Wednesday, June 6, 2012

DNA Blueprint for Fetus Built Using Samples From Parents

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/health/tests-of-parents-are-used-to-map-genes-of-a-fetus.html?hp
    
     The article was written on June 6, 2012 by Andrew Pollack. For the first time ever, researchers came up with a way to virtually determine the entire genome of a fetus. They do this by using only a blood sample from the pregnant woman and a saliva specimen from the father. This allows parents to know the complete DNA blueprint of their child way before it is born. Thousands of diseases will be able to be detected. But this new accomplishments may raise ethical concerns because parents my call for abortions for reasons that aren't necessarily legit. Also the cost of doing one fetal genome ranges from $20,000 to $50,0000. Which is A LOT of money.

     I did enjoy the article because it was another example of how technology is increasing and advancing at such a rapid rate. To be able to know the full DNA blueprint of a baby way before it is born is truly amazing. I remember when people were excited just to know the sex of the baby when they created ultrasound. The article was well written and the reason I chose this article was because the title caught my eye. The fact that they used "Blueprint for Fetus" made it seem like they were making a clone or something.

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