From Ken Green
At the moment it may seem like fun to hold your own genome sequence, but have Craig Venter and colleagues considered the task of telling someone that they will develop Parkinson’s disease, or end their life in a wheelchair, or simply await the day that their medication may fail and they might be struck down with a stroke or heart attack (12 October, p 12)?
My first heart attack seven years ago came out of the blue and I would not have had it otherwise. True, had the possibility or probability been known, my doctor would have advised various precautions. Equally, two hours before the onset of pain, I would not have been 10 metres up a large sycamore tree. But it is also true that my life would have been blighted by the knowledge.
My second heart attack was not detected until I had an angiogram this year. I now know that I need a triple-bypass operation. And I also know that my consultant considers it too risky. In fiction, foreknowledge is doubtless great fun; in real life, it is a certain path to misery. Swap places anyone?
Tintagel, Cornwall, UK
