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"George Doe" is an American biologist who used the direct-to-consumer genetic testing service 23andMe as part of a course he was teaching on the genome — and made a surprising discovery about his family in the process.
His story is a cautionary tale about a man blinded by science failing to anticipate the social consequences of what he thought was a simple clinical revelation. A genetic testing service can reveal such things as a predisposition or otherwise to certain medical conditions - thus providing peace of mind or the advance notice that enables someone to plan for the possible outcomes. It can also reveal the origins of one's ancestors - at least to the accuracy of geographic region or race. But it can also reveal information that is perhaps best unknown in some cases: unknown half-siblings, or unexpected paternity relationships etc. Whether knowing such things is good or bad depends upon the individuals concerned - but the article contains a salutary lesson which resulted in the disintegration of an otherwise happy family relationship.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by opinionated_science on Sunday September 14 2014, @05:00PM
I believe that some states of the US have blood test laws for marriage, due to the impossibility of tracking immigrants.
In genetics though, the diversity is a good thing. The closest you want to be is probably 4th cousins, but that depends on your specific genotype. There are some diseases which after large genetic linkage regions.
But the good things is when you get a genetics test, this proves you are human.
Human first, everything else second...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September 14 2014, @05:29PM
> I believe that some states of the US have blood test laws for marriage, due to the impossibility of tracking immigrants.
No. Blood tests for marriage have been about checking for diseases like STDs and measles.
Most states dropped the requirement long before genetic testing was even feasible.
(Score: 3, Informative) by frojack on Sunday September 14 2014, @07:12PM
I believe that some states of the US have blood test laws for marriage, due to the impossibility of tracking immigrants.
Yes, but these existed long before there was DNA analysis, and the existed to prevent specific diseases, not to map linage.
http://www.intelihealth.com/article/the-truth-about-premarital-blood-testing [intelihealth.com]
In fact, in most locations, the standard premarital blood tests check for evidence of syphilis (now or in the past) and rubella (German measles). Screening for other diseases in future newlyweds has in some cases included tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and HIV; of these, only HIV can be detected by blood tests. Only two states have passed legislation requiring HIV testing before marriage, but those laws did not last long at least in part because of very low detection rates.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.