethnicities. The DNA is genetically compared using microarray-based autosomal DNA testing(3). Paternal ancestry is tracked by looking at the y chromosome while maternal DNA is tracked by looking at mitochondrial DNA. The genomes collected are then parsed up into pieces or separate SNPs or haplotypes. They then compare the haplotypes in the sample to haplotypes from a database, which allows them to see in which ethnicities these haplotypes are most common and match the DNA sample to the ethnicity it most likely came from based on its genetic information(2).

Where are they getting this technology?

China got their technology from the United States company Thermo-Fisher. Thermo-Fisher sells lab equipment, DNA testing kits, and DNA mapping machines to help scientists determine a person’s ethnicity and identify diseases they are susceptible to. China accounted for 10% of Thermo-Fisher’s revenue. In addition, genetic information to use to compare to Uighur DNA was provided by Yale geneticist Kenneth Kidd(3).

What are the uses of this technology?

This genetic technology has been widely used not only by China. In the United States, it can be used to track down criminals. If a family member gives their genetic information to databases like 23 and me, the US government can then use that family member’s data to trace criminals and solve crimes that were unsolvable before(5). Many people are glad that this technology exists to catch criminals, but issues like those in China raise issues on the ethical issues that might arise if this technology is used for the wrong reasons(3).

Why are they collecting this data?

In patents filed in 2017, the Chinese stated that they are collecting this data to help them determine the geographical origin of criminals by collecting DNA samples from the crime scene. They also cite this as a way to stop terrorism(3). The government has had a long history of treating Uighurs as a threat. Many Chinese citizens believe that they are terrorists, and they have been accused of many violent acts of terrorism throughout this decade. They put them in internment camps to try to ensure that they remain loyal to the Chinese government(3). The Chinese say they are collecting this DNA database to track any Uighur Muslims that try to leave the detainment camps.

What issues does this raise in general?

Many scientists are worried about the fact that the Chinese government entered the Uighurs genetic information into a global database when they are not sure that their data collection was consensual. This violates many privacy concerns, both in the scientific community and abroad(1). It is also a big issue that the Chinese government could be using this technology to keep an entire population trapped with no way to escape.

Parallels in United States?

What happens if the United States citizens DNA ever got into the hands of the wrong people. Even though now, the government has special privacy protections, if that ever changed, the DNA on file is permanent and can easily be abused. In addition, many companies that collect DNA, like 23 and me, do not reveal who they give the DNA to, so users are at risk. They also do not compensate those who give their DNA for adding their DNA to global databases. Especially with online data theft, this is especially a concern. There are some benefits, such as catching criminals or individual benefits such as determining what diseases people may be at risk for, so they can take preventative measures. However, even in the United States, there are discussions about the possible risks(1).

What issues does this raise for the United States?

Dr. Cavlan stated, “Honestly, there’s been a kind of naïveté on the part of American scientists presuming that other people will follow the same rules and standards wherever they come from,”. This is very accurate. Even though Americans or other western countries create new technology and develop rules to regulate its use, often times this technology can get into the hands of countries who do not have the same standards, and it can be used to fuel genocide or other human rights violations(5). This is important as developed countries begin to create more high-tech genetic tests that can be used in other ways to violate human rights. The United States and other developed nations should ensure that they are protecting these tests or at least ensure that people worldwide are not being oppressed using this technology.

Should people be held accountable?

Thermo Fisher says they were unaware of what China was using the technology for, and they have also agreed to stop selling their technology to Xinjian province, where the DNA collection is happening. In addition, Kidd says he thought the Chinese were following the worldwide norm of requiring consent to collect DNA(3). However, they still contributed to human rights violations with no repercussions. There should be a significant discussion as to whether or not they should be held responsible for the repercussions of their contributions.

Why is this important?

