I only care about testing for genetic health issues. I don't want my DNA to be inserted in a database that can be cross-referenced to check for relatives, ancestry, etc.
Okay. Let's assume your top priority is to test for genetic health issues, I will also assume that you either plan on reducing the risk of future complications or you are factoring this information into account when deciding to get children (otherwise, why would you want this information?).
In the first case (reducing risk factors), chances that you will at least check positive for one thing are almost 1 (certain) and you don't need a test to know that. In almost all cases, limiting the risk will involve a) eating well b) stopping alcohol / smoking c) regular physical activity d) taking some Aspirin for the remainder of your life. You don't need the test results to start doing this. Either you sincerely want to live longer and shouldn't wait for genetic screening to take your matters into your own hands, or you think that test results will suddenly turn you into a monk. News flash: won't happen.
In the second case (whether or not to procreate): any decision you make on the hypothesis that your children will inherit it and that science will not have solved it in the next 50 years will very likely be a bad reason to not have children (there are many good reasons to not have children, though, but having a rare genetic conditions is not a good reason).
The only people who should not have kids are bad parents and people who don't want kids. Guess what? These two groups that probably have the highest amount of kids on Earth.
This is perhaps an off topic question, but I mean it seriously. What do you hope to gain from knowing your potential genetic health issues?
If the report showed you had a chance of developing say Parkinsons, how would that change your life now? Could you implement those changes regardless?
I mean, pretty much all genetic markers are just "risk". And lifestyle choices (smoking, drinking, sugar, exercise et al) seem to be well known, and "good for everything". So, knowing that, it seems like there's lots you can do regardless of genetics.
I confess, for me personally, I'm not really interested in my genetic risk factors. Much less my Neanderthal content. Hence the genuine question- what will it tell you thst you care about?
technocrat8080|5 months ago
nokya|5 months ago
In the first case (reducing risk factors), chances that you will at least check positive for one thing are almost 1 (certain) and you don't need a test to know that. In almost all cases, limiting the risk will involve a) eating well b) stopping alcohol / smoking c) regular physical activity d) taking some Aspirin for the remainder of your life. You don't need the test results to start doing this. Either you sincerely want to live longer and shouldn't wait for genetic screening to take your matters into your own hands, or you think that test results will suddenly turn you into a monk. News flash: won't happen.
In the second case (whether or not to procreate): any decision you make on the hypothesis that your children will inherit it and that science will not have solved it in the next 50 years will very likely be a bad reason to not have children (there are many good reasons to not have children, though, but having a rare genetic conditions is not a good reason).
The only people who should not have kids are bad parents and people who don't want kids. Guess what? These two groups that probably have the highest amount of kids on Earth.
bruce511|5 months ago
If the report showed you had a chance of developing say Parkinsons, how would that change your life now? Could you implement those changes regardless?
I mean, pretty much all genetic markers are just "risk". And lifestyle choices (smoking, drinking, sugar, exercise et al) seem to be well known, and "good for everything". So, knowing that, it seems like there's lots you can do regardless of genetics.
I confess, for me personally, I'm not really interested in my genetic risk factors. Much less my Neanderthal content. Hence the genuine question- what will it tell you thst you care about?