[IP] Gene Machine Screen: check out your debilities early
------- Original message -------
From: Ted Nelson <tandm@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 7/4/'05, 19:34
Hi Dave
Wash.Post summary of this fast-oncoming service industry.
Find out what diseases you might get! Mix'n'match selection
of tests; your mileages (of organs) and validities (of tests)
may vary.
Best, Ted
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/washpost/20050407/tc_washpost
/a32639_2005apr6&e=1
Technology - washingtonpost.com
Labs Turn DNA Into Personal Health
Forecasts
Thu Apr 7, 9:21 AM ET
Technology - washingtonpost.com
By Ariana Eunjung Cha, Washington Post Staff Writer
SEATTLE -- The boxes arrive in the mail by the dozens each day and are
stacked in neat rows in the laboratory. Inside are swabs of the inside
cheek, drops of blood, material that the senders hope will give them a peek
at the life they have been dealt by their genes.
Over the next few weeks, Genelex Corp. technician Dascena Vincent and her
colleagues here will conduct what they call a nutritional genetic
assessment, analyzing the DNA samples for certain deficiencies. Problems in
the genes that handle dietary fats? That could put you at risk for heart
disease. Trouble with those that help rid your body of toxins like smoke?
Cancer could be an issue later in life. And how about those associated with
metabolizing vitamin D? Be watchful for signs of deteriorating bone strength.
Based on the findings, the company provides recommendations on diet,
lifestyle changes and categories of medications that might work best for an
individual. Depending on how many tests the customer has ordered, the bill
-- which typically isn't covered by insurance -- could be $400 or more.
Companies such as Genelex are pushing medical science into territory that
was once the realm of gods and horoscope writers. They are making
predictions about what someone's health might be in five, 10, 20 or more
years. Other testing facilities around the country offer genetic
assessments of what they claim is people's future propensity towards
diabetes, liver disease, blood clots, dementia -- even alcoholism and
gambling. There are now tests for more than 1,100 ailments, double what was
on the market five years ago, according to GeneTests, a public education
service based at the University of Washington and funded by the National
Institutes of Health.
________________________________________________
Theodor Holm Nelson, Fellow, Oxford Internet Institute
University of Oxford, 1 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3JS, UK
V. Professor, U. Southampton; V. Fellow, Wadham College
Founder, Project Xanadu (the first hypertext project), 1960+
? e-mail: tandm@xxxxxxxxxx ? http://ted.hyperland.com,
? xanadu.com ? translit.org ? transcopyright.org
? world-wide phone and fax +1/908-847-0264
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