Tallinn, Estonia
Estonia has sold the commercial rights to data on its citizens’ DNA to a Silicon Valley startup called EGeen International. The Estonian government is encouraging all citizens to donate gene samples at the doctor’s office. Kalev Kask, CEO of EGeen, said Estonian DNA would be particularly useful in determining the genetic component of complicated conditions, such as high blood pressure. Estonia “has had a pretty tough history,” Kask told Salon.com. “It’s been invaded over and over throughout the past thousands of years, so a typical Estonian is sort of representative of all Europeans.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why UK scientists are trying to dim the SunIn The Spotlight The UK has funded controversial geoengineering techniques that could prove helpful in slowing climate change
-
Gandhi arrests: Narendra Modi's 'vendetta' against India's oppositionThe Explainer Another episode threatens to spark uproar in the Indian PM's long-running battle against the country's first family
-
How the woke right gained power in the USUnder the radar The term has grown in prominence since Donald Trump returned to the White House
