It’s my duck in a box!
I have tried to keep my big fat pie-hole shut about the ongoing battle over regulation of personal genomics companies and instead ply you all (my seven readers!) with genomic fluff because 1) I selfishly want to save a lot of the corporate personal genomics stuff for my book; 2) plenty of other folks have weighed in; and 3) I keep waiting for the curtain to fall on this theater of the absurd. Apparently the latter is not going to happen anytime soon:
Ann Willey, director of the Office of Laboratory Policy for New York State, who is both a board-certified geneticist and a lawyer, spoke last week at CHI’s Beyond Genome conference in San Francisco. “I think of this genomic profiling paradigm…as really a star,” Willey said. “By the time we get done regulating it…we’re going to have to force it into a globe and shear off some of its sparkling and promising aspects.”
***
Willey said regulation of these companies could potentially fall into several different categories, including the practice of medicine, or a laboratory, or information management. “The jury is out, we haven’t decided what it is,” said Willey. “Once we make it a duck, it better quack like a duck. No matter what box we put it in, we put constraints on it… But we don’t want to leave them in no box, because we have no oversight.” Willey said her office regularly sends warning letters to laboratory testing facilities, from tests on human genes to microbial flora. “We’re not picking on this [genome analysis] industry. We really want to make this work.
“But I’m from the government and I can’t always help.”
Hoo wee! Really fills one with confidence, don’t it? I only wish I’d stuck around Beyond Genome long enough to see the show.
I work as an Assistant Professor in the Duke University Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy (although this site and its content are my own).
In 2007 I became the fourth subject in Harvard geneticist George Church's Personal Genome Project. As the PGP moves forward, I am chronicling the dawn of personal genomics, that is, people obtaining their genomic information for whatever reason(s) and figuring out what to do with it. I am interested in the relevant technologies and especially the attendant privacy and other ethical/legal/social issues.
This blog may also discuss some of my non-genome interests or, to paraphrase Dwight Yoakam, "Guitars, Cadillacs, hillbilly music, etc etc."
The header image comes from the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange's multimedia performance piece, "Ferocious Beauty: Genome."
June 24th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
Can’t believe I missed this one. Turns out the NYT wanted me to opine on this. Given my involvement….I had to be limited….unfortunately. I met one of my Heroes today Misha….other than you and GI Joe….this person has quite heavily influenced the landscape for me…
-Steve
www.thegenesherpa.blogspot.com
p.s. Are you sure it’s a duck…..b/c if you are that means we have a whole lot of Quacks!!!!
June 24th, 2008 at 10:43 pm
You met Jack Kevorkian?….:-)
June 25th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Nice……
BTW have you seen the Sesame Street Song with Ernie Called “Do the Rubber Duck?” Alexis amde me watch it 10 times today….ISTG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsjbEWKK8AU
Reggae Genetics?????
Do the Rubber Duck!!!!
-Steve
www.thegenesherpa.blogspot.com
June 25th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
The star-in-a-box metaphor is really a great one. Don’t worry, 23andme, y’all come on down South. I promise we won’t try to regulate you out of existence.
Dr. Murphy, I’m pretty sure the video he was referring to was this one.
Or maybe this one, I don’t know.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhwbxEfy7fg
June 25th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
For the love of God, Mr. Gunn, no more Rick Astley or you will force me to revoke your commenting privileges!
June 25th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Sorry, misha! I couldn’t help myself. That wasn’t really meant for you, but the rickroll doesn’t exactly discriminate among its victims.
June 26th, 2008 at 1:22 am
I love Astley!!!
-Steve
www.thegenesherpa.blogspot.com
June 30th, 2008 at 7:10 am
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