The guiding principles have been proposed to attempt to minimise the misinterpretation and misuse of human genetic variation research. The group included members of the humanities, social and life sciences, law and medical schools at Stanford University. It was led by Sandra Soo-Jin Lee, who explains why these principles are important: "Since the completion of the Human Genome Project, research focused on human genetic variation has intensified. This has rekindled debate about the connection between genetic traits and human 'racial' differences".

The principles include a declaration that the group does not believe that there is any scientific basis for hierarchically ordered categories of race or ethnicity and a recognition that racial and ethnic categories are created and maintained by socio-political contexts and change over time. The group cautions against "making the na ve leap to a genetic explanation for group differences in complex traits, especially for human behavioural traits such as IQ, tendency to violence or degrees of athleticism".

According to Lee "The gene remains a powerful icon in the public imagination and is often misunderstood as being deterministic and immutable. Furthermore, history reminds us that science may easily be used to justify racial stereotypes and racist policies".

The authors believe that their guiding principles constitute one step in an ongoing, open dialogue about these concerns and hope that they will encourage responsible practices.

genomebiology

The key aspect of this new gene therapy method is that it could be a long-lasting treatment. "Once the vector is injected, the genes will be inserted into the cells and that will be there permanently," says Dr Kirik. And already the results are looking very promising. "From animal studies, both in rodents and monkeys, we think it will work for several years, at least for five years, probably longer," he says. This is a major step forward in treating PD because many patients who have the disease for years enter a phase where they do not respond well to current treatments any more. "Although they will survive anywhere between five, ten, 15 years beyond that point, their [treatment] options are limited," says Dr Kirik. "This is the population we can offer a better therapy, a higher quality of life."

The next stage for this research is for Dr Kirik's team to carry out further studies in primates. They're also working on developing the best clinical techniques to use in their studies and Dr Kirik hopes they may be able to begin human trials in the next two to three years. Other teams are using similar techniques to Dr Kirik's group, delivering different combinations of genes into the brain. One group is using three different genes together, while another team is using only one. "The superiority of one approach over the others will most likely be demonstrated in the first clinical trials as information from animal models cannot give us the final word," says Dr Kirik.

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