New Scientist's Peter Aldhous says that "regulation could save genome scanning, not kill it," in a recent article. Aldhous argues that the recent "bruising" US Government Accountability Office hearing "doesn't have to be the end of the industry." In fact, he says, it could improve it if the firms "embrace sensible regulation." Aldhous also suggests that the Food and Drug Administration — if it deals regulation without too heavy a hand — "could help move the industry into the mainstream."
Meanwhile, ScienceRoll's Bertalan Meskó has posted a conversation with the president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, Elizabeth Kearney. Kearney tells Meskó that "the NSGC would support regulation that requires the involvement of a qualified healthcare provider in ordering, interpreting, and delivering genetic information." Kearney also says that those who elect to purchase genetic testing ought to contact a genetic counselor beforehand. "The drawback of waiting to contact a genetic counselor until after ordering testing is that you may pay for genetic testing that is not helpful in answering your specific questions or may reveal alarming information that you weren't expecting to receive," she tells Meskó.