Personalized Medicine: Want to Improve the Health of Your Heirs?
Would you like to be one of the select 100,000 people who will contribute to the gene knowledge base of the future?
There's a Harvard professor who hopes you'll say yes. He would love for you to have your DNA tested, then upload the information to a database that will house the information for all 100,000 folks. That information will then become public information, posted on the internet, and scientists all of the world will have access to it to learn what they can about the human genetic code.
It will be a huge boon to the study of the millions of genetic variations and combinations that exist. Your heirs will have the knowledge they need to be sure they don't get acne, die of cancer, or develop Alzheimer's disease. They may even be able to improve their childrens' SAT scores, or make sure all their offspring have blue eyes. The pros and cons are many. The ethical questions are being sounded and slippery slopes are being invoked. Those who believe in the worst of man are afraid the knowledge will be used for bad -- job discrimination (which is now against the law) and aborting fetuses that show a genetic possibility for not being "perfect." |
The plusses include development of preventive methods to help people live healthier and longer lives, and having enough knowledge about a patient's specific genetic makeup to create personalized medicines (drugs) to cure them of major diseases. Think about it -- cures for Uncle Bob's diabetes or Aunt Mary's alzheimer's disease or your father's cancer.
What do you think? Why not read the story, study up on personalized medicine, and weigh in?
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