What You Should Know Before You Spit Into That Test Tube
PRINT
EMAIL
TEXT:
SHAREJeffrey Gulcher had no reason to think much about prostate cancer. He was just 48, and the disease typically strikes later in life. Even the most cautious medical groups agree that most men need not begin annual prostate screenings until age 50.
But Gulcher happens to be the chief scientific officer of deCODE Genetics -- one of several companies that, amid some controversy, have begun offering direct-to-consumer DNA tests that can help people predict which diseases they are likely to get. So in April, he spat into a test tube and, without giving the matter much thought, sent the sample in for analysis by his own company.
Read more here.
This article was originally published in The Washington Post.
To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact:
For print, John Neurohr, Deputy Press Secretary
202.481.8182 or jneurohr@americanprogress.org
For radio, Andrea Purse, Deputy Director of Media Strategy
202.446.8429 or apurse@americanprogress.org
For TV, Sean Gibbons, Director of Media Strategy
202.682.1611 or sgibbons@americanprogress.org
For web, Erin Lindsay, Online Marketing Manager
202.741.6397 or elindsay@americanprogress.org