http://www.cocomment.com/comments/mrgunn Copyright 2007 coComment.com 2009-11-22T09:36:37.033+01:00 http://www.cocomment.com/images/logo4rss.gif http://www.cocomment.com/sidebar?object=people&context=explore&mode=detail&id=mrgunn&conv=1117189&comment_id=22274528 Mr. Gunn How about a dystopian future, just cause I'm in that kinda mood: After the current media blitz dies out, awareness of these services will bubble slowly just below the level of public consciousness, then all of the sudden, maybe 6 months to a year from now, people will suddenly freak the hell out. Various political groups are going to seize upon "protecting genetic privacy" or "preventing genetic discrimination" to make a name for themselves and proceed to thoroughly mislead and misinform the public. Laws will be passed regulating the nascent personal genomics industry such that innovation is completely stifled and costs rise. It'll require doctor's orders to get one of the tests, but no doctor will give the orders because they didn't really learn that much genetics in school, and don't want to deal with hypochondriac patients worried about some mutation that don't even really know the meaning of. More and more celebrities will sign up for the service, making the database an attractive target for hackers. After the first theft of genetic information, the industry will consolidate around the company best able to survive round after round of regulation, which will generally be the more well-connected company. Medicare, having no other choice but to go bankrupt, will begin to use people's genomes to dictate their medical care, resulting in private practice dropping those patients entirely. The only profitable sectors that will remain for genetic testing are governmental healthcare contracts, and, of course, the prisons... Of course, most people will use this information for good, to improve their health, enrich their lives, and decrease the cost of medical care and insurance, too, but I do think it's going to be a bumpy road gettig there. 2007-11-20T01:09:58.398+01:00 2007-11-20T01:09:58.398+01:00