A FEW years ago Harvard geneticists went to China with what seemed like the best of scientific intentions. They were there to set up studies to track down the genes and environmental factors crucial to diseases such as asthma and obesity. Unfortunately, it went horribly wrong, as an official US investigation published last month revealed in grim detail.
Some studies were conducted without any prior review by an ethics committee. Many of the people who gave blood samples or had their lungs X-rayed were too poor to use Western medicine, and so were unlikely to benefit in the long run…
