The morning news was a cut above it's general predictability this morning, by the appearance of Anne Wojcicki. She is the CEO of "23 & Me", a genetic testing company who'll do your DNA profile for $99.00.
It's name comes from the fact that there are 23 chromosomes which make up the human DNA system. Inside of these markers, and within their arrangement, combinations, and presence, lie the story of our lives. They are unique because these story tellers can apparently foretell the future.
While our DNA determines our eye color, height, and many other common life directions, it also maps our propensity for obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer, and literally hundreds of other life guiding/altering conditions. Scientists claim that your entire life, and even your ultimate cause of death, can be predicted by having a clear knowledge of your DNA.
Would you kike to know what future diseases you can look forward to having throughout your life, and even what may bring your life to an end?
The test is only $99.00, which is not a huge amount in today's economy. Almost anyone with a job could realistically afford to have the road map of their life delivered in their mailbox.
My questions are: 1.) For this, or any price, would you want to know what the future brings, health-wise 2.) If the news were bad, ie: if cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, or some other potentially life ending malady were in your future, what would you do?
Realistically, there are likely millions of people who may wish to know these things. But how many are unable to handle the worst case scenarios. Would knowing where your health is heading, be something that you possibly couldn't handle? What if thousands of perfectly healthy people get their DNA results, and become depressed about their predicted future? Could this information cause them to end their productive lives prematurely? If you got bad news, would you take it as indisputable fact? What would you do?
I'm very interested in what you think. Please respond to this posting with your opinions, and answers to the questions I've thrown at you. I will not publish the names of any respondents.
It's name comes from the fact that there are 23 chromosomes which make up the human DNA system. Inside of these markers, and within their arrangement, combinations, and presence, lie the story of our lives. They are unique because these story tellers can apparently foretell the future.
While our DNA determines our eye color, height, and many other common life directions, it also maps our propensity for obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer, and literally hundreds of other life guiding/altering conditions. Scientists claim that your entire life, and even your ultimate cause of death, can be predicted by having a clear knowledge of your DNA.
Would you kike to know what future diseases you can look forward to having throughout your life, and even what may bring your life to an end?
The test is only $99.00, which is not a huge amount in today's economy. Almost anyone with a job could realistically afford to have the road map of their life delivered in their mailbox.
My questions are: 1.) For this, or any price, would you want to know what the future brings, health-wise 2.) If the news were bad, ie: if cancer, Alzheimer's, diabetes, or some other potentially life ending malady were in your future, what would you do?
Realistically, there are likely millions of people who may wish to know these things. But how many are unable to handle the worst case scenarios. Would knowing where your health is heading, be something that you possibly couldn't handle? What if thousands of perfectly healthy people get their DNA results, and become depressed about their predicted future? Could this information cause them to end their productive lives prematurely? If you got bad news, would you take it as indisputable fact? What would you do?
I'm very interested in what you think. Please respond to this posting with your opinions, and answers to the questions I've thrown at you. I will not publish the names of any respondents.
