Personalized Perspectives

A thorough discussion about personal genomics — what it means for the average consumer, the health care system, and the research community — often raises more questions than it answers. While the public discourse on genetic privacy can be traced back to the days of the Human Genome Project, only recently has a new era been ushered in — thanks to the steady decrease in the cost of DNA sequencing — with promises of a tailor-made approach to medical treatment and new discoveries from rich genetic data sets.