Prometheus 6

And although there is great controversy about the role that genes play in shaping intelligence, it was hard to resist looking up the SNPs that have been linked — however tenuously — to I.Q.

Amy Harmon, who seems to alternate between feeding scientific racists periodically and variants of the same story (a couple of root stories can be milked for quite a while) continues her series on "the impact of new genetic technology on American life" with an extended press release for "inexpensive gentic testing," like she hasn't learned from the absurdity of declaring Barack Obama to be Dick Cheney's cousin.

In an attempt to impress, she presents a couple of them:

23andMe

Mountain View, Calif.

Available now for $999

Services: genotyping 580,000 SNPs using Illumina technology; Gene Journals reporting risk for 20 diseases and physical traits; tools for tracing ancestry and DNA similarity with family and friends; Genome Explorer to provide access to all data to allow customers to compare any published study with their own genotype; will provide referrals to genetic counselors

580,000 locations on your genome checked to identify 20 diseases and traits.

deCODE Genetics

Reykjavik, Iceland

Available now for $985

Services: genotyping one million SNPs using Illumina technology; deCODEme will provide risk reports for about 20 diseases and physical traits; tools for tracing ancestry and DNA similarity with family and friends; genetic counselors available for consultations

1,000,000 locations on your genome checked to identify 20 diseases and traits.

Truly a mountain of useful information for a mere $1000. And next year you'll be able to pay even more to get even less.

Navigenics

Redwood Shores, Calif.

Available in 2008 for $2,500

Services: will genotype one million SNPs using Affymetrix technology; health Compass will provide risk reports for about a dozen diseases; results relayed by genetic counselor

1,000,000 locations on your genome checked to identify 12 diseases.

Ms. Harmon had her DNA transcribed and went wilding.

Offered the chance to be among the early testers, I agreed, but not without reservations. What if I learned I was likely to die young? Or that I might have passed on a rogue gene to my daughter? And more pragmatically, what if an insurance company or an employer used such information against me in the future?

But three weeks later, I was already somewhat addicted to the daily communion with my genes. (Recurring note to self: was this addiction genetic?)

For example, my hands hurt the other day. So naturally, I checked my DNA.

Naturally?

Logging onto my account at 23andMe, the start-up company that is now my genetic custodian, I typed my search into the “Genome Explorer” and hit return. I was, in essence, Googling my own DNA.

I had spent hours every day doing just that as new studies linking bits of DNA to diseases and aspects of appearance, temperament and behavior came out on an almost daily basis.

This whole article could have been written to support a friend's new business, but it really shows the depths of the DNA obsession scientific racists have. They will use it to justify a racism that predates the 'links' they see in DNA data to specific high-level traits. Shame, really...it will make people turn away for potentially useful knowledge.