As these technologies develop, it is important to consider their ramifications and effects. Even if the United States or other western countries have some form of regulation, often other countries do not. The Uighur Muslims are just one example of the potential for genetic testing to be used to oppress different groups. It is important to consider how we as citizens can work ourselves and also hold our governments accountable for ensuring that these technologies do not violate any human rights. This is important both for the sake of helping others but also for protecting ourselves in the future.

 Works Cited:

  1. AncestryDNA® – Frequently Asked Questions (United States). (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.ancestry.com/dna/en/legal/us/faq#about-3.
  2. Curtis, R. (2015, May 5). AncestryDNA | Breaking Down the Science Behind Ethnicity Results | Ancestry. Retrieved December 1, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0mVUu2kRcs.
  3. Haas, B. (2017, December 13). Chinese authorities collecting DNA from all residents of Xinjiang. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/13/chinese-authorities-collecting-dna-residents-xinjiang.
  4. Raven, K. (2018, November 18). Is an At-Home DNA Test an Ideal Gift, Really? Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.yalemedicine.org/stories/at-home-genetic-test-kit-holiday-gift/.
  5. Wee, S.-lee. (2019, February 21). China Uses DNA to Track Its People, With the Help of American Expertise. Retrieved November 14, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/business/china-xinjiang-uighur-dna-thermo-fisher.html.

Rivers Alive Service Outreach

  1. Lauren Rose Wilkes Rivers Alive Service Outreach
  1. At Rivers Alive, I spent three hours going to a local watershed and picking up trash around the area. We were given gloves, trash bags, and grabbers to clean up the MLK greenway. At the entire event, I would guess there were around 100 people, and there were probably 20 people at my specific location. I expected there would be a significant number of people there, and I expected there would be a little bit of trash around to pick up.
  2. My expectations were both exceeded and not met. Overall, the experience was pretty harrowing. I was pleasantly surprised by how many people were there. I was expecting only around 25, but there were at least a hundred people there to pick up trash. This was definitely encouraging to see that so many people cared about the environment. I was especially excited that so many people cared enough to come volunteer on a Saturday. I was not pleasantly surprised by how much trash there was around. Especially because it was a relatively empty greenway, I was astounded by how much trash was there. I even found a water bottle full of pee that someone had left by the side of the highway. I could not believe people would so willingly litter by this waterway. There was trash both by the highway and lower into the waterway. This angered me as well because it seemed that people really had no regard for the nature around them and littered without even thinking about it.
  3. This experience was very informative. Although I have volunteered for similar experiences in the past, volunteering after learning specifically about waterways really contextualized the problem. This pollution affects not only the immediate surroundings, but it can also have significant impacts later on down the line in other ecosystems connected to this waterway. Learning about this in class made the problem seem that much more serious and therefore made the service seem that much more important. From this experience, I learned a little bit more about what skills it will require to organize and participate in one of these service trips in the future. I lacked the knowledge on exactly what to pick up as well as the logistics on what exactly was important to watch out for and pay attention to. What I learned from this only proved how important it is to pay attention to littering, especially around greenways. Seeing how much trash there was only re-emphasized my previous ideas.
  4. Because of this experience, I will try to actively participate in more service activities like this. I will also try to advocate for less littering overall. I will also monitor my habits and try to influence those around me to ensure that they know the harm that comes from littering. These just showed me how much people do not take littering seriously. The diversity of trash I found in that waterway proved that it is all types of people contributing to this pollution, and thus cannot be solved simply by holding industries accountable, but only by holding everyone accountable. In the future, I will use what I learned from this experience to participate in more rivers alive projects. In addition, I will attempt to spread the message about this issue. I can also apply this to other classes like my FYOS, which focuses on watersheds in Georgia.

World Climate Negotiation

Over the past two class sessions, you participated in a World Climate negotiation role-playing exercise that explores the science and geopolitics of international agreements on climate change. The role-playing is grounded by a computer simulation of the dynamics of the climate system, C-ROADS, that has influenced the actual global negotiations. World Climate has been played by more than 30,000 people, from middle-school students to UN officials in dozens of countries worldwide. By participating in World Climate, you have hopefully gained insights into the causes of climate change and can now see the possibility of success in addressing the climate challenge.

