Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century

Roberts does not argue against geographically based genetic inheritance. Yet her central thesis is that our understanding of race as biological or genetically grounded is unscientific. How, specifically, is geographically based ancestry different from the myth of racially based ancestry? And why does this matter for medicine?

Genetics focuses on the structure of DNA while epigenetics focuses on the expression of DNA as a result of environmental factors. Why does medicine currently focus more on genetics than epigenetics? How would greater emphasis on epigenetics make medicine more racially just?

DNA is often presented as a narrative written in stone or a “blueprint” that dictates life. Yet DNA is constantly interacting with broader environments as well as with a range of proteins within the body that affect how it expresses itself: DNA is more fluid than the popular narrative surrounding it suggests. Rather than a blueprint, then, are there other metaphors that could provide a more accurate and fuller understanding of how DNA works?