Category: Biotech and Bioinformatics

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One step ahead towards the Italian National DNA Database

On Dec. 23 2008 the Italian Senate passed the law that allows the creation of an Italian National DNA Database (NDNAD.) When the Camera dei deputati (a sort of Lower Chamber) will grants its approval the law is approved. Technically speaking, there is room for amendments, but this is improbable and, even if amendments come, they wouldn’t change the foundation of this law.

The law is flawed by several weak points: a scientific and cultural lack of perspective (poor understanding of molecular biology and DNA forensics issues); an incredible exemptions for white-collar crimes, so corruption and other political and economic-related crimes  ?never fall into the NDNAD; very light punishment for NDNAD abuse.

A more detailed ?analysis ?will follow soon.

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Towards an Italian National DNA Database

Italy started the legal process to establish a National DNA Database.

A draft law proposed by Goverment (and not yet approved by the Parliament) establish the power for Law Enforcement officer to obtain DNA samples with moderate use of force, inflicting a minimum pain.This provision is said to be necessary in case the suspect refuses to volounteerly provide the sample.

It is still unclear which structure the DNA database will assume, but is seems that both DNA samples and profiles will be collected and stored in a central facility.

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Italian Biotech Law Conference 2008

IBLC fourth edition deals with the impact of building a forensic oriented Italian DNA database.

Just for the curious, here is the programme:

Tuesday, Apr 8, 2008 – h 14,00/18,15
Palazzo delle Stelline Sala PORTA
Corso Magenta 61 – Milano (IT)

h. 14,00/14,15 – Registration

h. 14,15/14,30
Opening and welcome speech

Chairman
Leonardo Santi President
National Committee for Biosecurity, Biotechnology and Life Science – Council of Ministers

Moderator
Guido Romeo, Journalist, Nòva24 – IlSole24Ore

Discussant

h. 14,30/15,00
Personal DNA-based identification: from collection to sample analysys
Salvatore Pece
Researcher, IEO – Europea Institute of Oncology

h. 15,00/15,30
DNAbase Security: hardware and software infrastructures
Andrea Cocito, Campus IEO-IFOM

h. 15,30/16,00
Biobanks and Italian Biotech industry role
Leonardo Biondi, Biopolo S.c.r.l.

h. 16,00/16,30 – Coffee break

16.30/17.00
Case history: the National DNA Database in the UK
Stephen Firth, Firth Consulting

h 17.00/17.30
Myth and reality of DNA-based investigations
Andrea Monti,
Vice President, ALCEI – Electronic Frontiers Italy

h 17.30/18.00
“Of Crime and Gene”
Giovanni Boniolo, Professor of philosophy of Science, Università degli Studi di Padova – IFOM Milano

h. 18.00/18.10
Closing
Leonardo Santi

WHAT IS IBLC

IBLC stands for Italian Biotech Law Conference, the first Italian scientific conference dealing, from an interdisciplinary perspective, with life-science, information technology and law.

IBLC father is Andrea Monti, an Italian lawyer and legal scholar,researching, since more than 14 years, the field of ICT legal issues.

IBLC was born in 2004 as an Italian Cyberspace Law Conference; spinoff, with title Bioinformatics Research between IP protection and information free flow.

The discussant where dr. Marcella Attimonelli (associate professor of molecular biology at the University of Bari) and dr. Paolo Vezzoni (researcher at the National Research Council’s Institute of Biomedical Technologies).

IBLC second edition (2005) the title Protection of Biotech Assets, Market, Freedom of Research has been discussed by dr. Enrico Dainese (associate professor at Teramo University Comparative Biomedical Science Dept.), dr. Giampiero Di Plinio (professor of Public Comparative Law at the University of Chieti), dr. Piero Fariselli (researcher at the Department of Biology – University of Bologna), dr. Andrea Cocito (FIRC Foundation of Molecular Oncology’s bioinformatics group.)

Third edition (2007) has been possible with the invaluable help ho FIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology and asked the question: Who owns bioinformation? (Possible) answers came from the following high profile scholars and researchers, managed by Giovanni Boniolo (conference chair – University of Padova, IT, Dept. of Philosophy): Pier Paolo Di Fiore – Andrea Cocito FIRC – IFOM, Luciano Floridi – Oxford University (UK), Giovanni Ziccardi – University of Milan, IT, Marco Ventura – University of Siena.

IFOM-FIRC and Biopolo sustained the fourth edition: Gen-ethics and BioBanks: between market and law enforcement profiling that obtained the endorsment of the National Committee for Biosecurity, Biotechnology and Life Science – Council of Ministers.

Past edition’s speakers talked about:

* What is bioinformatics (M. Attimonelli)

* Human genome variability: privacy and social-ethics issues (M. Attimonelli)

* Open source and bioinformatics software licensing (A. Cocito)

* Bioinformatics and protein structure analysys (E. Dainese)

* Biosequences analysys: database, technics and standard. A technical introduction for “the rest of us” (P. Fariselli)

* Open source, copyrights and bioinformatics (A. Monti)

* Genetic research, biotechnology, information access, economic applications (P. Vezzoni)

* How to build bioinformation (A.Cocito)

* What is bioinformation (L.Floridi)

* Semantic ambiguities, intellectual property, law (G.Ziccardi)

* Bioinformation and Public Policies (M.Ventura)