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"White Bias in Genetic Research May Hurt Health"
by Vicky Stein

Modern humans originated on the continent of Africa more than 300,000 years ago, and subsequent generations migrated across the land, with groups intermarrying or splitting apart. Sometime around 80,000 years ago, a small number of descendants left the continent and radiated around the globe, taking with them just a subset of the genes and genetic variation that their ancestors had developed.

Yet genetic studies are now dominated by that subset, according to a new article in Cell.

As of last year, 78 percent of the people included in the most prominent form of genomic research—genome-wide association studies (GWAS)—were of European ancestry. But worldwide, Europeans and their descendents make up just 12 percent of the population.

According to the researchers, heavily biased genetic databases could—and do—lead scientists and doctors to diagnose conditions or prescribe treatments that might be relevant to people with European genes, but not for people from other racial backgrounds.

1 of 2
Question
Use the passage to answer the question.

Which statement from the passage establishes the author's claim?

(1 point)
Responses

"Sometime around 80,000 years ago, a small number of descendants left the continent and radiated around the globe, taking with them just a subset of the genes and genetic variation that their ancestors had developed."
"Sometime around 80,000 years ago, a small number of descendants left the continent and radiated around the globe, taking with them just a subset of the genes and genetic variation that their ancestors had developed."

"According to the researchers, heavily biased genetic databases could—and do—lead scientists and doctors to diagnose conditions or prescribe treatments that might be relevant to people with European genes, but not for people from other racial backgrounds."
"According to the researchers, heavily biased genetic databases could—and do—lead scientists and doctors to diagnose conditions or prescribe treatments that might be relevant to people with European genes, but not for people from other racial backgrounds."

"Yet genetic studies are now dominated by that subset, according to a new article in Cell."
"Yet genetic studies are now dominated by that subset, according to a new article in Cell."

"As of last year, 78 percent of the people included in the most prominent form of genomic research—genome-wide association studies (GWAS)—were of European ancestry."
"As of last year, 78 percent of the people included in the most prominent form of genomic research—genome-wide association studies (GWAS)—were of European ancestry."
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Answer 1

The statement from the passage that establishes the author's claim is:

"According to the researchers, heavily biased genetic databases could—and do—lead scientists and doctors to diagnose conditions or prescribe treatments that might be relevant to people with European genes, but not for people from other racial backgrounds."

This statement articulates the central concern of the article: that the bias in genetic research can adversely affect the health outcomes of individuals from non-European backgrounds.