Children’s genetic data from major brain studies were used to promote 'race science'

The National Institutes of Health failed to prevent an international group of fringe researchers from obtaining and using sensitive genetic and brain-scan data from more than 20,000 U.S. children, the New York Times reported, and those data have been used to produce papers arguing for biological differences in intelligence between races.

The data came from the federally funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study — which enrolled more than 11,000 children — and the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, which collected information from about 9,500 children. Promotional materials for the decade-long ABCD project had promised families that participants’ information would be closely guarded; instead, a group of ineligible researchers circumvented safeguards, producing at least 16 papers that mainstream geneticists called biased and unscientific.

The work has been cited widely online, including on social platforms and by some A.I. bots, and has been shared by commentators to support claims about racial differences in I.Q. Internal records and reporting show how access was obtained: one researcher, Bryan J. Pesta, secured data after applying under other research pretexts and later coordinated with collaborators who advised masking the true aims.

Key Topics

Science, Abcd Study, Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, Bryan Pesta, Pioneer Fund, Race Science