IS GENETIC TESTING A CRYSTAL BALL?

I have an unquenchable interest in DNA and genetics as a whole. This is even more puzzling since I can not tell the tibia from fibula. However some aspects of the physical sciences sound cool and esoteric, characteristics too attractive for me to ignore.

So when I saw an episode of 20/20 that dealt with genetic testing and the future of medicine. And also this blog post that suggest Martin Bashir's conclusions were erroneous.

Genius Blog: So last night Martin Bashir found out that he has an increased risk of Type II Diabetes -- 19% rather than the average of 11.2%. He also has an increased chance of becoming obese.But when you think about it, that percentage doesn't really apply to him as an individual -- it's only a population average. It's not any different from measuring the height of 100,000 people and then telling each one of them whether they are more or less likely *than average* to become a pro basketball player. There are so many other influential factors at play in any individual life, the "disposition" means almost nothing. It's useful to statisticians, useless to individuals. I don't want this to be one of those bash-the-press blogs, because absolutely any good journalist would be expected to miss this story. That's because most of the scientists themselves have done such a poor job of correcting the extraordinary misperceptions about genetics. We're fighting an entire century of misleading metaphors about genes.

I ended up more confused than before my foray into the subject. So I called up on my in resident geneticists and this is what she had to say.

Funny because I just finished my first class and I told the students about genetic testing since the lab today was about manipulating DNA.Of course genetic testing doesn't paint the big picture. However, it is not a coincidence that some cancers like breast cancer run in some families also this is linked to the fact that they carry some mutated versions of some genes. To a large extent, the genes determine what proteins are made up of and the control of our physiological activities. So while genetic testing would tell a person, he or she carries a bad form of it gene. It doesn't necessarily mean that the person would end up with the bad gene problems. I think bad habits would most likely not help over counteract the effect of the bad gene.So, Martin Bashir can not rule out getting diabetes if he eats bad food and doesn't exercise. So, in the end family history which hospitals ask for may paint a better picture than genetic testing. Ok i'm off to my next class. I would ask if anyone saw the show.

Funny as my resident geneticist is always in a hurry. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.