BERKELEY, Calif., Aug. 13 (UPI) -- The University of California at Berkeley has stepped back from its controversial plan for voluntary genetics testing of incoming students, school officials say.
In a response to a state ruling on how DNA samples are to be handled, school scientists reluctantly abandoned the idea to have freshmen and transfer students individually and confidentially learn about three of their own genetic traits in a program called "Bring Your Genes to Cal," the Los Angeles Times reported.
Instead, only collective results for all the 1,000 or so participants will be available at the school's incoming orientation seminars next month.
The state Department of Public Health ruled genetic testing required advance approval from physicians and could only be done by licensed clinical labs, not by university technicians.
Mark Schlissel, dean of biological sciences and a proponent of the DNA program, said the project deserved an exemption from the rules because it was an educational exercise.
The university had offered to test gene variations that affect students' reactions to three substances: alcohol, lactose and folic acid.
Berkeley officials argue the test results would not be medically significant, but privacy advocates and ethicists said it presented an unprecedented and disturbing use of genetic data by a university, the Times reported.