·      When I played my role in the policy exercise, I felt frustrated that no one was willing to contribute money. I represented the other developing nations, and it quickly became clear that other countries did not want to contribute to our forestation efforts, despite the fact that our countries are most important in stopping CO2 emissions.

·      How did your reaction, comments, feelings; and shifts (if any) in negotiating positions evolve across the rounds and discussions? My feelings improved as the negotiating rounds went further. Countries contributed more and more money to our fund after realizing that our fund was worth contributing to. We received more and more money, so I felt validated that our cause was worthy. I also felt good because I knew we would now have the funds to make an actual impact in reducing carbon emissions.

·      How did your group change their ideas?Although we changed our reasoning about why we needed at least 200 billion, our ideas about the amount of money never changed. We came up with more evidence and reasoning to convince other countries to contribute, but we realized from the beginning that this effort would cost a lot of money regardless. We also agreed to allocate money to different resources.

·      What prompted that change? As we realized we were not getting enough money, we came up with more reasons why we needed it. In addition, as we came up with these reasons, we realized that in fact we deserved a lot more money than we initially anticipated, but we still had to compromise with an amount of money lower than what we originally wanted. We also allocated a different amount to different resources to maximize our co2 emission decrease by contributing to green energy. In order to assuage countries’ worries about corruption, we also allowed them to control where their funds went.

·      In the end, do you think that emissions can be cut?I believe that emissions can be cut, but it would take full commitment to decreasing emissions at the expense of every country’s economy. In addition, we will probably not be able to cut emissions down to an acceptable level until some negative changes have already happened, and we can almost defintiely not reach our goal of temperature raising less than 2 degrees. However, we still must try our best otherwise our entire planet will be gone. In addition, this is difficult because countries are greedy and will never fund the amount needed to the project. I think our only hope is investment into management technology.

·      What were the major costs and barriers to implementation of participant proposals?Green energy is much more expensive, and this means that our economy will slow if we actually implement it. In addition, everyone has different ideas about which proposals will actually work, meaning that individual projects did not receive enough funding because every country wanted to fund different initiatives. Countries were also worried about corruption, we disincentivized their contribution.

·      How can we catalyze change in the US? We must stop emissions through agriculture and industry by demanding big companies make a change. Although limiting individual consumption is important, we can make the most impact by reducing larger corporation emissions and consumption. This only comes through consumers demanding change or the government making large consumption and production illegal. We also have to dedicate a significant amount of funds to make real change. This again requires the support of the citizens and the demanding of the citizens to make this change.

Pictures of our first negotiations

:

Resources:

Scavenger Hunt Reflection

  1. In this picture, I see a broken up red solo cup close to the watershed.
  2. What really struck me about this picture is that the piece of trash is so small, that anyone who passed by it could easily pick it up. It is also unclear how long this piece of trash has been there. It could have been there for years for all that we know, so it is very sad that no one picked it up yet.
  3. This picture makes me think about how little we care for our environment, even our closest surroundings. This is not like throwing a piece of trash in a place you will never visit again (which is still bad). This shows people trash their own home, and also don’t care enough to fix it whether or not it is theirs.
  4. When I look at this picture, I feel sad. I also feel hypocritical because I know that as bad as it is to leave this trash there, there have been plenty of times where I have just left a piece of trash somewhere because I was in a hurry or I just did not care enough.
  5. I think this picture is about being aware of how our small actions affect something as big as a watershed. It is also about being aware of how much impact we can make just by being conscientious of our own and others mistakes.
  6. I think that the groups I am interested in, cleaning the watershed and the tailgating cleanup, would both agree that this is an important issue. At the tailgating initiative especially, they probably have seen many more red solo cups around that people just discarded.