The Fountain of Youth

As science develops, we are finding ways to heal our bodies so that we can practically live forever. Nano-technologies are being created that can constantly heal our internal organs and flesh so that we can enhance your lifespan.

What about this site, Zyberme, by Zornex which promises to create an eternal you.

By encapsulating your genes in a marble statue, that bears your likeness, you won't have to take the Walt Disney Approach to the eternal afterlife.

The commodification of yourself.

Their motto: "The body will be irrelevant to who a person was... or to whom he or she is 'then'... but the personal genetic seed of a customer will be relevant to whom he or she was, is, or can be again.

	Purchase of this pre-need memorial assures the customer the ability to have the Zyberme memorial… even with an unexpected death and as young as possible... and most importantly, with a four business day turnaround at-need. Also, it assures the customer the real possibility of rebirth of the body… in 5 generations to come… if he or she so wishes… using their personal genetic seed and a Zyberi rebirth trust… and their Zybersoul. This is the reading of the customer’s blood and skin samples… synthesis of his or her dual genetic material for the cloning of the customer’s human embryo. That is then invitro inseminated into a female host… either the customer’s future daughters lineage or a surrogate with the sharing between the mother and the reborn child of a $25 million rebirth trust… for motivation and compensation.

EBay and the Genome?

That's right.

Well, they aren't exactly selling your genes on eBay, yet.

Right now, it seems, the online auction house is simply selling material relating to the Human Genome.

I wonder, if eBay is still around, could I sell my gene map on eBay. Why not, people sell all kinds of things, and this would actually be something I own.

What would someone do with my gene map? Maybe I would try to buy the gene map of Russell Crowe and see if we had any of the same traits?

Instead of all those crazy online dating services, maybe in the future, I may be able to pick out my future mate by examining their genes, looking at them on a biological level to see if I like what 'they got'.

Crazier things have been done. I mean, we do live in a Heliocentric world.

There have been some new advancements in gene analysis in recent history, as in the last few months. Check out my sister site to find out more
http://generundown.blogspot.com/

A Map We Cannot Read

A Map We Can’t Read

Newspapers around the world report on the advancement of scientific data on the human body and our efforts to unlock its secrets through the Human Genome Project (HGP). We are captivated by the amazing daily discoveries which promise better living through science, but we often fail to see complications created by those discoveries.

The Human Genome Project aims to decipher our genetic code, but what will come from such discoveries?

Imagine yourself a star athlete who has a gene which is known to cause Parkinson’s disease. Would you still get drafted by the NBA, any team knowing that you would have a limited career, even though you have no idea if the disease will manifest itself?

Will we one day be able to genetically modify our children? Through gene therapy we already can.

Successful drugs have already been manufactured to battle certain cancers and illnesses, all based on the discoveries of the HGP. The information gained through the HGP will change our lives, but could this information lead to discrimination, or an even more dreadful thought of using genetic code as a weapon to target certain populations? How can we prepare to handle this knowledge in a responsible fashion? Inform yourself!

Pharmacogenomics

What is Pharmacogenomics?
It is the study of an individual's genetic information and reaction or response to certain drugs.

The idea behind Pharmacogenomics is that one day you will have a personalized drug treatment for everything. You will know whether Alieve, Advil, or Tylnol works best for your pain relief, based on your genetic make-up.

The hope is that doctors and scientists, working together will create better (more powerful) and safer drugs based on your personal genetic makeup. It is hoped that by honing in on certain diseases that attack certain cells, in relation to certain genes, there will be fewer side-effects for patients.

In the future, doctors will be able to look at a map of your genes and determine what drug will work best for you, without the trial-and-error method.

Pharmacogenomics will also allow for the advanced screening for diseases which will allow individuals at an early age to make adequate changes to their lifestyle and environment which may allow the patient to avoid or lessen the severity of a genetic disease.

Pharmacogenomics is still in its infant stages of development, and is mostly used in drug trials by pharmaceutical companies to determine the likelihood of the breakdown of their drugs by certain enzymes created by certain genes.


For more information on the technology and complexity behind pharmacogenomics, please visit this sister site that provides a more biological and structural look at the Human Genome Project

Laws against Genetic Discrimination

There are two laws in effect (or in the process of negotiation between houses) that deal with the disclosure and discrimination based upon genetic information.

This is a VERY sticky topic.

Senate Bill 1053: The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2003 deals with health insurance and employment. It operates under bipartisan support and the idea that everyone should have healthcare. It basically defines genetic information and states that no employer or insurance agency can discriminate against an individual based on their genetic code. So, if I had a gene that is known to cause parkinson's, the insurance agency could not raise my rates, or drop my coverage based on this information.

There has been no movement on this bill since it was passed in 95-0 since October 2003.

Senate Bill 306: Genetic Nondiscrimination Act of 2005. This is the updated version of the Previous bill, but only pertains to healthcare. It amends the previous Public Health Service Act (PHSA) to include genetic information, and deals with group and individual coverage as well as Medicare. Premiums are not allowed to be adjusted based on genetic information and Health insurance providers are not allowed to require a genetic test for coverage purposes.

Can you Trigger Cancer?

Drug companies have learned how to advertise, and now they pose an even greater threat to doctors than before.

There are currently companies that are marketing genetic home testing away from the Doctor's office. While these tests provide a safe and easily accessable genetic map, which keeps sensitive information away from insurence companies, they fail to provide support and information to their clients about a very new and ever changing field.



Let's say I am worried about Breast Cancer, because it runs in my family. I take the test and learn that I, too, have the gene which is known to cause Breast Cancer. Now, this is where science tends to turn grey. Knowing that I have this gene, I can try to change my lifestyle to stay away from other things that might trigger the oncoming of the cancer. On the otherhand, maybe the stress will trigger the activation of this gene, that before, was benign. The answer is that scientists are not sure why the genes do what they do. Only that they do them.

Genetic Doping

With all of the hub-ub recently in the News over the use of performence enhancing drugs, it is interesting to note that while little has been publicized about genetic doping, the possibility and reality exists.

As of August 2004, according to a CBS news article, mice had been genetically doped to enhance their endurence, dubbing them the 'marathon mice'.

The article points out several factors in terms of implications of this doping experiment. One being new light shed on what role genes play in exercise and diet and the effects of obesity.

What is of more consternation is what I refer to as the Gattaca Complex, the idea of genetic doping/control and the fear of discrimination based on these principles.

Background Genetics

For information on the genetic and scientific backround of Genes and DNA, Click here

You and the Human Genome Project

This site has been created in order to foster a discussion surrounding the social implications of the Human Genome Project, and how every single one of us will be affected by these developments in the future