Stanford, U.C. Berkeley Offer Students Genetic Testing

cappp writes with this snippet from Scientific American: "This week Berkeley will mail saliva sample kits to every incoming freshman and transfer student. Students can choose to use the kits to submit their DNA for genetic analysis, as part of an orientation program on the topic of personalized medicine. But U.C. Berkeley isn't the only university offering its students genetic testing. Stanford University's summer session started two weeks ago, including a class on personal genomics that gives medical and graduate students the chance to sequence their genotypes and study the results."

Comments

Have some fun with this!

[decipher_saint]

Every student sample dog saliva!!

So?

[fotbr]

They can choose to participate or not. Seems like a non-story to me.

Re:So?

[skids]

Also, the program isn't solely about science. TFA says one of the chief goals of the project was to spark the very personal thought process that surrounds choosing whether or not to participate. So they want their students thinking about the privacy implications that will accompany personalized medicine, along with other hot-button issues.

This is good. Maybe the kids will "be OK" and grow up with a mature and nuanced opinion on genetic testing, and how it's inevitable progress will have to be carefully integrated into our cultures and ethics, rather than paranoid kneejerkism.

Re:So?

[skids]

The test isn't an entire DNA sequence. UCB isn't that rich. It just checks for the yes/no presence of 3 genes.

Voluntary... for now

[epp_b]

Well, I can't possibly foresee any way that this could ever be abused.

How long until it's part of admissions?

[Anonymous Coward]

We'll need your SAT scores, two letters of recommendation, and a DNA sample.

Re:Does anyone see a GATTACA coming true?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

"Oh, your credentials are excellent; but I'm afraid your mortality profile is not what we are looking for. The best alumni donors live long successful lives, then die relatively swiftly, leaving plenty for a generous bequest. The ones that die young and tragically we admit strategically, for their potential artistic value; but the ones that are likely to linger for years under ever costlier treatments just aren't worth it."

"Though, on the other hand... I like you kid, you seem like the right sort, not really your fault that you'll probably die slowly of something from 90 to 97. Re-apply, with an essay that has a bit more stoicism and enthusiasm for the sort of motorcycles that you'll be able to afford just as your reflexes are starting to deteriorate, and I'll talk to some people I know..."

that's what college is for

[circletimessquare]

submitting dna samples

usually to your fellow students

Re:that's what college is for

[Itninja]

And sometimes to the opposite sex.

UC Berkeley data breech - be advised

[Anonymous Coward]

Incoming freshmen should know that over 100,000 individuals were victims of a data breech at Berkeley's University Health Center in May 2009. The stolen information included gems such as SSNs, self-reported medical history, and information about doctor visits at the UHS -- all dating back to 1999. A more detailed report can be found here: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/uc-berkeley-alerts-students-health-data-breach

(I was one of the affected individuals; as far as I know, the school never offered any form of compensation. In a perverse twist, however, my other insurance provider also suffered a data breech a few months later and offered me various credit monitoring and ID theft prevention services.)

For all of Berkeley's excellence, securing health records is apparently not one of them. In light of last year's massive data breech, I WOULD NOT voluntarily provide any genetic information to the school, even if the program administrators claim it's anonymous and secure. Who knows how long the information will be kept around or if the school's IT department will competently secure and protect it over the long run.

Re:Admissions

[gstoddart]

Why is it that whenever DNA analysis turns up in something other than a homicide case, it seems that most people automatically thinks privacy?

Because every piece of information you voluntarily give away will inevitably end up in places you couldn't foresee, that's why.

You innocently give it to your school, and it ends up in a corporate database, or being used by the government in ways you didn't think of. The standard scenario is being denied insurance because you're predisposed to a certain illness and are therefore going to cost them money.

It's no different from all of the kids on Facebook who don't fully understand that if you broadcast everything, there can be unexpected backlashes. If you just freely hand over this kind of stuff, you have no idea of what could happen in the future.

Perhaps the most important thing is to start applying some critical reasoning to the information we give out every day, and ponder what might happen in the future. What happens when your DNA becomes mandatory?? It starts seeming like the dystopian future we've all been hoping wouldn't happen.

This kind of stuff never stays as only the reason you were told it was going to be used. So, some of us have a default position of "explain, exactly, to me why you want this, and what you're going to do with it". Would you give your saliva to Wal Mart to qualify for a discount?

I know I sound like a representative of the Tin Foil Hat Brigade, but just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't out there trying to get you.