U.K. Abandons DNA, Isotope Testing of Asylum Seekers

摘要

The UK. Border Agency (UKBA) has ended its widely scorned investigation into DNA and isotope testing of human tissues as a means to verify the nationality claims of asylum seekers (Science, 2 October 2009, p. 30). The Times broke the news 17 June, labeling the so-called Human Provenance Pilot Project an "expensive flop." UKBA reportedly spent £190,000 on the effort. After geneticists pointed out in 2009 that DNA testing might reveal ancestry but could not prove nationality, UKBA suspended the pilot project, but later resumed taking tissue samples from asylum seekers on a voluntary basis. UKBA also said that any data collected during the pilot project would not be used in asylum decisions.