[throwaway32]

this technology is very cool, and has a lot of future promise for treating illness and detecting disorders before they manifest themselves.

One thing i an extremely concerned about is what other uses this kind of data will be put to, is your genetic data one National Security Letter away from being put in a government DNA database? I'm also certain that insurance companies would really like to get their hands on this kind of data/analysis. What about certain kinds of jobs, will you be required to submit a genetic profile to prove you can preform your duties?

I think a situation like Gattaca[1] is not too far off if we dont tightly control who is allowed access to this kind of information.

[1]https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Gattaca

e: corrected "gattica" typo

[surrealize]

We've started to address some of these issues with GINA (the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act) which prevents insurers and employers from discriminating on the basis of genetic information.

Time will tell if it's enough; we'll probably have some more legislation once the technology becomes more widespread.

[jsarch]

While I completely agree that these questions need to be asked, the public doesn't appear to have issues giving out social data everywhere. E.g., what if we took your questions and replaced "genetic" with "social"?

[hugh3]

Gattaca, not Gattica. It's easy to remember, there's no "I" in ["A","C","G","T"].

On your broader point: yes, there are all sorts of legal problems that need to be sorted out first. Actually there are all sorts of moral problems which need to be sorted out before that even happens. Do we have "ownership" of our own DNA, and what does that mean? Am I allowed to sequence your DNA? You drop dead skin cells all over the damn place, does it make them public property? If I get an exclusive say in how my DNA is used, then what does this mean for my twin brother?