Forensic Epigenetic Age Estimation and Beyond: Ethical and Legal Consideration

 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168952518300611

This article discusses the method of analyzing DNA methylation biomarkers across the genome of an individual to estimate the age of a possible suspect, and the resulting privacy concerns such a practice raises. Forensic scientists would accomplish this by determining the degree of DNA methylation of a sample to ascertain their epigenetic age, which will function as a stand-in for their actual age. Having this ability can greatly benefit an investigation as law enforcement can narrow in further on a suspect; however, controversy lies surrounding the vast amount of personal information that can be obtained from analyzing an individual's DNA (i.e., genetic predispositions, lifestyle choices, etc.), which the article goes in depth on.

Alexa - Human Genome Project Pot-luck

 https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00328-0

The article I have chosen discusses the delay in great scientific advancements that the Human Genome Project originally sought to achieve due to the great ethical and legal challenges of genomic research. The article concentrates on three factors that have played a role in the setback of the Genome Project. The lack of 'free and open' access to genome data for privacy reasons of research participants, and the overall difficulty of managing the very genomic data sites that the data is being uploaded to (both in terms of how easily one is able to upload data but also how easily one is able to actually obtain data from genomic databases). And finally the lack of diversity of the genomic data being represented in the Human Genome Project, which stems from the long history of mistreatment many communities have experienced at the hands of science and research.