NHS must prepare for the genetic revolution, report says

Hi today I stumbled accross this BBC News article on the genetic revolution of medical care.

the main gist of the article is:

The cost of sequencing the [genetic] code, effectively writing out the string of letters, has fallen dramatically and this could be important for medicine. " I think it will come fairly quickly” Dr Caroline Wright Lead author Being able to read the code could help diagnose patients. Around 3% of people have genetic defects which cause rare forms of illnesses such as diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

and

The government's chief genetics advisor, Sir John Bell, says: "[Genetics] will touch every single area of medicine for sure. For some it will have a very major effect, others it will be less dominant, but the contribution of genetics to all human disease is clear."

My opinion is that our chemical 'hit and miss' version of curing medicine is running out of steam fast and this genetic revolution which is waiting in the wings is likely to give us much healthier futures.

After all the main Geneticist at Cambridge University Aubrey de Grey announced a while back that in her opinion the person that lives to be 1000 is already alive!

Enjoy the read.

Lag

Link to BBC article

I'm completely and totally against the genetic revolution. We as a society need to reject genetic driven medication until it is apparent that a genetic disorder is a possibility. Only then should a genetic test be done to help screen for said disorder.

If we dont:

How long before insurance companies start requiring genetic tests and profiling your "risk" based on this?

How long before companies start requiring genetic background checks to make sure you don't have a predisposition to traits that they don't like?

reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck




People are always afraid of the unknown.

I think that if genetic manipulation eradicates diseases, then you best prepare yourself for the 'genetic revolution' that's coming, Aint no one stopping it.

reply to post by Lagrimas


I'm not afraid of the unknown. I'm afraid of a scenario like in the movie GATTACA, one that is all too real and could very easily happen.

The “World” in which we reside does not operate on the premise “what is good for mankind”, it operates on “maximum profits for mega-corporations”.

The strangle hold that big pharma has over the medical profession world-wide should indicate to each of us that we will not witness any significant change in the direction of medicine over the next 100 years.

reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck


Gattaca is an awesome film, and there is no doubt that there will be a price divide in genetic manipulation and its availability.

But this is the current systems fault, not the genetic medicine advancement's.

if we had a fair system where everyone got a piece of the new medicare and EVERYONE got to use it unlike in the film, then surely it would be a good thing: no diseases etc, isn't that what everyone wants, world peace first, then good health for all?