How much would you pay to read your genome?

[OwlHoot]

The cost of reading a genome is falling all the time, and I wonder how much people here would be willing to pay to have all their genes read, or their children's.

To exclude obvious replies along the lines of "I'd wait until it cost 2p" or "£1,000,000 if I was a billionaire", please assume you were dead keen to have this done as soon as possible (if at all) and that the facility might be banned at any time, so you'd be quoting top whack or in other words the most you would or could reasonably pay with your finances as they stand and are likely to continue.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Nothing; it has no value to me whatsoever.

However, it may have value to others that would wish to discriminate against me such as insurance companies. So I would be more interested in preventing it being read.

[George Parr]

Perhaps I would if I was approaching fatherhood but not now, I woudn't really want to know that I might be in line for dementia at 60 or whatever.

What will be will be.

[OwlHoot]

Nothing; it has no value to me whatsoever.

However, it may have value to others that would wish to discriminate against me such as insurance companies. So I would be more interested in preventing it being read.

Hmm, good point.

Ok, let's assume this is anonymous, so there's no way an insurance company can get their grubby mitts on the results or even have any knowledge this exercise was done.

[RichardCranium]

What does 'read your genome' mean in this context?

[OwlHoot]

What does 'read your genome' mean in this context?

Sequence all your nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and have the result posted back to you as a large ZIP file on a DVD.

In practice, the results might also include a summary of your likely physical and mental strengths and weaknesses (as far as these can be assessed from DNA at present) and your ancestral race(s) also evident from the DNA.

[RichardCranium]

Sequence all your nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and have the result posted back to you as a large ZIP file on a DVD.

The resulting 6 gigabit file (if that's the right size) would be worthless to me as it is meaningless. I could write a program to produce one from random numbers and sell that; how would the punters be any the wiser?

In practice, the results might also include a summary of your likely physical and mental strengths and weaknesses (as far as these can be assessed from DNA at present) and your ancestral race(s) also evident from the DNA.

I can get most of that by asking questions of my parents' and grandparents' health, and by looking at myself in the mirror.


When we were on holiday on Jersey some years ago, at Jersey Goldsmiths I paid something like £5 for the missus to stand on their scales and get an A4 printout of "The Worth Of Your Weight In Gold". It was on nice heavy paper with a gilt border. It was a fun, amusing and mildly interesting ("Really? Is that all? Get some pies down your neck, girl") thing to do and so worth a few quid.

Plenty of people will spend hundreds of hours and hundreds of £ researching their past 8 generations. But with that comes the human component: how did my ancestors make a living? Where did they migrate?


You're going to need to big up the marketing on this genome product an awful lot before I'll buy. It is neither functional, nor beautiful and, therefore, does not belong in my home.

[TimberWolf]

Much of it is the same as everyone else's and other life.

[scooterscot]

Nothing; it has no value to me whatsoever.

However, it may have value to others that would wish to discriminate against me such as insurance companies. So I would be more interested in preventing it being read.

I'm already discriminated for having a lazy eye. Going to watch the 3D movie Avatar, my head was splitting, eyes severely strained afterwards. yuck.

I dread when all movies are in 3D.

Let alone having my DNA strengths and weaknesses plucked out so - it's wrong and £'s cannot be used to justify it's right.

[Pogle]

Sequence all your nuclear and mitochondrial DNA, and have the result posted back to you as a large ZIP file on a DVD.

In practice, the results might also include a summary of your likely physical and mental strengths and weaknesses (as far as these can be assessed from DNA at present) and your ancestral race(s) also evident from the DNA.

Hmm don't think I'd be interested, what if it said I had a predisposition to some really rather unpleasant disease, would that mean I'm bound to get it? Would I spend the rest of my life waiting for it?
I remember seeing the documentary on Terry Pratchet and he was at one point with a doctor and his PA asked the Dr how long Terry had before his Alzheimers took him over. Terry shouted out "Don't answer that" and the Dr didn't. I think sometimes you can know too much.
As for knowing my ancestral race, I'm blonde and pale - so I'm guessing there may be a some viking in me genes