Not Everyone Is Going to Freak Out

At his blog Epidemix, Thomas Goetz makes a case against California and New York’s cease-and-desist letters to personal genomics companies by saying that this will harm the public's health. He says that the small subset of individuals who might overreact to the tests is far outnumbered by those who will use the information wisely. Plus, adding a doctor to the mix would just drag things out, delaying people from getting the information they need to act early to prevent disease, he argues. "A fundamental principle of public health is awareness -- give citizens information earlier so that they can avoid putting themselves at risk."