The invaluable @klillington, not a punch pulled.

Distressing to see Ireland continue to sleepwalk through issues about genomics. So much potential for good, but there need to be clear rules that govern the significant ethical issues involved. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/ireland-is-quietly-allowing-private-firms-to-gather-and-monetise-irish-dna-1.4356628">https://www.irishtimes.com/business/...

2/ Looks like an extensive brandwashing exercise has been performed by #GMI #GenuityScience to disavow @WuXi_AppTec origins "We& #39;re not Chinese, we& #39;re American!" A quiet bit of racism obviously fine if it helps the company& #39;s mission. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wuxi-nextcode-restructures-and-becomes-genuity-science-301081462.html">https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rele...

3/ Genomics is not just valuable for understanding our health, as Irish people. This week we were treated to a great study of the Viking influences that contribute to our heritage, both culturally and genetically: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/science/blonde-hair-blue-eyes-often-not-dominant-characteristics-of-irish-vikings-study-finds-1.4356375">https://www.irishtimes.com/news/scie...

4/ We& #39;re doing things in reverse order in Ireland, though. We should really have started by making sure the ethical review and legislative structures were in place first, and then moved to a public genome project, which could engage commercial partners.

5/ A problem is that these kinds of tasks appear daunting, they& #39;re not obviously valuable, and they always look like someone else& #39;s responsibility in the government and civil service.

Having politicians like @RoisinShortall step up recently has been a very positive sign, though.

6/ Expanding genomics for research and use in health care in Ireland will be of huge value. After the pandemic is over, people will still need to know if they carry a cystic fibrosis mutation, or have a higher risk of diabetes, or early breast cancer.

The planning can start now.