Scientists Complete Map of Human Genetic Variation

UltimaGuy writes "A major scientific step in the field of genetics is set to speed up the search for the causes of common illnesses ranging from heart disease and cancer to Alzheimer's and asthma. Scientists have mapped patterns of tiny DNA differences that distinguish one person from another, a step that will speed up the search for genes that promote common illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes."

Comments

Genetic Discrimination

[246o1]

This brings us closer to confronting the issue of genetic discrimination on a large scale. IBM made a nice announcementhttp://www.out-law.com/page-6217> that they will avoid this, but there's not much legal protection from genetic profiling in the laws of most countries. Fortunately for those of us not currently in America, health care access in most developed countries won't be affected by this. Unfortunately, for those of us who intend to live in America at some point in the future, health insurance could certainly be affected by this. For example, it's well known that Amish, Ashkenazi Jews, and other groups suffer from certain genetic maladies far above the average. This kind of research will make it possible to pinpoint other groups with risks not yet known, and raise their health insurance costs, avoid hiring them (a la Wal-Mart's recent memo regarding hiring healthy people to cut down on benefits costs), etc. While I don't want to spread too much paranoia on the issue, I think it's very important that we make sure to protect people from genetic discrimination before it becomes widespread and harder to stop.