Aug 19, 2010

Race and Medicine

BiDil was the first drug approved by the FDA for a specific racial group. We want to know what the ramifications are for using skin color as a diagnostic tool for diseases and disorders that can't be seen. Producer Soren Wheeler talks to Dr. Jay Cohn, developer of BiDil and cardiac specialist. Sociologist Troy Duster and epidemiologist Richard Cooper discuss race, medicine, slippery slopes, and the dangers of false stereotypes.

Journalist Malcolm Gladwell has thought about stereotypes. Growing up in Ontario to an English father and Jamaican mother, he became one of the top sprinters in his age-group and he noticed that a surprising number of the most successful runners in Canada were from Jamaica. It got him wondering about the relationship between race and athletic success, and he's pretty sure his initial ideas were wrong.

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