Off-the-shelf genetics tests to hit US pharmacies

Source: AFP

WASHINGTON — Want to find out what diseases await you in the future, your chances of developing Alzheimer's? Or whether you will pass something on to your child? Then a trip to the pharmacy may reveal all.

Biotech firm Pathway Genomics announced Tuesday that personalized DNA tests to detect the risks of developing certain diseases will soon be available at Walgreens, a large chain of pharmacies.

It would be the first time that such tests would be commercially available for consumers, even though the company has offered them online for some time.

The Pathway Genomics kit, dubbed the "Insight Saliva Collection," enables the user to take saliva swabs following simple instructions and send them off to a California laboratory for analysis.

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it says you have to send it away for analysis. So, is this a way to lure people into getting their DNA into a database somewhere to be used perhaps not-so-scrupulously by governments, insurance companies, employers, etc.? Sorry, can't help the thought. Am I actually paranoid?:tinfoilhat:

You pay them to give them your DNA and genetic profile.

If you want to send it in under a different name and identity, have at it!

Heck, send it in under different names, multiple times, to verify results.

I want to know my results; I don't necessarily want my health insurance carrier to know