Apocalypse... Now? Molecular epidemiology, predictive genetic tests, and social communication of genetic contents

Abstract

The author analyzes the underlying theoretical aspects in the construction of the mol-

Incomplete overlapping of biological, clinical, and environmental information in molecular epidemiological studies: a variety of causes and a cascade of consequences

“…[7][8][9] Among the formidable tasks that lie ahead, it will be important to achieve a proper understanding of how genes and the environment interact to cause human disease. [10][11][12][13][14] This aim will partly depend on how molecular epidemiological studies are conducted. Long viewed as a promising approach, 15 molecular epidemiology is no longer in its infancy.…”

The next millennium and epidemiology: searching for information

“…This explicit critical stance by authors from the Anglo-Saxon epidemiological community towards "modern" epidemiology and the assumption of the limitations of risk-factor ideology is quite recent. As suggested in a previous study (Castiel, 1998), it mimics certain aspects of the so-called Latin American social epidemiology of the 1970s, of a Marxist strain. Could it be that the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 brought greater freedom for the so-called left-wing intellectuals of the United States, to the point that they can now speak out without fear of a return to witch hunts?…”

“…Furthermore, in the public communication of findings, the indetermination and corresponding margin of error inherent to operating the statistical/epidemiological device when referred to the individual are not usually explained clearly, and when they are, there is no certainty as to the degree or reliability of understanding by the lay public receiving such information. As discussed previously (Castiel, 1998), individuals generally lack statistical literacy training allowing them to access knowledge to handle the implications of probabilistic reasoning.…”

Derrota del conocimiento por la información: una reflexión necesaria para pensar en el desarrollo humano y la calidad de vida desde una perspectiva emancipadora

“…Y es precisamente en este sentido que la racionalidad de los actuales sistemas de información en salud se detecta como una pieza valiosa pues, como lo destaca acertadamente Castiel (1999), en este mundo al revés, los poderosos han logrado dar la vuelta a los papeles de la realidad y de la ficción. Los gobiernos y los políticos de las clases dominantes pueden utilizar ahora los datos de salud como parte de sus estrategias de mercado electoral, conducidas magní-ficamente como ramas de la más moderna propaganda, porque la comunicacón y la informática les brindan recursos para trasladar el discurso informático -perfectamente compatible con su visión e intereses -a un discurso asimilable por las masas.…”