23andMe

Senator Elizabeth Warren

You’ve all heard of Senator Elizabeth Warren, a front runner for the Democratic presidential nomination and an unswattable black fly inside Donald Trump’s shorts.  Trump refers to her as Pocahontas, because she once claimed Native American heritage to qualify for some political/academic/financial advantage.  All goes to show that even Progressive icons can have feet of clay; if Senator Warren is part Native American than I am a full-blooded Maori.  Maybe a Mohawk chief once kissed her great aunt on the forehead, but that’s as far as it goes.

I bring this up because the FDA has just approved 23andMe as a reliable source of genetic testing for BRCA mutations.  The cost seems to be a bit less than $200, but as the web article (below) indicates their analysis may not be of much use.  Other sources of genetic information are described.  Your best bet: a genetics counselor. 

   

Oh, why Elizabeth Warren?  Well, it is being suggested that she take a genetics test to verify her Native American heritage.  She refuses.

https://www.acsh.org/news/2018/03/12/fda-approves-23andme-cancer-test-brca-genes-12686

'Tis a Puzzlement

Okay, now, all you young and aggressively liberal folks, no yelling at me, or even indulging in private tut tutting and shaking of heads.  This is just a FOF confronting the modern world – and getting a chuckle out of it.’

Two days ago I had reason to seek assistance from the local (Borrego Springs) medical clinic.  Oblivious to the fact that they have dealt with me every year for at least 12 years, they required me to fill out new-patient forms, which ran on for five pages.  I was particularly taken by two questions.

Gender: My choices were Male, Female, Male to female transgender, Female to male transgender, Male trans man, Female trans woman (these last two I don’t understand), Genderqueer, and Other (please specify)

Sexual orientation: Straight, Lesbian, Gay or homosexual, bisexual, Refused to reply, Unknown, and, of course, Other (please specify).

All I can say is that the world is a much more complicated place today than when I was a kid.

Genderqueer?