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• mohit - Nov 17 2007 | news, science, technology, genome, health, dna

  refaving petersigrist. this is fascinating and scary at the same time.
  a) nervous what my dna would turn up about my predispositions
  b) nervous about the negative societal implications -- especially as it relates health and intelligence predictions. e.g. would a dna test be required prior to getting health insurance? would a dna test be part of the admissions process for a premier school?

  Quoted: Logging onto my account at 23andMe, the start-up company that is now my genetic custodian, I typed my search into the “Genome Explorer” and hit return. I was, in essence, Googling my own DNA.

  • iantien - Nov 17 2007
    

    Interestingly enough, I was at a talk by Craig Venter yesterday (the first person in the world to have his DNA decoded as part of the Human Genome project) he was making the point about how over-hyped DNA predisposition was as 1) generic histories are already used today for things like life insurance policies, it's not really new 2) in terms of health the benefits of being able to provide targeted preventative care can change the way we think about medicine and 3) stochastic variation refutes a lot of the notion that we're going to predict a lot, the same way identical twins have different finger prints, lead different lives and have different talents.

    http://www.amazon.com/Life-Decoded-My-Genome/dp/0670063584

  • mohit - Nov 17 2007
    

    one's behavior, health, athletic ability, etc. are each *partially* a function of one's genetic coding. in fact, your life insurance example indicates that the life insurance industry already feels this way.

    this belief + access to genetic information presents tremendous opportunity. but, it has the potential to be disruptive in so many ways (how we select mates, how health insurance companies price their plans, how intelligence is assessed) that there is risk if not harnessed properly.
• petersigrist - Nov 17 2007 | news, technology, science

  I would love to try one of those DNA tests that trace familial lineage. I think there is a company called OxfordDNA that offers this for a little over $100. 23andMe's offerings seem a little scary.

  Quoted: The exploration of the human genome has long been relegated to elite scientists in research laboratories. But that is about to change. An infant industry is capitalizing on the plunging cost of genetic testing technology to offer any individual unprecedented — and unmediated — entree to their own DNA.

  • mohit - Nov 17 2007
    

    fascinating and scary at the same time. http://faves.com/users/mohit/dot/101321733074

  • petersigrist - Nov 18 2007
    

    definitely! great points in your post.

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