A dimensão informacional e documental dos biobancos: uma análise do UK Biobank

Abstract

Investigates the informational and documentary dimensions of infocommunicative devices biobanks. Presents brief history about the genetics as a field of study. Performs a presentation of the concept of biobank demonstrating the purpose and main activities. Discusses Eugenics and potential sesitive uses of genetic information. Discusses the concept of document, based on the work of Otlet, Briet, Meyriat, Frohmann among other authors of Information Science, in order to argue that biological samples from humans can be considered as documents. Discusses the concept of infocomunicacional device in Information Science. Pointing UK Biobank as units of analysis to study biobanks worldwide and investigates the operation, structure, documents and mechanisms of protection of sensitive information of this biobank usings it’s website as main source of information. It presents biobanks as devices that have the potential to classify and create taxonomies of humans, increasing the capacity to generate ethical problems to the people involved in the research.