Ask the Scholars

When it comes to thinking about race and its relationship to medicine and biology, everyone seems to be confused and uneasy. Not only are laypersons confused, but scientists and doctors are also confused, and they make critical decisions based on what they think race is. The bottom line is that race was once thought to explain most human variation in genetics and biology. However, like the idea that the earth is flat, this notion of race has not stood the test of time. Human biological v...

One of the difficulties in using race in medical research is the confusing - and often contradictory - use of terminology. For example, take the issue of the New England Journal of Medicine dated March 20, 2003. It includes a defense of racial categories in medicine (by Burchard and others) that usually refers to "race or ethnic background" (as if they are synonymous), but occasionally refers to "race AND ethnic background" (as if they are not). The authors also refer to "ethnic groups w...

The use of racial categories in medicine and biomedical research has led to a great deal of confusion and many disputes among scientists, health professionals and the public. Recognizing important distinctions among the categories "natural," "biological" and "genetic" is a key to making sense of this controversy.

Human races are not genetically definable categories. There are no subdivisions found "in nature" that separate one race or group of humans from another. Race might be b...