When Politics Meets Genomics In the US
DNA
collection from migrants who cross the US-Mexico border might be put in place
soon, and the information will feed a large criminal database operated by the
FBI, announced
headlines early October. We’ve come a long way
since the first direct-to-consumer (DTC) company, 23andme, started to offer
ancestry DNA testing kits online. It seems as it was decades ago – while in
fact, we’re speaking about 10-12 years. How has DTC genetic testing culminated
in population genomics – and what can we expect in the future to come? In the
second part of our article series about genomics and politics, we’ll try to see
where ‘DNA and population management’ the United States is heading.
From DTC genetic testing to
population management: the beginnings
When
Anne Wojcicki co-founded 23andme in 2006 – we cannot emphasize this often
enough: a little more than a decade ago –, her
goal was twofold. She wanted to bring
the power of genetic testing to everyday consumers so they can better manage
their own health, and use the aggregated data from the tests to help doctors,
scientists, hospitals, and researchers to discover new cures for diseases that
emanate from troublesome genetic mutations.
Their service was radical and brand-new: with a mouse click, you could order up your past and potential future. At first, regulators were baffled by the novelty and couldn’t do anything about it for years. However, in 2014 the FDA restricted 23andme’s operations saying that the he...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: nora Tags: Genomics American biotechnology dna testing ethics future genes genetics policy-making politics regulation science US USA Source Type: blogs
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