Patients Should Get DNA Information, Report Recommends
By Jennifer Couzin-Frankel,
Science Insider
| 03. 21. 2013
Fourteen genetics experts, with the backing of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), are proposing a radical shift in how and what patients learn about what's in their DNA. They argue that anyone whose genome is sequenced for any medical reason should automatically learn whether 57 of their genes put them at risk of certain cancers, potentially fatal heart conditions, and other serious health problems. The information would be provided whether patients want it—and often when they're seeking care from a doctor for something else entirely—because, the experts say, knowing the makeup of this DNA could save an individual's life. The recommendations apply to sequencing children's DNA as well, even if there's no preventive care available until adulthood. The college's
guidelines on a range of issues are usually written by influential geneticists and physicians and carry significant weight, although they are not binding. Today's report includes the first recommendations ever given to labs and doctors about how to handle unexpected findings when the genome or its protein-coding "exome" is sequenced.
The ACMG recommendations, released this morning...
Related Articles
By Yelena Biberman and Jonathan D. Moreno, Bioethics Forum | 04.16.2024
A quiet biological revolution in warfare is underway. The genome is emerging as a new domain of conflict. The level of destruction that only nuclear weapons could previously achieve is fast becoming as accessible as a cyberattack.
Now for the...
By Jorge Barrera and Rachel Houlihan, CBC | 04.09.2024
A Canadian DNA laboratory knowingly delivered prenatal paternity test results that routinely identified the wrong biological fathers — ruling out the real dads — and left a trail of shattered lives around the globe, a CBC News investigation has found...
By Timnit Gebru and Émile P. Torres, First Monday | 04.14.2024
The stated goal of many organizations in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) is to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI), an imagined system with more intelligence than anything we have ever seen. Without seriously questioning whether such a system can...
By Carey Gillan, UnSpun | 03.18.2024
A Mexican standoff with the United States turned into a Mexican smack-down this month with the release of Mexico’s formal rebuttal to US efforts to overturn limits Mexico has ordered on the use of genetically modified (GM) corn and the...