Race-based medicine and an introductionIn a society where you can get on a plane and travel around half the world in a day , it's likely that everyone has met someone who looks different from them, whether it's skin color or other physical characteristics. Of course, some people are more similar than others and this is where skin color has been used as a tool to differentiate people from different parts of the world. However, this has led to many horrible situations of racism in the past, which resulted in slavery and genocides around the world. Race, as it relates to humans, can be defined as "a family, tribe, people, or nation belonging to the same stock" or "a class or type of people unified by interests, habits, or desires." common characteristics” or even “a category of humanity”. who shares certain distinctive physical traits” (Merriam Webster Online). With all of these different definitions of race, it's easy to see how problems arise. So, what is race-based medicine? Race-based medicine is “the practice of using race or ethnicity as a distinguishing trait of populations or individuals seeking health” (Cohn 552). This practice is observed in the clinic, particularly with certain diseases such as sickle cell anemia which is more widespread in black populations, cystic fibrosis which is increasingly common among people of northern European origin, and finally Tay- Sachs which is strongly associated with the Ashkenazim. Jewish populations (Collier 752). As with many topics, some people have taken positions on one side or the other of the race-based medicine debate. There are scientists who believe that "understanding the unique patterns of genes in racially defined patient populations will help identify the population... middle of article... ll 2006, p 497-499." Cohn, Jay N., The Use of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine: Lessons from the African American Heart Failure Trial, JL Med. & Ethics, race and ethnicity, fall 2006, p 552-554.Collier Roger, A racial detour towards personalized medicine, CMAJ. April 17, 2012 vol. 184 no. 7, p E351–E353.Collier Roger, Race and genetics in the doctor's office, CMAJ. April 17, 2012 vol. 184 no. 7, p 752-753. Fine, Michael J., Ibrahim, Said A., Thomas, Stephen B., The role of race and genetics in health disparities research, American Journal of Public Health , December 2005, Vol. 95, no. 12, p. 2125-2128. " Race ". Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, nd Web. May 4, 2014. .Roberts DE. What's wrong with race-based medicine? : genes, medications, and health disparities. Minnesota Journal of Law, Science and Technology. 2011;12(1):1-21.