Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
CONNECTIONS
Biotechnology tools and methods have provided many new and
improved laboratory tests. Diagnoses can be made more rapidly
and with greater precision, so that appropriate treatment can be
started and potentially useless treatment avoided. Family members
can find out if they are at high risk of contracting a devastating
disease discovered in a relative. Law enforcement has new tools
to identify the perpetrators of violent crimes. A child's biological
father can be identified with confidence. Some of these tests,
because they probe the details of our personal genome, raise ques-
tions and concerns about the consequences of knowing, especially
when there is little that can be done to change the outcome. They
also raise questions about the potential misuse of genetic informa-
tion in employment decisions as well as access and cost of health
and life insurance. Debates will continue about the proper use and
limits of this technology. The potential of these tests to uncover our
genetic makeup and our risk of developing a serious disease—and
thus, in a sense, to uncover who we are and to predict our future—
can be disquieting.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
For more information about the concepts discussed in this chapter,
search the Web using the keywords:
genetic tests
,
breast cancer genes
,
Huntington disease
,
familial adenomatous
polyposis
,
polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
,
forensic DNA tests
