Genetic screening of kin:
While I was at the Orlando conference I took occasion to look at the commercial booths. One in particular caught my eye and we chatted a bit. The booth was run by Ambry Genetics, 100 Columbia #200, Also Viejo, CA 92656 phone 949 900 5500 www.ambrygen.com. What they had on offer was a screening test for medially significant genetic variants.
I inquired about the cost and was told informally that it was about $450 for the test or $900 for a couple. In these days of few babies it would not seem a bad idea for a couple to make the investment kin or no. I think there were 80 genes they screened for.
I asked whether cousins using such screening could reduce their risk of inherited bad genes to below that of unrelated and unscreened couples. They said that was not a realistic goal since new abnormal genes were being discovered all the time.
We did not mention it, but as I mentioned on the posting done October 11, 2011 at least in the plant study described it appears that inbreeding depression is not a genetic phenomenon anyway; it is epigenetic. So no amount of screening genes would make it go away altogether.
I invited them to send me a nice graphic I could post here, figuring exposure would not be bad for them, but I have not heard back.
Slowly but slowly the tools and understanding that should make this a new and better world emerge.
There have been 30,403 visitors so far.