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View Full Version : UC Berkeley plan to test freshmen DNA criticized



LiberalNation
05-21-2010, 03:38 PM
I don't see a problem with it.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100521/ap_on_he_me/us_med_genetic_testing;_ylt=AtOHFpwx_aVZegZXbgeBKD 9vzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTJuYTgyMXBnBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNT IxL3VzX21lZF9nZW5ldGljX3Rlc3RpbmcEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMx BHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA3VjYmVya2VsZXlwbA--

BERKELEY, Calif. – A plan by the University of California, Berkeley to voluntarily test the DNA of incoming freshman has come under fire from critics who said the school was pushing an unproven technology on impressionable students.

The university has said it will send test kits to 5,500 new students to analyze genes that help control the body's responses to alcohol, dairy products and folic acid.

The voluntary tests are intended to spur conversation about the growing field of personal genomics, not predict the likelihood of disease, university officials said Thursday.

"We thought that this would be a more engaging vehicle for discussion than having them read a book or an article," said Mark Schlissel, dean of biology at UC Berkeley.

Critics, however, worry that students could get the idea the school approves of widely available direct-to-consumer gene-testing kits that claim to predict the risk of future health problems, said Jesse Reynolds, a policy analyst at the Center for Genetics and Society, a bioethics think thank.

Students might think, "Berkeley gave it to us. It must be good. UC Berkeley would never be giving its incoming students anything bad or controversial," Reynolds said.

One such kit was set to go on sale at Walgreen's pharmacies last week. However, the chain changed its mind after federal regulators said the kit's manufacturer never submitted the product to the Food and Drug Administration for review, a requirement for medical devices..........

Monkeybone
05-21-2010, 03:47 PM
Students might think, "Berkeley gave it to us. It must be good. UC Berkeley would never be giving its incoming students anything bad or controversial," Reynolds said. and the students that think like that deserve the big brother.

revelarts
05-21-2010, 05:17 PM
More "happy" training by the school system for young people to give up there info to the "authorities".

"Look it's an experiment ..your on the cutting edge... gives us your DNA... it cool in a geeky intelectual way."

Schools have already trained kids to get use to warrentless searches, pat downs.

Facebook and other socail media all make it cool to just give up all your private info.

A former poster here argued with me about the idea of all your personnel info being available to to anyone at anytime being a bad thing. To him it was good and inevitable.


someone should tell the kids , DNA testing? Just say no.