About
19
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Introduction
Fatos Selita is a Barrister of England and Wales and an Attorney and Counselor at Law of the State of New York, USA. He is a Researcher at Goldsmiths, University of London; and a Visiting Lecturer at other universities. Fatos also directs AIR Courses at Goldsmiths, and teaches subjects requiring interdisciplinary expertise: e.g. Genetics and Law; Psychology and Law; International Business Law, Negotiations, and Drafting; and Communication (e.g. Public Speaking, Speech Writing, Advocacy).
Publications
Publications (19)
This chapter explores insights into human behaviour, generated by behavioural genetics, illustrating genetic concepts with Sophocles’ text. The chapter examines adoption; blood relations and lineage; and similarities and differences of family members. It explores latest findings in behavioural genetics, focusing on gene-environment interplay, inclu...
This chapter delves into control, free will, attributional errors, judgement and punishment—major themes of Oedipus Rex. Through the actions of Oedipus and other characters, the chapter demonstrates confusions and delusions that people still hold about will, 25 centuries on from Sophocles’ exploration of these themes. The chapter examines Sophocles...
This chapter explores two conflicting forces in our psyche: the desire to know the future; and fear of this knowledge. The chapter follows Sophocles in his exploration of fate, and how it comes or does not come about through the processes of self-fulfilling and self-defeating prophesies. The Genomic Era has brought a new ‘pantheon of gods’, where p...
This chapter provides a guide to a journey into the Genomic era. This journey is into the unknown where our wildest wishes and worst fears may come true. By studying the themes raised in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex in the context of new knowledge about DNA—the text of life—the chapter explores the horrors, traps and joys that may lie ahead. The chapter...
This chapter explores the unique text we carry in our cells—the DNA: its incredible structure and function; its age and the way its meaning unravels over time, interacting with environments. The chapter examines how our DNA is linked to our mind and behaviour and how it may harbor information about our past, present and future. The chapter also dis...
Study Objectives
Twin studies have provided data about the relative weight of genetic and environmental factors on sleep variables over the last few decades. However, heritability is a non-intuitive concept and it is often misunderstood even amongst the scientific community. This study aimed to analyze: (1) understanding of the meaning of heritabil...
“This wonderful book is enlightening and entertaining in equal measure. It makes a valuable contribution by bringing Oedipus to geneticists and genetics to lovers of literature, joining narratives from different times and disciplines and, in doing so, helping us to reflect on what it means to be human.”
— Kathryn Asbury, University of York, UK
“Thi...
Genetic information is increasingly used in many contexts, including health, insurance, policing and sentencing—with numerous potential benefits and risks. Protecting from the related risks requires updates to laws and procedures by justice systems. These updates depend to a large extent on what the key stakeholders—the judiciary—know and think abo...
Little is known about the public’s attitudes towards applying genetic information in the justice system. This study aimed to extend previous research to explore this among the general public and those with training in law. Data were collected from over 10,000 participants, including 486 lawyers and law students. We analysed eight available relevant...
The unprecedented and growing amount of predictive information we can draw from an individual’s genetic data poses serious threats to fundamental human rights for a number of reasons. Large-scale whole genome sequencing and data sharing, enabled by technological advancements, are ongoing internationally. The extent of data availability, and genetic...
We live in an age of rapidly advancing genetic research. This research is generating new knowledge that has implications for personal health and well-being. The present study assessed the level of genetic knowledge and personal engagement with genetics in a large sample (N = 5404) of participants. Participants received secondary education in 78 cou...
Inaccessibility to justice is a major issue internationally, and in some countries access to justice has decreased in recent years. For example, the growth of inequality and decline of state support have left access to justice in the UK and the USA in a worst state in decades. There is therefore an urgent need to find solutions to protect peoples’...
Background. Psychological tension in the family, along with stress and mental and physical illness, are linked to the reproductive health of parents, as well as to the outcomes of infertility treatments and pregnancy overall.
Objective. To compare stress and negative afect (depression, irritability, and anxiety) in families with induced pregnancies...
Background. Genetic conditions and susceptibilities difer from other diseases and health-related risks. Genetic information is shared between blood relatives, and therefore a genetic fnding can have implications for the wider family.
Objective. Te present study investigates people’s views on issues related to disclosing genetic information to relat...
Research has established that genetic differences among people explain a greater or smaller proportion of the variation in life outcomes in different environmental conditions. This review evaluates the results of recent educationally relevant behavioural genetic studies and meta-analyses in the context of recent trends in income and wealth distribu...
This new paper in Legal Issues Journal, suggests that for a legal system to provide justice for the population, it must accommodate individual differences, including in intelligence, education and personality. Recent scientific findings suggest that the huge variability in such traits, observed within any population, is a product of complex gene en...
The vast individual differences observed in all educationally relevant psychological traits, such as academic achievement and cognitive, motivational and emotional characteristics, develop through complex processes of gene-environment co-action. Research suggests that educational environment interacts with unique genetic profiles of students, leadi...
Projects
Projects (2)
Genetics represents the fastest developing discipline in the history of scientific enquiry. Genetic advances have implications for individuals and society, including matters related to law, ethics, education, medicine and philosophy. As such, it will be important for all people to be able to engage with genetic research, not just at the point that it becomes personally applicable, such as in medical treatment, but also more generally across many social domains. Given the ever-increasing impact of genetics on daily life, it is important to have a tool to evaluate what people know, think and feel about genetics and for this tool to be applicable across society. Previous studies have mainly focused on genetic literacy in medical domains with less attention paid to other applications. They have also largely focused on well-defined populations,such as undergraduate students and young adults. To overcome these limitations of previous research in this area, a consortium of psychologists, geneticists, lawyers, educationalists and ethicists have developed the International Genetic Literacy and Attitudes Survey (iGLAS).
A Working Group, operating in Russia and the UK, is established.
Key aims are to:
- Assess current legal protection of individuals, including in relation to genetic data processing, information extracted from genetic data, discrimination (e.g. insurance, employment, race) and surveillance;
- Identify gaps in the legal protection;
- Make recommendations for updates to the legal protection in place;
- Make recommendation for ethical and legal processing of genetic data and information extracted from these data.
Those interested in contributing in the work of the Working Group, or who are already conducting such work, please feel free to get in touch. ftselita@gmail.com
