I Had My DNA Picture Taken, With Varying Results
I like to plan ahead; that much I knew about
myself before I plunged into exploring my genetic code. I’m a healthy 28-year-old woman, but some nasty diseases run in my family: coronary heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s and breast cancer.
Like others, I turned to genetic testing, but I wondered if I could trust the nascent field to give me reliable results. In recent years, a handful of studies have found substantial variations in the risks for common diseases predicted by direct-to-consumer companies.
I set out to test the tests: Could three of them agree on me?
The answers were eye-
opening — and I received them just as one of the companies, 23andMe, received a stern warning from the Food and Drug Administration over concerns about
the accuracy of its product. At a time when the future of such companies hangs in the balance, their ability to deliver standardized results remains dubious, with far-reaching implications for consumers.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/31/science/i-had-my-dna-picture-taken-with-varying-results.html