Throughout Professor Goodman's interview with George Church, they discussed how individuals might interact with information about their own genetic data. While Church discussed the psychology and ethics of informing people of their genetic data, I would have liked to ask him questions about the delivery method of genetic data. Genetic testing kits are increasingly accessible and can tell you anything from your ancestry to your susceptibility to certain diseases. However, the data are not always easy to interpret and their conclusions may be uncertain in ways that are not immediately obvious to average consumers. I would ask Church what ways he thinks we ought to regulate the flow of genetic data from commercial testing kits? Should we use genetic counselors?
You bring up a great point, Andrew. With the rise of these genetic testing kits and DNA startups, more and more people will want to learn about interpret their genetic data which may lead to an increased need for genetic counseling. It may be dangerous for people to misinterpret their results without some sort of healthcare professional that can contextualize your personal and family health history.
Thanks Andrew—we touched on this a bit in the interview with @pkraft0 and Immaculata De Vivo...