Over the past decade, we have heard about the “fat gene,” the “diabetes gene,” the “alcoholism gene,” the “intelligence gene,” even the “God gene.” In the end, none of these so-called discoveries proved correct.
Genetics is more complex than scientists imagined. We have discovered highly predictive genes for about 2,000 rare ailments, such as Huntington’s disease, but not for most common diseases such as cancer and diabetes. This hasn’t prevented companies such as 23andMe Inc. from selling direct-to-consumer genetic testing, with claims that it offers beneficial health information.
On its website, 23andMe still boasts that its kit “reports on 240+ health conditions and traits.” A small proportion of this information may be medically useful. For the most part, however, studies have shown that direct-to-consumer test results are inconsistent.
Read the full, original story here: The Failed Promise of 23andMe
Additional Resources:
- “23andme genotypes are all wrong,” Bits of DNA
- “How Useful Is Whole Genome Sequencing to Predict Disease?,” Scientific American
- “Should you get sequenced? Not all bad genes predict disease,” NBC News
