Logo

The Company's Gone, But What About the Data?

Sep 14, 2009

Inspired by the financial problems at TruGenetics and DeCode, a guest post at Genetic Future from Genomics Law Report's Daniel Vorhaus and Lawrence Moore discusses what happens when a direct-to-consumer genomics company goes out of business. In particular, they take a look at the company's privacy and confidentiality policies. What will become of the users' data comes down to that fine print. Vorhaus and Moore conclude:

If the company's policy clearly permits the sale of genomic information in the kind of transaction that could be consummated in a bankruptcy case, then such a sale can go forward. But if the policy prohibits such a sale, or if the policy is unclear or does not address the subject at all, a transfer may still take place.
Breaking News
The Scan

Pig Organ Transplants Considered

The Wall Street Journal reports that the US Food and Drug Administration may soon allow clinical trials that involve transplanting pig organs into humans.

'Poo-Bank' Proposal

Harvard Medical School researchers suggest people should bank stool samples when they are young to transplant when they later develop age-related diseases.

Spurred to Develop Again

New Scientist reports that researchers may have uncovered why about 60 percent of in vitro fertilization embryos stop developing.

Science Papers Examine Breast Milk Cell Populations, Cerebral Cortex Cellular Diversity, Micronesia Population History

In Science this week: unique cell populations found within breast milk, 100 transcriptionally distinct cell populations uncovered in the cerebral cortex, and more.