Question

Answer the following questions in your post:

1. Do you know anyone who has had their DNA analyzed by 23andMe, Ancestry or another company?    How did they feel about it? explain why you think people are motivated to pay to have their DNA analyzed. After listening to the podcasts, would you be interested in testing your DNA? Why or why not?
2. Explain two distinct criticisms of DTC testing as discussed by the experts in the podcasts.   Pick the ones you think are the most important or interesting and pick one from each podcast. Be specific and detailed. Provide the name and criticism of the discussant for each critique you choose. What made you choose these criticisms? Do you agree or disagree with the argument made by the discussant?
3. Identify an important piece of information about the science behind DTC genetic testing that you feel could have been added to or emphasized more in my lecture. How did this information help you to better understand personal genomics? Why do you think it was important and how should be added to (or expanded) in that lecture?

Answer 1

• Though I have not seen anyone in my locality are having their DNA analyzed but I know how they do analysis. After sharing the DNA to the websites we do opt in for informed content research. The companies will not share the genetic information freely without court order. But people want it to be shared because of the relatives and biological parents. After this people are motivated to know their genetics and disease in those parts and cures for those. Yes I would be interested to know my genetic snalysis and my born strength and anomalies but there is also a fear of information leak as I dont feel to have any visible genetic disorder.
• The criticism of the DTC testing is privacy concerns and Unable to interpret result or false sense of interpretation of the negative results.
• Privacy concern is most important and the criticism includes the leak of the personal information and it may cause taking away someone's right to privacy as in Indian constitution. The DNA information can make someone know about someone's weaknesses and the whole population if analyzed It can be made a biological weapon agaist that individual or that population. The other one is the overinterpretation issues where there is not enough councelling for the analysis of the results and the person may not be able to analyze the information correctly by himself.
• I think these arguements are valid in terms of DTC testing and there should be statutary control over this and it should be regulated and proper councelling should be given for the better understanding of the results.
• As the data are not fully reliable the data should be analyzed in way of better understanding to the customer as the customer will not be in fasle interpretation or unneccassary anxiety. Overall the ease of the process should be added with better conveyance and proper councelling by experts should be added to highlight the actual interpretaion of the result. The information should be as ease as a normal literate will be able to understand his personal genomics and the customer could also be provided with a basics about genomics through any video series or any set of writings by experts so they will be able to analyze the information by tehmselves perfectly.