Everyday, doctors and researchers are finding associations between diseases and different genes.
What if these research findings are pooled together in a searchable global database?
What if there is a tool which any human being on earth can use to compare his own genetic variations to the above database?
If this is made possible, with very little money spent, we can find out a lot about ourselves. This may lead to significant and sometimes life changing discoveries.
For example if sensitivity to a life threatening drug is found out, this simple information can save a person's life. If we know about what all diseases we are susceptible to, we can modify our lifestyles in order to prevent those. Even susceptibility to various cancers can be found out. People who get in the results as more prone to develop mental illnesses like schizophrenia can be given special care to prevent those.
Well, I am not talking about a distant dream.
SNPedia is a wikipedia for SNPs or Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms which represent genetic variabilities in human beings and their relationship with various diseases and their susceptibilities, drug sensitivities, physical characteristics etc.
And promethease is a literature retrieval system that builds a personal DNA report based on connecting a file of DNA genotypes to the scientific findings cited in SNPedia.
Here is an experiment that I did.
I sent my cheek swab and got my genetic mapping done from a genealogy website called myheritage.com
Here is a tutorial on how to do it
When the results were ready, I downloaded my raw DNA data as a zip file from the same site.
I then uploaded this zip file to promethease
Here is another tutorial which demonstrates the steps to follow at Promethease.
At the end of the process, I received a very extensive and detailed report about various parameters of my own body, mind and personality.
The result though extensively scientific, was no less spiritual.
Because, isn't knowing more about oneself the best knowledge in the world?
