To get ready for my talk with the Connecticut Geriatrics Society. I warmed up by taking 3 hours today and spending it with the Future of Genomic Medicine. Yes, that's right. Pubescent Teenagers!!!! I want to thank Dr Gerry Frumento at West Haven High School for inviting me into his classroom to talk about Ethics, Genetics, GI Joe, Genome Wide Scans, Longevity....and as one teenager put it "You Know Half Man-Half Horses"
You gotta love teenagers. They take an idea and then make a huge hyperbole. I have to list some of the great questions.
1.) Can you inject genes into my eyes and changes their color?
2.) Do you make designer babies?
3.) Is pot worse than cigarettes? (That was my favorite)
4.) Why do all this testing if we don't know what it means yet
5.) Why does this matter? I am going to be a Lawyer! (That was my second favorite. He better pay me when he lands these huge malpractices cases sure to come)
6.) Can we really live forever?
7.) If I go to medical school, do I have to touch patients?
8.) How much money do you make? (I have a nice Canali)
9.) Is it ethical to test people without knowing what it means (This question was from a really bright boy who had long hair and dressed like a rocker.)
10.) Really, how much money do you make?
There you have it. The top ten. I took dozens of questions. I just hope something sticks and that they will begin to see the power of genetics. After that interaction, I went to the Internal Medicine Department here at Yale and told them that I needed their help to get my study to the next level. With all the growth in Helix Health of Connecticut and some new projects, I am just not certain I can give good stewardship to my research. Sometimes you just need to hand over the reins, for the good of the baby!
Well, now I have to go. Imagine, a coffee shop with no electrical outlets!
The Sherpa Says: Keep Climbing.
2 comments:
Quote: "Is it ethical to test people without knowing what it means?"
That is a really good question. The answer, to me, is yes. We do it every day in every clinic and hospital in the country. Meaning, we do tests on patients every day and have results that we don't know what it means.
So, did you see any future genetic experts in that class? We all know things change over time. I wasn't going to be no genetic expert when I was a teenager (this didn't occur until I was already over 21 years old, lol).
Funny how things change as you get older, huh?
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