Race and genetics versus 'race' in genetics: A systematic review of the use of African ancestry in genetic studies.

ABSTRACT: Social scientists have long understood race to be a social category invented to justify slavery and evolutionary biologists know the socially constructed racial categories do not align with our biological understanding of genetic variation. The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 confirmed humans are 99.9% identical at the DNA level and there is no genetic basis for race. A systematic review of the PubMed medical literature published since 2003 was conducted to assess the use of African ancestry to denote study populations in genetic studies categorized as clinical trials, to examine the stated rationale for its use and to assess the use of evolutionary principles to explain human genetic diversity. We searched for papers that included the terms 'African', 'African American' or

SUBMITTER: Duello TM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8604262 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature