"Whole genome sequencing could end ‘diagnostic odyssey’ of multiple tests that still do not give precise diagnosis"
That much is obvious, as I'm positive we are all more than aware.
If I'd have known decades ago that I'd more than likely end up as I am now, I am not too sure what exactly I would have done. We are still a long way off from anything like a "cure", but perhaps (probably not) I wouldn't have wasted so much money/time and planned a little better for early retirement.
Then again, maybe I'd have got more drunk than I did, plus all of the other illicit pleasures I indulged in. Than again, again, nobody lies on their deathbed and wishes they'd worked more overtime.
Anyway, this new technology uses the old AI to check for repetitive elements in your whole genome sequence to quickly (and I presume affordably) test for diseases that normally entail a full, expensive genetic test.
It will, however, mean entrusting your private medical data to the notoriously benign Big Tech/Big Pharma. If you live in the UK, unless you opted out, your medical records are already up for sale:
Has to be good for certain other diseases that do have workable (albeit expensive) treatments. Though, as I'm sure I've said before, it is one thing to be diagnosed, accessing treatment is a different matter entirely.
Still, I look up, not down. Any genetic research has to be welcomed by us all here.
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monkeybus
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This brings a lot of thoughts….very interesting concept. And makes me think of a world where a new parent or even before birth, parent(a) could get a printout (or email?) of all that might go wrong…or right with that child. Would more people end pregnancies? I would think so.We would be missing out on some really awesome people in this world. And suffering of ourselves and loved ones often prompt the passion for investigation and creative solutions. Without that, would we stagnate as a human race?
Would I, do I, “really” want to know everything my genome would and will still do to me? I mean there are likely still more hidden skeletons in my DNA closet just waiting for the chance to smack me!Would I have made different choices? (I wouldn’t have my children because I wouldn’t have had children, not just due to this gene issue but others, had I known about them). But Who knows???…maybe my child or grandchild or great great great grandchild or other relative will be responsible for something great in this world?! Like a cure for ALD? Or depression? Or CHD? Or migraines? Or maybe not. But we’d never find out.
Would I have wanted to live my life worrying about whether or not I’d be able to walk by 40 or 50 or live half of my life in pain? Just waiting and questioning every symptom?
Maybe I would have done more and run more and played more? I like to think so. But maybe instead The knowledge would have depressed me more. Would we disclose all the quirks in our genome before we date or get married? Who would ever choose ahead of time to be with one so broken as me or as I might become? And they also likely have a pile of “messed up genes” to disclose.
I think a whole genomic map might be very controversial especially when there isn’t a way yet to tweak the genome reliably or treat some diseases. But could we influence epigenetics if caught early enough? Or might it just change the route of suffering to more anticipatory and mental at an earlier time. For example, do I really want to know, even now, if I’m likely to get dementia or Parkinson’s or other issues etc. down the line? Or will it just cause me stress and worry when I cannot do much to prevent it. It really is a double edged sword. I know when I did the “23 and me gene test thingy” for “fun”I held my breath each time a new result for a “condition” was revealed. Yet how many people could we find and prevent suffering in this way too? There are certainly benefits. Wow. Yeah. A lot to think about.
I get it. I was just chewing on the topic as I thought about if I would really want to know ahead of time about all these things that may be twisted up in my DNA or that of my loved ones and am curious to see how others feel. More of a brainstorm on the topic of the genetic “red pill”.
I am fully with you. It would be an oddly sterile, uniform society with no bipolar artists, manic visionaries, passionate poets, and that.
My son has Asperger's, but so did/do some of the greatest thinkers of all mankind (and womankind). If I can only get him off playing video games to writing them, I can quit work and live off the boy.
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