Gattaca Persuasive Essay
Imagine a society in which your social status is based upon your DNA. A world where everyone knew everything about you. This description matches the plot of the aerospace thriller “Gattaca”. In the movie, genetic testing is common practice; DNA prejudice becomes widespread. Although this sounds far-fetched, this sort of DNA testing has been rapidly developing over the past decade. Personal Genomics is concerned with the mapping of an individual’s genes. When the Human Genome Project was completed in the early 2000’s, personal genetic testing was extremely expensive. Now that this technology has become more developed, the price has dropped. 23andMe is a direct to consumer genetic testing company that provides customers with personal single
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Well accessing the data is easy. All a customer has to do is log in to the 23andMe website using a username and password and go to ‘Gene Journal’. A list of all sorts of genes are displayed on this page. A few examples are: Alcohol flush reaction, ear wax type, and malaria resistance. Some of the SNPs are just for fun. Other SNPs may be more serious. Another page shows possible diseases one may be a carrier of such as cystic fibrosis or maple syrup urine disease. A percentage a customer has of contracted certain diseases is also available for viewing. 23andMe also provides customers with heredity information—parental and maternal. Place of origin and age of some genetic information can be found in the heredity sections. These sections show what percent of European, African, and Asian you have within your DNA. There is also a page also shows you genetic information of a few famous actors and musicians and how you compare. Another interesting feature of 23andMe is the ability to share genetic information with other users; only with your permission of course. Recently, 23andMe has added a new feature: Relative Finder. This new program allows users to find other members that may be relatives. However, 23andMe members can select how much of their genetic information they wish to share. One member may want to disclose all of his/her information, allowing for easy relative location. On the other hand, some members may wish to keep all their information to
Well accessing the data is easy. All a customer has to do is log in to the 23andMe website using a username and password and go to ‘Gene Journal’. A list of all sorts of genes are displayed on this page. A few examples are: Alcohol flush reaction, ear wax type, and malaria resistance. Some of the SNPs are just for fun. Other SNPs may be more serious. Another page shows possible diseases one may be a carrier of such as cystic fibrosis or maple syrup urine disease. A percentage a customer has of contracted certain diseases is also available for viewing. 23andMe also provides customers with heredity information—parental and maternal. Place of origin and age of some genetic information can be found in the heredity sections. These sections show what percent of European, African, and Asian you have within your DNA. There is also a page also shows you genetic information of a few famous actors and musicians and how you compare. Another interesting feature of 23andMe is the ability to share genetic information with other users; only with your permission of course. Recently, 23andMe has added a new feature: Relative Finder. This new program allows users to find other members that may be relatives. However, 23andMe members can select how much of their genetic information they wish to share. One member may want to disclose all of his/her information, allowing for easy relative location. On the other hand, some members may wish to keep all their information to