A highly regarded scientific journal has retracted a paper that has connections to human rights abuses in China.
The study assesses different genetic variations among ethnic groups, including the Uyghurs and the Tibetans. The paper used DNA samples from nearly 38,000 men in China.
The journal, called Human Genetics, retracted the paper over doubts about whether the Uyghurs and the Tibetans gave informed consent to their DNA samples being collected.
Reports say that at least nine of the paper’s 30 co-authors have ties to Chinese police departments or police academies, and several others have ties to Chinese universities.
Uyghurs have previously told The New York Times that the Chinese regime had called on them en masse to give blood samples. And they had no choice but to comply.
Springer Nature publishes Human Genetics. Earlier this year, the journal retracted another paper for similar reasons.