I read an interesting article (thanks for the magazine Mom and Dad) from an early January issue of NYTimes magazine. It explores the phenomenon and growing field of personal genomics which has cropped up with the evolution (sorry for the pun) of the field of genomics thanks to growth of boutique genetics (rather people's desire to examine their own DNA for clues to their personality, intelligence, physical traits, chance of carrying/expressing/passing on of disease, etc.). The field is very exciting and intriguing, and as the cost lowers and the ability to understand more of the ramifications or grows I believe more and more people, the common man, not just the person who has an extra $500-100,000 dollars to see their personal list of nucleotides will be obtaining their own genetic code. Yet this power raises many interesting ethical questions and concerns such as genetic engineering, more selective mating or not mating whatever the case may be and the ability to see whether one will develop a life altering condition in the future. If your parent had Huntington's Disease, would you want to know your future, to live your life like a ticking clock, or just appreciate your health everyday and carpe diem?
While reading the article I was excited by the new technology and thought I would be interesting in knowing my genetics, from a curiosity, health, and science perspective. Nevertheless, I am not sure I would be prepared to deal with the answers?
What do you think? Would you want to know your A's, C's, T's and G's?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/magazine/11Genome-t.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=all
Saturday, January 24, 2009
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Blaine,
ReplyDeleteFunny you should post this; we're studying "genomics" in EE Bio right now. There's a company in Boulder called Atlas Sports where you can test your toddler's DNA to see what sports he is more geared for. They study the ACTN3 gene to determine whether the little bugger will be better at sprinting (basketball) or distance (soccer), for instance.
Quite interesting, but would you want to narrow the opportunities for the kid? Or, rather, do you think it would make for a lot fewer disappointed kids who find they really aren't as good as mommy and daddy say they are?
-J