A new medical research study aims to screen the genes of at least 20,000 people. Part of a surging tide of genetic research, this project would be unremarkable if not for the place it’s recruiting and communicating with volunteers: Facebook.
The scientists behind the project, Genes for Good, hope that Facebook users will send a tube of their spit to a laboratory at the University of Michigan and use a free Facebook app to fill out periodic surveys about their health, habits, and moods. The scientists will screen the volunteers’ DNA to try to discover new links between certain genetic variants, health, and disease.
Some people are growing wary of Facebook’s reach into seemingly every aspect of life, and all of the privacy and security concerns that come with that. What’s more, the new app comes at a time when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is beginning to crack down on genetic tests of all sorts.
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