Can genes, the building blocks of life, be racist?

 Can genes, the building blocks of life, be racist? 

By Alexis Pope


New developments in gene discovery and old theories about race collide as science delves deeper into how genes affect our health. 



It seems pretty obvious that genes, strands of nucleic acid bonded together, cannot think and therefore cannot have prejudices towards certain races. However, this does not explain why sickle cell disease disproportionately affects black people and why Western populations are more likely to be affected by multiple sclerosis. 


We can better understand our genes by looking at the genes of our ancestors. Carl Zimmer, a science writer who focuses on evolution and heredity, covered a research project where scientists delved deeper into ancient DNA to better understand multiple sclerosis. The scientists looked at the bones of ancient people and were able to map their genome. They found that certain groups of people had higher chances for certain diseases, for example, “hunter-gatherers from Western Europe carried many of the variants that raise the risk for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes” (Zimmer, 2024). So is it possible that genetic code can give certain races different diseases and conditions?

Zimmer went on to explain that the researchers theorized that multiple sclerosis developed in European cattle farmers because it was able to protect them from the diseases of the animals. This means that the environment causes the disease and that is why it is correlated with descendants of people who lived in Europe. Therefore we can conclude that the environment caused the genes to carry the disease, not the race of the people. 


Another inherited disease is sickle cell disease (SCD) which causes a person’s hemoglobin to misshape, obstructing blood flow that can cause painful and even deadly symptoms. Jennifer Huizen, a medical writer, collaborated with MD Alana Biggers to help communicate the truth about SCD. They noted that SCD is found in every 73.1 per 1,000 black births versus only 3.0 per 1,000 white births (Huizen). So why are the genes of black people giving them this deadly disease at higher rates than in white people? 

Huizen notes that “SCD evolved in human populations living where malaria is common, to help protect against the disease”. Malaria is more common in Africa, so the descendants of the people who lived there were passed on this gene, even if they don’t live in areas where they can be affected by malaria anymore. 

This form of genetic disease resembles the way multiple sclerosis affected cattle farmers and their descendants. At that time, the gene was necessary to protect them from the environment, but their descendants only experienced the disease and not the harmful environment due to these passed-down genes. Zimmer makes the remarkable point that “Genetic variants lay the trap, but it’s often the environment that springs it” (Zimmer, 2024). Think of a person whose family has a history of alcoholism. If this person never drinks, they will not become an alcoholic and therefore resist the genetic predisposition to become an alcoholic. The genes make them more susceptible to these diseases but it is caused by environmental factors. 

So between multiple sclerosis arising in cattle farmers in ancient Europe and SCD developing to protect people in Africa from malaria, we can use this reasoning to conclude that genes are not racist. Right? 


While the genetic code itself is not racist, there is still racism surrounding genetics and the study of the genome. During the project that Zimmer was discussing that looked at multiple sclerosis, the researchers had to use the existing genomes that they mapped, which only included the genes of people in Northern Europe. While the genomes of indigenous people would be a great addition to this project, many indigenous people are reluctant to donate their DNA to Western medicine because of the way they have been treated by Westerners. 

Even SCD has a history of racist treatment. It was under-researched for a long time since it mostly only affects black people and even now that there is treatment, the cost is in the millions just to treat one person (Flam). This is not affordable for most so a lot of people affected by SCD will not get this top-notch treatment. 


Despite this, the future of genetics still can be changed. The National Academies of Science released new guidelines to help scientists when speaking of race and genetics. They want researchers to focus less on race, and more on environmental factors, such as diseases that could be spread by cattle or malaria for example. Evolutionary geneticist Joseph Graves notes that this will work to “help researchers disentangle the social definitions from the biological definitions” (Zimmer, 2023). By changing the frame of thinking when talking about genetics to keep the focus on environmental factors instead of race, scientists can keep a clearer lens when looking at genes and not get muddled between social constructs of race and prejudices. 

As science takes big strides to improve healthcare treatments and understanding of diseases, the way we talk about these discoveries must also evolve to keep up with our view of ancestry, race, and genetics. 










Sources



  1. Flam, F. D. (2023b, December 30). The 10 most intriguing science breakthroughs of 2023. Bloomberg.Com. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-12-30/the-10-most-intriguing-science-breakthroughs-of-2023

  2. Huizen, J., & Biggers. MD. , A. (2021, February 2). Sickle cell anemia in African Americans: Symptoms, causes, and more. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/african-american-anemia

  3. Zimmer, C. (2024, January 10). Ancient skeletons give clues to modern medical mysteries. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/10/science/ancient-human-genes-multiple-sclerosis.html

  4. Zimmer, C. (2023, March 14). Guidelines warn against racial categories in genetic research. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/14/science/race-genetics-research-national-academies.html

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