BehindTheMedspeak: 'First Human Genetic Racial Map Unveiled'

That's the headline over a story in this past Saturday's Financial Times about the publication the previous day, in Science magazine, of the first comprehensive map of human genetic variation across racial groups.

Only one problem: the very question of whether or not races even exist remains a very hotly contested one among scientists.

Last year, for example, the New England Journal of Medicine published two editorials in the same issue, each by a highly regarded scientist in the field and each coming to a definitive conclusion.

One said races exist; the other said they do not.

So what's a person to think of this new genetic map?

Is it like one showing a flat earth, or is the real thing?

Read this excellent story on the new research which appeared on MSNBC this past Saturday, and at least you'll get a sense of what the issue is about.

Some scientists believe that map will lead to treatment options matched to a specific genetic type; others believe such information will form the basis for insurance denial and a whole host of other forms of genetic discrimination.