Genetic testing continues to emerge in the direct-to-consumer market.

• Author: Biton, Adva
• Position: Around Utah

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Salt Lake City -- Practical use of genetics has long seemed to exist in only in the world of science fiction. Superhero movies tell us that gene-splicing is as easy as getting bit by a spider, or that finding criminals is a breeze with the help of DNA evidence (always conveniently found, always instantly analyzed).

While reality still does not measure up to the promises of Hollywood, the field of genetics is quickly becoming more accessible to the average layperson. Ever since the Human Genome Project was declared complete in 2003, many have been waiting breathlessly for the next step in genome therapy-personalized medicine on a whole new level.

Companies like 23andMe are trying to give people a chance to take a look at their own genome-for idle curiosity, medical knowledge like health risk factors or carrier status, ancestry information, pharmaco-genetics (i.e. learning whether a drug is more likely to work for you, depending on your genetic makeup) or wellness.

How does it work? Order a kit, spit in a tube and mail it back to the company. The saliva is analyzed, and then in six to eight weeks, the company emails you with a report regarding your DNA.

During his keynote address at the Utah Healthcare Solutions Summit, Scott Matthews, vice president of business development, wellness for 23ANDME, showed an example of how such a service could work for a consumer: A patient who used 23andMe discovered she had a higher likelihood of being lactose intolerant, thereby solving a nearly 40-year-old mystery as to why she would get intermittent stabbing pains in her stomach. Matthews himself found he has a genetic variation that makes him more susceptible to a higher BMI than others if he eats saturated fats.

This knowledge, said Matthews, empowers people in various ways. First, it allows people to make decisions about their health-diet in some cases, family planning in the cases of those who find out they are carriers for particular diseases. Second, it gives people a platform upon which to interact with the science of genetics and understand it better. As the field develops, that base knowledge makes for a better-informed population base.

The regulatory environment for genetics, like the field itself, is still in a state of evolution. The FDA, said Matthews, is firm that medical...