Dude, I could not agree more.

I think it would be a good idea to create a set of guidelines for the responsible use of new tests for genetics and traits.

So for example, this would include


  • Testing the technology to make sure it's generally safe under a given set of conditions
  • In the case of things like DNA tests for [insert trait], recognizing that results from early tests will be more likely to be of lower quality. So initial results should be interpreted with extreme caution and should not used for making decisions.
  • All results of new tests should be supported with very strong evidence from older and better-understood methods.
  • Testers should use a variety of analysis methods on data from new tests. In particular, a p-value is not enough. That last phrase describes my philosophy WRT science experiments.