Comments on: Genetic Tests: When No Means Maybe (Part 1) http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/09/14/genetic-tests-when-no-means-maybe-part-1/ Explore science, nature and environment stories from Northern California and beyond with KQED’s multimedia series Thu, 24 May 2012 05:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Do These Genes Make Me Look Diabetic? | QUEST Community Science Blog - KQED http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/09/14/genetic-tests-when-no-means-maybe-part-1/#comment-12181 Do These Genes Make Me Look Diabetic? | QUEST Community Science Blog - KQED Mon, 12 Oct 2009 20:13:33 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=3620#comment-12181 [...] you know if you’ve been following my blog, I took a 23andMe genetic test and have been writing about it since.  The image below shows what the front page of my clinical [...] [...] you know if you’ve been following my blog, I took a 23andMe genetic test and have been writing about it since.  The image below shows what the front page of my clinical [...]

]]> By: Why Is Mitochondrial Dna Important http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/09/14/genetic-tests-when-no-means-maybe-part-1/#comment-12180 Why Is Mitochondrial Dna Important Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:22:48 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=3620#comment-12180 [...] Genetic Tests So the mtDNA and Y chromosome test results are of little use to me in this quest. (And of little use to me in general as it confirms my pasty whiteness.) Next blog I’ll deal with the rest of my DNA and what that can and can’t tell me. [...] [...] Genetic Tests So the mtDNA and Y chromosome test results are of little use to me in this quest. (And of little use to me in general as it confirms my pasty whiteness.) Next blog I'll deal with the rest of my DNA and what that can and can't tell me. [...]

]]> By: Genetic Tests: When No Means Maybe (Part 2) | QUEST Community Science Blog - KQED http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/09/14/genetic-tests-when-no-means-maybe-part-1/#comment-12179 Genetic Tests: When No Means Maybe (Part 2) | QUEST Community Science Blog - KQED Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:18:14 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=3620#comment-12179 [...] In my last blog post, I showed how the two most powerful ancestry tests, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome, were useless to me in my hunt. Now I want look at the rest of my DNA.  So here we go! [...] [...] In my last blog post, I showed how the two most powerful ancestry tests, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome, were useless to me in my hunt. Now I want look at the rest of my DNA.  So here we go! [...]

]]> By: Barry Starr http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/09/14/genetic-tests-when-no-means-maybe-part-1/#comment-12177 Barry Starr Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:48:15 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=3620#comment-12177 23andMe has done a pretty good job of including a lot of educational material on their site but I am not sure yet if it is useful for the general public. That is why I wanted to try it out for myself. I'll keep you updated in future posts. I bet having someone there to help explain the data would be more helpful than a lot of web based stuff but the tricky part would be keeping the test affordable. Web content is much cheaper than a real live person. Perhaps they could offer an add on service that lets people ask questions that are answered by real, live people. My guess is that would be an expensive service! I might also check out their main competitor, decodeMe, to see how they are doing but they are pretty expensive and as a genetics educator, I am definitely not a rich man! 23andMe has done a pretty good job of including a lot of educational material on their site but I am not sure yet if it is useful for the general public. That is why I wanted to try it out for myself. I'll keep you updated in future posts.

I bet having someone there to help explain the data would be more helpful than a lot of web based stuff but the tricky part would be keeping the test affordable. Web content is much cheaper than a real live person. Perhaps they could offer an add on service that lets people ask questions that are answered by real, live people. My guess is that would be an expensive service!

I might also check out their main competitor, decodeMe, to see how they are doing but they are pretty expensive and as a genetics educator, I am definitely not a rich man!

]]> By: Wellescent Health Forums http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/09/14/genetic-tests-when-no-means-maybe-part-1/#comment-12178 Wellescent Health Forums Mon, 14 Sep 2009 21:23:37 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=3620#comment-12178 The detailed technical description of your assessment that you mentioned is part of the reason that I am not quite sure the concept of consumer genetics is ready for the public. With the ambiguities of the gathered information and the required background for interpretation, there is still value to having the expert acting as intermediary to the raw information. The websites will need a lot more educational material before they truly bring meaning to their users. The detailed technical description of your assessment that you mentioned is part of the reason that I am not quite sure the concept of consumer genetics is ready for the public. With the ambiguities of the gathered information and the required background for interpretation, there is still value to having the expert acting as intermediary to the raw information.

The websites will need a lot more educational material before they truly bring meaning to their users.

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