Biobanking an Economic Future
Kannapolis, NC saw itself as “the largest towel manufacturer in the world” until the Cannon Towel Company closed down the plant and discharged its workers. That’s a story repeated in many places, but Kannapolis didn’t die. With a smart real-estate developer who is interested in nutrition, longevity and health in general, a deal with Duke University’s Translational Medicine Institute, and about 50,000 people, many of whom used to make bath towels who are now willing to sell their tissue samples and share medical records and family health histories, the old Cannon campus is a large and growing biorepository for molecular medicine research. That’s right—they sell their blood and urine samples. This should keep the bioethicists and economic development officials wrestling for some time. MORE
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