23andMe/Ancestry

[BayRaider]

6 hours ago, FourThreeMafia said:

Yikes.

Do you have any vision issues, now?

Not sure how accurate that is, but Im seriously praying you fall in that 18% if it is.  

Nope but it happens out of no where. Pretty crazy, our DNA is basically a computer program. Some diseases and your age of death (also depending on environment factors) are already pre determined. 

For example, if someone has a DNA Mutation or certain DNA Gene where 100% of people with the mutation have a disease assossicated with it, you 100% get that disease. 

My brother is a biological scientist and looks at DNA for a living and was explaining how it all works to me. 

[43M]

5 hours ago, BayRaider said:

Nope but it happens out of no where. Pretty crazy, our DNA is basically a computer program. Some diseases and your age of death (also depending on environment factors) are already pre determined. 

For example, if someone has a DNA Mutation or certain DNA Gene where 100% of people with the mutation have a disease assossicated with it, you 100% get that disease. 

My brother is a biological scientist and looks at DNA for a living and was explaining how it all works to me. 

Yeah, amazing and scary at the same time.  Stuff you wanna know, but kinda don't.

[Shanedorf]

There are a select few diseases like sickle cell anemia where there is a single gene mutation -  and we can grasp that.  In another, Cystic Fibrosis, there are different types of mutations, so even though they know exactly which gene is involved, there may or may not be a way to fix or treat all of the different variations. The vast majority of human diseases involve hundreds of genes - diabetes is one example where they’ve identified over 500 genes that play a role and it’s likely to go even higher as more research is completed

Aging (now called the “disease “ of senescence) is the same way, hundreds of genes are involved. What the crew at 23 & Me are doing is offering statistics based on DNA results in specific regions of your genome. But those stats don’t include other important intrinsic factors or extrinsic factors.
EX: Two people, same DNA. One works in an office, the other in a coal mine. See if you can guess which one dies younger?

There’s also a misunderstanding about your genes being like a computer program. Your genes are your genotype, but who and what you actually are is called your phenotype.  Even identical twins with the exact same DNA and the exact same environment end up with different changes in their phenotype as cells replicate millions of times throughout our lifespan. These identical twins have the same exact “blueprints” but the final person has slight, but important differences.

DNA and disease: What we know is dwarfed by what we don’t know. It’s not even close. Even some of the genetic tests like BRCA1 and BRCA2 for breast cancer have multiple forms and they can actually change over time per some of the latest research. Your DNA codes for various forms of RNA and those RNA’s code for the proteins, enzymes and other factors that control everything in our bodies. And tiny “mistakes” are sometimes made during each step of the translations from DNA->RNA->Protein; most are corrected naturally, but not all.
When are the genes turned on or off ? How long are they active ? When are they silenced ? That leads to diversity in phenotype, even with the exact same genotype
Our understanding of this carefully orchestrated biology is still in its infancy. The more we learn, the more we realize we haven’t got it all figured out.
Back to the computer analogy: Pick any modern computer and its now on Version 500.0 at best, while human biology through evolution is on version 250,000,000,000.0  Its not a useless analogy, but the differences in man-made vs biological complexity are enormous
Your Fate:   So the idea of “genetic determinism” doesn’t yet exist for the vast majority of human diseases or even aging.  All they can offer are probabilities. For a select few diseases, the answer is yes, and those are things we are learning how to fix through gene therapy. There are about a dozen gene therapies approved in the US out of thousands of genetically-linked diseases.  

This is why the FDA was pushing back so hard on 23 & Me and the other providers, because the layperson has no context to understand these results. 23 & Me makes a large chunk of their money by selling your (allegedly de-identified) DNA results to pharma companies, researchers and apparently now the FBI too.

If you really want to do these tests, go for it. But I’d suggest that you do not grant release of your DNA info to anybody for any reason, because some day it will be used against you. Health insurers, Employers, Big Brother, law enforcement all want to get their hands on your DNA and their goal…
isn’t to help you. 

[Dome]

4 hours ago, Shanedorf said:

If you really want to do these tests, go for it. But I’d suggest that you do not grant release of your DNA info to anybody for any reason

I mean, these geneology databases have lead to the capture of 2 serial killers off the top of my head in recent months.... I’m sure that trend will continue.

I don’t doubt what you’re saying, but it’s not all bad 

[Shanedorf]

That's excellent news Dome, and others have found long lost relatives etc. Its definitely not all bad

Do you think serial killers are sending in their DNA for analysis ?
Of course they aren't, but they did leave a trail at the scene of their crimes.

But now -  the family that did send in their DNA has been associated with a serial killer through no fault of their own. And their DNA/names will always be linked to that Serial Killer in FBI and other databases for the rest of their lives ( and their children's lives).

The potential for negative impacts is substantial and its quite likely that the "association with known killers" will be misused against them in the future.
Currently there is no way to "clear" your DNA so unfortunately, that person and all of their relatives will bear that stain for the rest of their lives
That's a very steep price to pay just to find your long lost Aunt Matilda.
The best bet is to not sign the general release, because once you do, you have zero control.