Genes and Society in the Lehrman Clip File

Race, genes and illness
More and more, researchers are holding out the hope that genetic differences may finally explain a good part of the troubling health disparities among races. New York Times.

Sex determination beyond X and Y
Babies born with mixed sex organs often get immediate surgery. New genetic studies, Eric Vilain says, should force a rethinking about sex assignment and gender identity. Scientific American.

Q&A on sex determination with Vilain
Excerpts from the interview with geneticist Eric Vilain on sex determination. SciAm.com.

Ancestry tracing for African Americans
Even as population geneticists battle over the meaning of race, cline and "biogeographical ancestry," a small industry has emerged out of the quest to understand human migration and identity. Scientific American.

DNA identifies war crime victims
For 10 years, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) has been assembling data on the 40,000 civilians who disappeared in the wars that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. Scientific American.

Stem cell hopes and realities
Stem cell boosters promised miracles for people like Nancy Walls, who has Parkinson's disease and whose husband is a stem cell researcher. How do they -- and we -- balance our hope for cures with scientific reality? California.

Intersex battles: The sex police
The biology of sex is being hotly debated, as parents, doctors and researchers reevaluate what it means to be male and female. Salon.com.

Understanding evolution is crucial to debate
While people who support the scientific method do not accept the antievolution lobby's claim of "irreducible complexity," are they prepared with a coherent response? Boston Globe.