Mike was adopted, and his biological family history is unknown. Although he is healthy, he would like some understanding of his genetic makeup, including potential health risks and genes that he could pass on to his children. Mike has heard about commercial laboratories that can compare segments of your DNA to those of people with common hereditary diseases in order to give you some idea of how susceptible you are to the diseases. The results of these types of tests are highly inconclusive. If Mike's DNA showed that he shares similarities in a segment of DNA with people who have a given disease, his chances of developing that disease or passing it on to his children may be slightly elevated, but they are not 100 percent. These tests can cost more than $2,500 and are not covered by many insurance companies. Do you think that Mike should undergo the genetic tests? Explain your answer. What are potential pros and cons of having such tests done? Describe how the availability of these genetic tests might affect the frequency of genetic diseases in individuals and populations.

Respuesta :

MegH07
Pros are that he could possible know his family and their health history, benefiting him in case he is in danger of a health risk.

Cons are that they are not completely accurate, and if his fails, he wasted lots of money that did him nothing.

Answer:

Yes, Mike should give the genetic test a try.

Explanation:

Pros: Genetic panels can estimate the risk of future disease and can estimate the risks of transmitting hereditary genetic diseases.

Among genetic mappings, some study the level of risk of developing a future disease. This type of genetic examination identifies the presence of one gene or more genes that may be associated with diseases that may or may not manifest in the future, such as studies of cancer-related genetic mutations, which can be detected with genes. BRCA1 / 2 or the more complete version of the genetic panel that includes 21 genes linked to the risk of developing hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.

Cons: The price of genetic mapping is very high, as already mentioned and another very important thing is that your genetic information is very valuable and it will be available to the company you hire to perform the tests. In addition, the accuracy of these exams depends on how many people are in the company database, so theoretically the bigger the company, the more accurate it can be.