If your family has a history of a hereditary genetic disorder would you want to know if you have it? heart disease, breast cancer, alzheimers, ect.....
Most people already do know these sorts of disorders are hereditary, because their loved ones have been afflicted by them. With that said, they still choose to have kids. You can't and shouldn't live in fear of what life may throw at you. With that said, advances in medicine will make it easier and easier to breed these sorts of disorders out by selectively choosing embryos. I guess the real discussion lies in, if doing so is a morally approvable act.
I did it -- it's totally worth it. Chance's are, you'll learn things you didn't know. I found a second cousin in Georgia I never knew I had that helped fill in a huge missing piece of my family tree and disproved a major bit of family lore. It also screens for a ton of genetic disorders and they have the capacity to add more if you opt in.
That's really cool. I don't know if you have looked into it, but apparently you can go really deep into the rabbit's hole with the genetic traits. You can connect your raw DNA data with other databases that provide even more information.
I don't think a SS#, no -- not with 23andMe when I did it, at least. I am also a proponent, but be warned: sometimes people learn things about their families they might not be prepared for. As in... some estimate that up to 10% of the population has the wrong conception of who their father is. I know someone who was quite surprised that their dad's DNA didn't line up with theirs and when they asked the mom, the mom paused and then said... "oh ****."
I thought 23andMe and other DNA testing stopped giving out that kind of info in the US due to issues with insurance companies finding out or something IIRC. I don't know, i just remember reading it wasn't offered to Americans anymore. You get your DNA and haplogroup stuff and weird little info like what kind of body type or taste or smells you have and a bunch of useless info. I just want it to find out my DNA ratio. I'm fully aware i'll end up mostly spanish and native american, but it's cool if they can find what exact native tribes, and traces of other european groups, middle eastern, asian or african DNA as well. Oh, and neanderthal. I'll do it soon. I predict i am 3-5% East Asian, 5-8% Sub Saharan African, 20-30% Native American, and the rest European. My dad has always told me of an Irish ancestor, so that'd be cool if it turned out to be true.
The FDA severely limited what information they are allowed to provide, because they don't want untrained consumers playing doctor based on the info. However, 23&me can give out info about the possibility of being a disease carrier. Also, 23&me as well as Ancestry and probably others will give you the raw DNA data which you can then plug into other services that are basically libraries of everything science know about genes--like whether you can smell asparagus pee or hold your alcohol.
Damn, i really want to do this. Any coupons, groupons or cheap discounts, or best time to do 23andMe? Is there a christmas deal?
It's pretty cool. The FDA made them stop ALL medical info for a while, but they've worked out an arrangement where they can share not just the disease carrier info but also fun things like if you think broccoli tastes bitter, restless leg syndrome, etc, etc. A lot of that stuff is ever - evolving through new experiments, so you can check back in to your profile from time to time to learn more. Also, on the % of what regional group, it exploded a family myth that I am 1/16 native American (supposedly Cherokee). Actually 0%. I did have, instead, a non-trivial amount of African blood. So after a bit of reading I've learned that, back in the "good old days", if your family ended up with African blood white people would often be all like, "oh, that's actually Native blood, um yeah... Cherokee and stuff..." b/c it was thought to be better somehow. (SMH).
I had a bunch of DNA stuff tested through the National Geographic Genome Project and subsequently via FamilyTree DNA just for kicks a few years ago but was thinking about also doing something like 23andMe. Of course, I keep thinking I'm just giving Google more info about me since their CEO was married to Sergei Brin until last year and Google invested money in them. Yes I'm being paranoid.
My man, I think the government owes you 40 and a mule. I'll definitely do this eventually, fascinating stuff.
Of course. You can do things to prevent those diseases from surfacing by just living a healthy lifestyle more often than not. Do cardio frequently, don't eat bacon every day to clog up them arteries, and take fish oil tablets and you'll combat heart disease. Generally eating a well balanced meal with some leafy green veggies everyday and substituting your favorite beverage with more water is a good way to combat most cancers. Stimulating your brain by trying to learn something new everyday is a good way to combat Alzheimer's. Try a new cooking recipe. Read the newspaper or wherever you get your news from. Read or listen to audiobooks. Listen to podcasts that'll teach you something new. Doesn't even have to be useful knowledge as long as its new and require you to think. More often than not as long as you take care of your body, your body will take care of you.
