My Genome, My Self
Predicting Your Health One Genome Sequence at a Time:
Summary/Response of "My Genome, Myself" What if you could predict all of your health risks before they affected you? We would have a much healthier world if everyone knew what they were at risk for before they developed a certain health condition. In Steven Pinker 's "My Genome, My Self", he analyzes the pros and cons of having and publicizing such information. It is important to give both eniviroment, and genes enough credit in shaping who we are and Pinker gives much evidence in his essay as to why relying on genes alone may not prove accurate all the time. This is a new technology and provides many risks if it is made available for public use because of the fact that all the loose ends haven 't been tied up yet. Pinker analyzes how much our traits and health are dependent on our genetic make-up. Is this information developed enough to use in hospitals, or by anyone else who sees it fit? Pinker believes there is still a long way to go when it comes to Genome research. In "My Genome, My Self", Pinker examines what benefits that the study of genomes will actually bring. He questions how much this study will actually help because although it is an interesting issue and tells us alot about our make up, what benefit will that bring for our society? He allows his own genome to be sequenced and published for all to see as part of the Personal Genome Project. Pinker acknowledges that the personal sequence was correct about obvious things about himself but didnt prove so accurate when it came to other aspects of his health. Pinker asserts the idea that genome technology and development is crucial and important for the future and allows us to learn alot about DNA but it doesnt necessarily change anything right now at the state it is in. It could lead to it in the future but as of now the information and usage should be limited to research purposes only. More regulations would be needed as Pinker implies because the
Summary/Response of "My Genome, Myself" What if you could predict all of your health risks before they affected you? We would have a much healthier world if everyone knew what they were at risk for before they developed a certain health condition. In Steven Pinker 's "My Genome, My Self", he analyzes the pros and cons of having and publicizing such information. It is important to give both eniviroment, and genes enough credit in shaping who we are and Pinker gives much evidence in his essay as to why relying on genes alone may not prove accurate all the time. This is a new technology and provides many risks if it is made available for public use because of the fact that all the loose ends haven 't been tied up yet. Pinker analyzes how much our traits and health are dependent on our genetic make-up. Is this information developed enough to use in hospitals, or by anyone else who sees it fit? Pinker believes there is still a long way to go when it comes to Genome research. In "My Genome, My Self", Pinker examines what benefits that the study of genomes will actually bring. He questions how much this study will actually help because although it is an interesting issue and tells us alot about our make up, what benefit will that bring for our society? He allows his own genome to be sequenced and published for all to see as part of the Personal Genome Project. Pinker acknowledges that the personal sequence was correct about obvious things about himself but didnt prove so accurate when it came to other aspects of his health. Pinker asserts the idea that genome technology and development is crucial and important for the future and allows us to learn alot about DNA but it doesnt necessarily change anything right now at the state it is in. It could lead to it in the future but as of now the information and usage should be limited to research purposes only. More regulations would be needed as Pinker implies because the
Cited: DiSalvo, David, "Steven Pinker on the Genome and Self Discovery". NeuroNarrative, January 10. 2009. Web. Mary, "Genomes Are Us". Personal Genomics. 25 March. 2011. Web Pinker, Steven, "My Genome, My Self". New York Times, 7 January. 2009. Web. Science In Society, "My Genome, My Self". NorthWestern Unversity, 26 January. 2009. Web