"Spit-Kit"

What do you suppose would be the reaction to a news headline that an insurance company is undertaking the largest DNA study ever launched, and will share the results, along with the patients’ EMR data, to researchers?  While we might imagine the screams, Kaiser Permanente is doing exactly that-using a “spit kit” to collect samples from 100,000 of its subscribers so UCSF researchers can carry out “Gene Chip” analysis for 700,000 SNP variations-funded under a $25m stimulus fund grant from NIH.  Some may claim widespread genetic testing is a radical departure, but in reality, universal neonatal genetic screening in the US, using the Guthrie Card blood sample, has been in place for a generation.  MORE

Image  Credit:  Kaiser Permanente and Technology Review