Stanford, U.C. Berkeley Offer Students Genetic Testing 104
cappp writes with this snippet from Scientific American: "This week Berkeley will mail saliva sample kits to every incoming freshman and transfer student. Students can choose to use the kits to submit their DNA for genetic analysis, as part of an orientation program on the topic of personalized medicine. But U.C. Berkeley isn't the only university offering its students genetic testing. Stanford University's summer session started two weeks ago, including a class on personal genomics that gives medical and graduate students the chance to sequence their genotypes and study the results."
Re:So? (Score:1, Informative)
You do realize that the story is not about privacy concerns, or anything like that, right? It's solely discussing the availability of this optional program. It's all about the scientific aspects of it, not the moral aspects.
UC Berkeley data breech - be advised (Score:5, Informative)
Incoming freshmen should know that over 100,000 individuals were victims of a data breech at Berkeley's University Health Center in May 2009. The stolen information included gems such as SSNs, self-reported medical history, and information about doctor visits at the UHS -- all dating back to 1999. A more detailed report can be found here: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/uc-berkeley-alerts-students-health-data-breach
(I was one of the affected individuals; as far as I know, the school never offered any form of compensation. In a perverse twist, however, my other insurance provider also suffered a data breech a few months later and offered me various credit monitoring and ID theft prevention services.)
For all of Berkeley's excellence, securing health records is apparently not one of them. In light of last year's massive data breech, I WOULD NOT voluntarily provide any genetic information to the school, even if the program administrators claim it's anonymous and secure. Who knows how long the information will be kept around or if the school's IT department will competently secure and protect it over the long run.
I see that Skull and Bones has your DNA (Score:2, Informative)
Now, are you sure you want to reveal our inner secrets, or would you prefer we go public with the fact you have a genetic propensity for engaging in foreign wars of adventure that only enrich China and Russia? ....
I work in Medical Genetics.
Privacy can fail at many levels - intake, transmission, copying.
Also, the genetic screening they do only is useful for certain things. Knowing you have certain genetic markers or gene sequences can be useful, but should never be revealed to insurers or other individuals.
Re:So? (Score:5, Informative)
The test isn't an entire DNA sequence. UCB isn't that rich. It just checks for the yes/no presence of 3 genes.
Re:Voluntary... for now (Score:1, Informative)
Health insurance was mandatory at our college when I went in the '80s. Didn't have to be their insurance, though.
Re:Admissions (Score:3, Informative)
Fortunately, this is post admissions
Re:Does anyone see a GATTACA coming true? (Score:1, Informative)
Plus, what in the hell does a University care whether their students are successful, or even alive? As long as the student pays their bills, an ass ends up in a seat and the school makes their tuition money.
Posting as AC so I keep my job. Google "Blackboard Outcomes" and see the answer for yourself. It's able to pinpoint students who are likely to succeed, be grateful, and donate generously back to the school.