The rate of progress within the medical field has been astounding. Modern science defines a new era of progress today, bringing medicine, companies, and insurance providers many new technologies—and the ethical dilemmas that go along with them.
If scientists can profile DNA, they can map out a person’s current condition and susceptibility to disease. Microarrays could also identify specific DNA and proteins of viruses, infections, etc., that could aid in the treatment of patients. The ethical dilemmas within DNA profiling are quite abundant however, including insurance-provider prejudice, "designer babies," cloning, etcetera.
DNA profiling has many possible and unprecedented benefits. It could make diagnoses less ambiguous—pin-pointing specific genes and proteins to identify specific disorders for even the most vague of expressed symptoms. It could also greatly speed up the diagnosis process.
Research from DNA profiling is also promising. Finding the base pair codes for diseases and infections benefits diagnosis, treatment, and the testing of new drugs. Through this means, even a child (or his parents, for that matter) could know his exact physical road map for the rest of his life. A child known to be susceptible to, for example, liver disease, would know the proper diet and lifestyle to implement over his lifetime—now that’s preventative medicine! Parents could be handed a DNA profile for their child, including percentage susceptibilities to disease, at birth.
If you would offer this opportunity, to know exactly what diseases you are susceptible to and may have in the future, would you want to know what is in your genetic profile? What about your child’s genes?
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| dna.gif | 7.7 KB |
I would be very interested to see my genetic profile. As you said, it's the best sort of preventive medicine: if you know what you're most likely to get sick from, you can take steps to avoid it.
On the other hand, I just read a story in the New York Times about a woman who found out she is going to get Huntingtons disease in the next ten years or so, and knowing that would be awful. It would be like a time bomb ticking in the background forever...
I'd do it, though.
(if you can't see the fnords they won't eat you)
I think it would be really beneficial to know what you are susceptible too and the like, also, it would be a really great tool to be able to see if you have any crazy recessive genes that might be passed onto your offspring.