All Annotations of Technology Review: Social Networking Hits the Genome[Preview]

saved bySarah Hanawald on 2008-05-13

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• a new social-networking service that allows customers to compare their DNA.
• encourage consumers to get DNA testing, potentially creating a novel research resource in the process
• people can find each other by their alleles
• most of the controversy centered on the medical applications. Customers can learn their genetic risk, compared with the general population, of myriad diseases, including Alzheimer's, diabetes, macular degeneration, and cancer. But many scientists and physicians say that it's unclear whether the average user can truly comprehend this information, and whether knowing her genetic risk will actually improve her health
• allows people to compare their genome with those of family members, friends, and even strangers who have offered up their DNA data