Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Services




AMA Journal of Ethics Podcast show

Summary: For somewhere between $200 and $2,000, curious individuals can sign up with an Internet service, send in a drop of saliva or some cheek cells and receive a report on their ancestry and their predisposition to a number of medical conditions from type 2 diabetes to baldness or back pain. "Ethics Talk" interviewed two people who used the online service for very different reasons. To read more about genetic testing and information, see the September 2009 issue of Virtual Mentor at www.journalofethics.org.