Transhumanist dilemma: Should we be allowed unlimited access to our own genetic information?

Up until recently, those in the technology industry and those conducting genomic research would have been considered strange bedfellows. But big data — more specifically, big genomic data — is bringing the two groups together. Last month, Apple revealed its plans to collaborate with genetic researchers to design an app that would allow consumers to take a DNA test and submit their DNA information for genetic studies.

Apple is not the first technology company to want a piece of your DNA (literally). Last year, Google approached hospitals and universities offering to store their genetic information in Google Genomics, a cloud computing service that would enable researchers to store and share such data.

With the new smartphone-aided apps for genetic information sharing, patients can not only choose to volunteer their data for studies and treatments, but will also have more access to their own genetic data and can participate in decisions about treatments. This is just the next, much improved step in empowering ordinary people with medical information and allowing them to take an active role in their health and wellness decisions.   Giving consumers this level of access in healthcare terms can only be good, but can it go too far?   Science has already made it possible to make precise changes in DNA.

The technology is a godsend when we’re attempting to correct potentially devastating and debilitating diseases, but what’s to stop us from using such advanced science to enhance rather than merely correct?   What if a person decides he or she wants to become smarter or more focused, or that his or her as-yet-unborn child needs to have blue eyes or lustrous hair?

The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Taking Control of Our Genetic Information: Could it Go Too Far?

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