I have chosen the Ancestry + Traits test of the biotech startup “23 & Me” to assist me in writing my personal project. These types of tests are important because of two reasons.
The first one is educational, both about history and also about the civics. There is no better way of informing the citizens about the interconnectedness among different geographic regions, ethnic groups, races, and other community traits. We are all microcosms and individual melting pots of various peoples, nations, religions, creeds, races, and ethnicities. The genetic traits test teaches that even a single individual is a multicultural mix of numerous traditions, rendering all the radicalisms (chauvinism, racism, ethnic hatred …) completely obsolete. In a nutshell, a genetic traits test is a great way of teaching civics.
The second aspect of these tests is scientific, but also related to our personal health and well-being. Genes are the blueprints of our bodies and it comes as no surprise that many of our ancestors suffered from similar diseases and died as a result of very analogous illnesses. Proper health care means good lifestyle, nutritional diet, and regular medical check-ups. But, the traits analysis of the genetic test, besides a plethora of information about aesthetics (eye and hair color, facial features and all our bodily measurements) or stimuli preferences (preferences for eating sweets, enjoying citruses, or sensing certain fragrances), can also warn us about our health risks and health hazards.
Hopefully, the expansion of the genetic databases of the companies, like “23 & Me” can lead to more information about the specific diseased and illnesses, passed through the genes, leading initially to a better prevention, individualized diagnosis, and personalized medicaments, but also later to gene editing and complete eradication of the genetically passed preconditions.
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