A genetic exhibitionist
The Science Life
Harvard geneticist Joseph Pickrell is part of a new generation of scientists talking about their data not just over the lab bench, but in conversations online. Pickrell uses the Internet to open himself, his research and his thoughts about others’ work to public scrutiny.
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Pickrell (pictured) analyzes genetic data from people living today to reconstruct ancient evolutionary relationships. But he wouldn’t expect his research subjects to make their genetic secrets public if he wasn’t willing to do so himself. “I feel pretty strongly that genetic data isn’t scary,” he says.
To prove it, Pickrell and other scientists have posted their personal genetic data on Genomes Unzipped, a blog commenting on the personal genomics industry. Most of the information comes from companies, such as 23andMe and Lumigenix, that analyze people’s DNA for a fee.