Human DNA is everywhere. That’s a boon for science – and an ethical quagmire.

Human DNA is everywhere. That’s a boon for science – and an ethical quagmire.

Published: Monday, May 15, 2023

Published May 15 in Nature Ecology and Evolution, the paper by Whitney Laboratory Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Genomics and Rising Star Condron Family Endowed Assistant Professor Dr. David Duffy and his group outlines the relative ease of collecting human DNA nearly everywhere they looked.

“We’ve been consistently surprised throughout this project at how much human DNA we find and the quality of that DNA,” Duffy said. “In most cases the quality is almost equivalent to if you took a sample from a person.” 

Now, scientists and regulators must grapple with the ethical dilemmas inherent in accidentally — or intentionally — sweeping up human genetic information, not from blood samples but from a scoop of sand, a vial of water or a person’s breath.

Read the full article in UF News and other international and national news articles below.

Human DNA is everywhere. That’s a boon for science – and an ethical quagmire

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Footprints on the beach with rocks and water in background


Image credits: Boat (Dr. Todd Osborne), Beach (Dr. David Duffy)