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contents december 2003

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Volume 289 Number 6

features

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS

55

The Scientific American 50
Our second annual salute to the elite of research, industry and politics whose accomplishments are shaping a better, wiser technological future for the world.
BIOLOGY

78 Does Race Exist?
BY MICHAEL J. BAMSHAD AND STEVE E. OLSON

From a purely genetic standpoint, no. Nevertheless, genetic information about individuals’ …ver más…

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DECEMBER 2003

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SA Perspectives

I n October, California voters did something that will have long-term ramifications for their state. No, we’re not talking about the election of actor Arnold
Schwarzenegger, but the rejection of Proposition 54, which would have voided requirements for government-affiliated programs to record the race of participants. Medical groups and physicians had claimed that the measure would have blocked doctors from tracking and treating diseases that afflict various racial groups differently. C. Everett Koop, former U.S. surgeon general, even described the vote as a “life-anddeath decision” in a television ad.
The article by Michael J.
Bamshad and Steve E. Olson in this month’s issue [“Does Race
Exist?” on page 78] calls into question Koop’s dire assertion.
Commonly used racial and ethIS RACE linked nic categories (such as “Africanto health?
American,” “white” and “Hispanic”)