Would You Want to Know How You Might Die?

I’m not sure that I do. I was reading a href=”http://www.wired.com/medtech/genetics/magazine/15-12/ff_genomics”the cover story /aof a recent copy of a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005N7TL?ie=UTF8tag=wwwviolentkicomlinkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=B00005N7TL”emWired/em magazine/aimg src=”http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=wwwviolentkicoml=as2o=1a=B00005N7TL” width=”1″ height=”1″ border=”0″ alt=”” style=”border:none !important; margin:0px !important;” / about a new DNA test that can tell you how you’ll live–and die. The cost? Only $1000. The writer of the article at emWired/em took the DNA test which involves sending a saliva sample in a Fedex package to a company called a href=”https://www.23andme.com/”23andME/a which was founded by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki (of Google fame):br /br /blockquoteThe experience is simultaneously unsettling, illuminating, and empowering. And now it’s something anyone can have for about $1,000. This winter marks the birth of a new industry: Companies will take a sample of your DNA, scan it, and tell you about your genetic future, as well as your ancestral past. A much-anticipated Silicon Valley startup called 23andMe offers a thorough tour of your genealogy, tracing your DNA back through the eons. Sign up members of your family and you can track generations of inheritance for traits like athletic endurance or bitter-taste blindness. The company will also tell you which diseases and conditions are associated with your genes — from colorectal cancer to lactose intolerance — giving you the ability to take preventive action. A second company, called Navigenics, focuses on matching your genes to current medical research, calculating your genetic risk for a range of diseases./blockquotebr /br /While I would be fascinated to get a tour of my genealogy and find out where I got this contrarian streak, I am not so sure I would want to know what diseases are lurking for me in the future. I would find that more than unsettling.br /br /What about you? Would you want to know what diseases are lurking in your future?