In the past two decades, human genetic technology has advanced at breakneck speed. Across the world, individuals are sending their genetic data to companies like 23andme, that for a few hundred euros can send back a list of disease risks and your ancestry.
Some are confused when the information doesn’t answer a seemingly simple question “What race am I?” Does it make sense to be told you are some per cent of this race and another per cent of another? How is that possible? The reason is straightforward: in scientific terms, race simply does not exist.
Biologically, we know that humans are too complex genetically for the arbitrary categorisation of race to make sense, yet the concept continues to fuel division and discrimination in our communities. This is why, last year, the NGO the Malta Chamber of Scientists ran a series of workshops called ‘Equal by Nature’. These workshops brought together migrants and locals to interrogate the concepts of race, identity, community and belonging. Through innovative workshops based around lab activities and discussion, we asked participants to think about what the concept of race means to them.
Running a project like this has a number of challenges. Edward Duca describes how involving a different audience meant he had to think on his feet.
“I had planned quite a complex programme for the workshops, but once we got talking I quickly realised we would have to adapt. We changed everything on the spot.”
For several of the participants, language was a barrier. While most were interested in science, they hadn’t had the opportunity to study beyond a high school level. Ultimately, we wanted the project to empower both migrants and locals to make positive change within their communities.
In the last workshop, we asked the participants to identify issues that were important to them and think how they could begin to address them. Several people had ideas of events they would like to organise, others wanted an opportunity to tell their story. We hope for the opportunity to continue the project and support the community in helping them bring their ideas to life.
The project is funded by the STEM Community Fund of the Esplora Interactive Science Centre. Partners include Joseph Borg, Raphael Vella and Maria Pisani from the University of Malta, and Emma Clarke, Edward Duca and project leader Karen Fiorini from the NGO Malta Chamber of Scientists.
Did you know?
• The removal of non-native species in the Channel Islands of California have resulted in two indigenous plants being delisted from the Endangered Species Act.
• Thirty years of fishing regulations and international laws are starting to come to fruition as sea turtle nests on beaches in the US, India, the Philippines and Thailand have been increasing.
• Animal collisions on a notoriously dangerous US highway have been reduced by 71 per cent thanks to wildlife crossings built according to local tribal knowledge.
Sound Bites
• Evidence is suggesting that prolonged sitting – a charactieristic of modern life – is bad for your health, even if you exercise regularly. Based on these findings, doctors advise all adults to sit less and move more. Just walk around for five minutes every half hour – it’s that simple.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230112134726.htm
• A temperature reconstruction from ice cores of the past 1,000 years reveals the extent of today’s warming in central-north Greenland. The study analysed from 2001 to 2011, and compared it to the last 1,000 years; it turned out to be the warmer. Central-north Greenland is 1.5°C warmer than 100 years before. Using a set of beautiful ice cores, they reconstructed past temperatures and melting ice sheet rates.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/01/230118111656.htm