Incredible advance or major attack on individual freedom? The tests that will decode the genome of each of us will soon be cheap and over the counter.
The marketing of a genome sequencing test for less than 200 euros has gone almost unnoticed, while in this novelty there are all the ingredients of a real medical bomb.
The story begins at the end of the 90s. A fanfare announcement by President Clinton, giving American medical research unlimited funds to determine the exact sequence of each of the three billion letters of the genetic code that make up a human genome. The secret of life, at least of the individual barcode that manages all the cells made by the body; the Clintonian version of “We choose to go to the moon …” by JF Kennedy in September 1961; a gamble just as megalomaniac, just as difficult, but just as successful, since it will only take a few years – billions of dollars later – to discover, in 2003, the complete sequencing of the genome of a first man. From the outset, a very commented dossier… In fact, since 1900 and the discovery of the laws of heredity determining the behavior of genes and chromosomes, the fight between the innate and the acquired has raged. Is there a genetic basis for everything: class, sexuality, IQ, crime, or mental illness? Sequencing had to provide part of the answer.
The first surprise is that he puts man in his place and reaffirms the importance of what has been learned: of course, we are at the top of the scale of species on the planet, but with a relatively small amount of genes. We have less of it than many other animal and plant species, less than a grain of rice for example, and we share 95% of it with our closest relative, the chimpanzee. We hoped to discover the genes responsible for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s or infarction. Disappointment, the sequencing only gives trends, not much more precise than what can be observed by the parents, brothers or sisters. The interest of this examination, however, is to group the results together in a more systematic and quantified manner, with the possibility of acting on the environment. We can predict the tendency to obesity, diabetes or heart attack, or the reaction of each to alcohol … But it is impossible to replace defective genes.
This first decoding will however have an immediate positive practical consequence: the possibility of designing specific drugs and predicting their effectiveness; the level entry into this modern medicine, reserved for those who can afford to have à la carte services. But the key to entering this world, which seemed inaccessible a few months ago, will be made available to whoever wants it, for less than… three hundred euros. In 24 hours, without pain, from a simple cell sample with a cotton swab. Tens of thousands of candidates will be able to benefit from what appeared to be science fiction. Voices are raised against this possibility; in particular that of Axel Kahn, the famous French geneticist. He points to the misuse of this “mine” of intimate and personalized information and the use that insurers or employers could make of it …
However, these few ethical remarks should not weigh heavily in the face of the colossal market of the “want to know” and the more ethically defensible market of the management of targeted drugs, already developed, overpriced and that we do not know. not yet fully use.
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