Gingersnap
05-19-2010, 11:42 AM
UC Berkeley Asking Incoming Students For DNA
Posted: 7:52 am PDT May 18, 2010
Updated: 6:48 pm PDT May 18, 2010
BERKELEY, Calif. -- UC Berkeley is adding something a little different this year in its welcome package -- cotton swabs for a DNA sample.
In the past, incoming freshman and transfer students have received a rather typical welcome book from the College of Letters and Science's "On the Same Page" program, but this year the students will be asked for more.
The students will be asked to voluntarily submit a DNA sample. The cotton swabs will come with two bar code labels. One label will be put on the DNA sample and the other is kept for the students own records.
The confidential process is being overseen by Jasper Rine, a campus professor of Genetics and Development Biology, who says the test results will help students make decisions about their diet and lifestyle.
Once the DNA sample is sent in and tested, it will show the student’s ability to tolerate alcohol, absorb folic acid and metabolize lactose.
The results of the test will be put in a secure online database where students will be able to retrieve their results by using their bar code.
Rine hopes that this will excite students to be more hands-on with their college experience.
"This type of experience is one of the true, unique values of a Berkeley education. We don't just give you books to read,” Mark Schlissel, dean of the division of biological sciences said. “We involve you in cutting edge issues in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. You won't see this anywhere else in higher education."
Previously incoming students were advised to read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and Stephen Hawking's "A Briefer History of Time" as behavioral guides.
Jesus wept. This is exactly the worst kind of use for emerging DNA analysis.
An 18 year old with true lactose intolerance would already know that about himself since his mother would have been unable to breastfeed him and he would have been under medical supervision to save his life as an infant. People who simply quit drinking milk as children aren't "lactose intolerant", they've just stopped making the necessary enzyme in large enough quantities. They can regain that ability over a few months by reintroducing dairy very gradually.
Alcohol metabolism is a function of race, time, quantity, body mass/composition, and food intake. All a DNA test can tell you is that you are Chinese or Sioux - something your parents would have presumably disclosed before college.
People who eat a lot of trashy processed food (college students, for instance) probably get all the folate they need from fortified industrial foods. Those who don't can take supplements to prevent miscarriages and neural tube defects. Current studies don't support the use of folate to prevent, minimize, or reverse cardiovascular disease. The theory sounds great but it hasn't panned out in population studies.
Beyond the bad science here, it's obvious that this program opens the door for mandatory DNA testing and analysis down the line. People should be concerned about the privacy issues involved as well as the security issues involved.
Posted: 7:52 am PDT May 18, 2010
Updated: 6:48 pm PDT May 18, 2010
BERKELEY, Calif. -- UC Berkeley is adding something a little different this year in its welcome package -- cotton swabs for a DNA sample.
In the past, incoming freshman and transfer students have received a rather typical welcome book from the College of Letters and Science's "On the Same Page" program, but this year the students will be asked for more.
The students will be asked to voluntarily submit a DNA sample. The cotton swabs will come with two bar code labels. One label will be put on the DNA sample and the other is kept for the students own records.
The confidential process is being overseen by Jasper Rine, a campus professor of Genetics and Development Biology, who says the test results will help students make decisions about their diet and lifestyle.
Once the DNA sample is sent in and tested, it will show the student’s ability to tolerate alcohol, absorb folic acid and metabolize lactose.
The results of the test will be put in a secure online database where students will be able to retrieve their results by using their bar code.
Rine hopes that this will excite students to be more hands-on with their college experience.
"This type of experience is one of the true, unique values of a Berkeley education. We don't just give you books to read,” Mark Schlissel, dean of the division of biological sciences said. “We involve you in cutting edge issues in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. You won't see this anywhere else in higher education."
Previously incoming students were advised to read Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and Stephen Hawking's "A Briefer History of Time" as behavioral guides.
Jesus wept. This is exactly the worst kind of use for emerging DNA analysis.
An 18 year old with true lactose intolerance would already know that about himself since his mother would have been unable to breastfeed him and he would have been under medical supervision to save his life as an infant. People who simply quit drinking milk as children aren't "lactose intolerant", they've just stopped making the necessary enzyme in large enough quantities. They can regain that ability over a few months by reintroducing dairy very gradually.
Alcohol metabolism is a function of race, time, quantity, body mass/composition, and food intake. All a DNA test can tell you is that you are Chinese or Sioux - something your parents would have presumably disclosed before college.
People who eat a lot of trashy processed food (college students, for instance) probably get all the folate they need from fortified industrial foods. Those who don't can take supplements to prevent miscarriages and neural tube defects. Current studies don't support the use of folate to prevent, minimize, or reverse cardiovascular disease. The theory sounds great but it hasn't panned out in population studies.
Beyond the bad science here, it's obvious that this program opens the door for mandatory DNA testing and analysis down the line. People should be concerned about the privacy issues involved as well as the security issues involved.