by Concerns have been raised that academic publishers may not be doing enough to check the ethical standards of the research they publish, after a paper based on genetic data from China’s Uyghur population was retracted and questioned. many others including one currently published by Oxford. University Press.
In June, Elsevier, a Dutch academic publisher, retracted an article titled “Analysis of Uyghur and Kazakh populations using the Precision ID Ancestry Panel” published in 2019.
The study by Chinese and Danish researchers used blood and saliva samples from 203 Uyghur and Kazakh people living in Ürümqi, the capital of Xinjiang, to use genetic sequencing technology developed by Thermo Fisher Scientific, a biotechnology company of the United States, consider the two minorities. ethnic groups. Describing the need for the research, the authors suggested that better DNA sequencing could help police identify suspects in cases. “A clear knowledge of the genetic diversity is important for understanding the origin and demographic history of the ethnicity of the populations in Xinjiang… [which] he may offer an investigative lead to the police.”
The retraction notice stated that the article was retracted at the request of the journal that published it, Forensic Science International: Genetics, after an investigation revealed that the relevant ethical approval for the collection of the genetic samples had not been obtained.
Mark Munsterhjelm, a professor at the University of Windsor, in Ontario, who specializes in racism in genetic research, said the fact that the paper was published at all was “typical of the intellectual culture in forensic genetics that uncritically accepts ethics and with the information. consent requirements in relation to vulnerable populations”.
Concerns were also raised about a paper in a journal sponsored by China’s Ministry of Justice. The study, titled Sequencing human identity markers in the Uyghur population, analyzed Uyghur genetic data based on blood samples collected from individuals in the capital city of Xinjiang, in northwestern China. Yves Moreau, a professor of engineering at the University of Leuven, Belgium, who specializes in DNA analysis, raised concerns that the subjects in the study may not have freely consented to the use of their DNA samples. He also argued that the research “enables additional surveillance” of the Uyghur people.
It appeared in the June 2022 issue of the journal Forensic Sciences Research (FSR), which was acquired by Oxford University Press in 2023. The research was supported in part by a research grant from the Xinjiang Police College, and three of the scientists were write the same. such as the retracted Elsevier paper.
It has not been formally ethically reviewed by the journal’s editors, or by OUP, which hosts the journal.
Duarte Nuno Vieira, co-editor of the FSR, denied that financial support from the Chinese Ministry of Justice had any influence on the magazine’s editorial policies, saying the proposal was “ethically incomprehensible”.
Both papers are based on research conducted in Xinjiang, where there are widespread reports of human rights abuses. In addition to a widespread system of detention camps, people in the region – mostly Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities – are subject to high levels of state surveillance.
Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group found mainly in Xinjiang, which is part of China, but whose ancestry is from Central Asia as well as mainland China. They have long had a fractious relationship with Beijing, which many accuse of wanting to break away from Chinese rule.
Experts say people in Xinjiang may not be able to freely consent to participate in research studies.
In both papers, one of the researchers, Halimureti Simayijiang, was affiliated with China’s state security apparatus through the Xinjiang Police College, further exacerbating those concerns.
Maya Wang, associate Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said: “Because of how coercive the whole environment was for the Uighurs. [in China]Uyghurs can’t really say no [to the collection of DNA].”
The Biden administration recently lifted sanctions on China’s public security ministry’s forensic science institute in an effort to facilitate cooperation on fentanyl control. The institution has been subject to sanctions since 2020 for alleged abuse of the Uyghur people.
Questions about links to China
On November 19, Moreau formally raised concerns about the Uyghur DNA study published in Forensic Sciences Research.
The article states that “written informed consent” was obtained from each of the 264 Uyghurs who provided blood samples. In an email to Irene Tracey, vice-chancellor of Oxford University, seen by the Guardian, Moreau said: “The standard for informed consent is free informed consent,” which he argues is impossible in the Xinjiang context.
A spokesperson for the OUP noted that FSR accepted the paper and published it before OUP began publishing the journal. They said: “While the article has been peer-reviewed, and research ethics statements and disclosures are included on the article page, we will work with the journal’s editors to investigate the concerns raised and the information we have received. “
The authors of the paper are listed as Simayijiang, Niels Morling and Claus Børsting from the forensic genetics department of the University of Copenhagen. Simayijiang is listed as affiliated with the Xinjiang Police College. Those three scientists are the authors of the paper that Elsevier retracted in June, along with Torben Tvedebrink, a data scientist.
The University of Copenhagen said Simayijiang was no longer affiliated with the university, following his departure in 2020. The retracted paper, and the paper Moreau had raised concerns about, were sent before Simayijiang left the university.
Nuno Vieira said that FSR was “completely impartial and transparent” and that the journal’s editorial board had “some of the most recognized and respected forensic professionals and students in the world”.
He said he would raise the ethical concerns with the relevant staff at the magazine, adding: “There was (I repeat, never) any interference or action” from China’s justice ministry.
Hans Bräuner, vice dean of research at the University of Copenhagen’s faculty of health and medical sciences, said that since concerns were first raised about the ethics of data collection in Xinjiang in 2020, the university had introduced a number of measures to improve checks. in relation to sensitive research, including the establishment of a data management unit and a security checklist for risk assessments of international research.
Two other papers about Uyghur and Kazakh genetic data by Simayijiang, Morling and Børsting, together with the fourth author, Vania Pereira, also from the University of Copenhagen, are under official ethical review by the journal in which they were published. Bräuner said his faculty had only been made aware of the concerns about these papers, published in Forensic Sciences International: Genetics, in December, but had contacted the journal’s editor-in-chief to clarify the situation.
None of the researchers responded to requests for comment.
Experts say the papers are the tip of the iceberg of scientific research that does not meet ethical standards for data collection, and that in some cases could help develop surveillance technologies that can be used to violate human rights. , especially among minority groups.
Thermo Fisher, which owns the DNA sequencing equipment considered in the paper that was retracted in June, said in 2019 it would stop selling its equipment in Xinjiang.
In recent years there has been increased scrutiny of scientific research based on material from populations in China who are not easily able to obtain consent, particularly people from ethnic minorities. Bioethicists first began voicing concerns in 2019, leading respected journals to withdraw several articles based on minority genetic material.
Scientists say that publishers are still too willing to accept research that could raise ethical concerns, and too slow to respond to complaints.
Moreau is worried about dozens of papers. In November, he was awarded the Einstein Foundation prize for “strongly” advocating “ethical standards in the use of human DNA data”, according to the judging committee.
According to Moreau’s analysis, more than 20% of the published research on forensic population genetics in China between 2011 and 2018 focused on Uyghurs, despite the fact that they make up less than 1% of the population. The Tibetans have an even higher “surveillance ratio”.
Moreau said: “Although it is interesting to study Uyghurs from a genetic point of view because they are a mixed population of East Asian and Eurasian heritage, and Tibetans are interesting because of their adaptation to altitude high, research on these groups is extremely demanding.”
A spokesman for the Chinese government said: “China is a country governed by law. The privacy of all Chinese citizens, regardless of their ethnic background, is protected by law.”
