Heredity is Not Medical Destiny

The latest on the alleged wonder of personalized genetic medicine:

If every aspect of a person’s DNA is known, would it be possible to predict the diseases in that person’s future? And could that knowledge be used to forestall the otherwise inevitable?

The answer, according to a new study of twins, is, for the most part, “no.” . . .

Since identical twins share all of their genes, the investigators could ask to what extent genes predict an increased chance of getting a disease. Using a mathematical model, they reached an answer: not much. Most people will be at average risk for most of the 24 diseases.

People need to stop imagining that reading our genetic code will result in some sort of scientific revolution.