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13,000 Volunteer To Put Personal Genomes Online

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the will-c0de-for-f00d dept.

Lucas123 writes "The Personal Genome Project, which opened itself up to the public on April 25, has to date signed up 13,000 of the target 100,000 volunteers needed to create the world's first publicly accessible genome database. Volunteers will go through a battery of written tests and then offer DNA samples from which their genetic code will be derived and then published to help scientists discover links between genes and hereditary traits. While the Personal Genome Project won't publish names, just about everything else will be made public, including photos and complete medical histories. Scientists hope to some day have millions of genomes in the database."

4 of 126 comments (clear)

  1. Data Control by macbeth66 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Just who is going to control these kinds of databases and prevent the misuse of the data? Once a condition or a hereditary pre-disposition is determined, a subject could be denied medical coverage for that condition. It may well be anonymous today, but that can not be guaranteed into the future.

    1. Re:Data Control by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Luckily, nobody else out there would have access to your medical history and a strong financial interest in knowing what your genome contains. Definitely not an insurance company or anything. And identifying somebody with date of birth, blood type, family history, several facial photos, and a bunch of other information is certainly beyond the powers of science...

      Definitely not a problem.

    2. Re:Data Control by timeOday · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Like it or not, keeping your DNA private is just about as difficult as keeping your face private. All it takes is a hair follicle or skin cell, and you leave a trail of those everywhere you go. I'm not saying it's a good thing, but there it is.

    3. Re:Data Control by daem0n1x · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Why don't you just scrap insurance companies and just create a public, universal health care service like the rest of the developed world? That way, they can't deny treatment.