Screening blood often stored, used in scientific studies without consent A critical safety net for babies — that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn in the U.S. — is facing an ethics attack. After those tiny blood spots are tested for a list of devastating diseases, some states are storing them for years. Scientists consider the leftover samples a treasure, both to improve newborn screening and to study bigger questions, like which environmental toxins can harm a fetus' developing heart or which genes trigger childhood cancers. A critical safety net for babies — that heelprick of blood taken from every newborn in the U.S. — is facing an ethics attack.
After those tiny blood spots are tested for a list of devastating diseases, some states are storing them for years. Scientists consider the leftover samples a treasure, both to improve newborn screening and to study bigger questions, like which environmental toxins can harm a fetus' developing heart or which genes trigger childhood cancers... Read the full story.
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