Comment Have to wait for more than just better tech (Score 1) 451
Let me add that since I work in this field, it is constantly emphasized that complex diseases are not well understood. There are several diseases that can give you a black and white answer, and those are often tested on newborns using a simple panel that does not contain more than a few hundred alternate alleles, very far short of a whole genome sequencing. The rest of the problems, the ones everyone is interested in because they seem inevitable as we keep living longer, are more a problem of living longer than genetics.
It's still going to be a long time before a geneticist can sit you down and having all the data make any sort of prediction, and even then these predictions will only be about biases and what sort of prevention you can do. No one really understands Alzheimer's or the cardiac predisposition genes beyond a few obvious, and rare, cases such as for people who can't clear cholesterol. While hopefully understanding will happen one day, theres not much point in rushing out for one of these babies right now.
It's still going to be a long time before a geneticist can sit you down and having all the data make any sort of prediction, and even then these predictions will only be about biases and what sort of prevention you can do. No one really understands Alzheimer's or the cardiac predisposition genes beyond a few obvious, and rare, cases such as for people who can't clear cholesterol. While hopefully understanding will happen one day, theres not much point in rushing out for one of these babies right now.
