New Technologies: Ethics of Genomics

Genetic information differs from basic medical information not only because of its predictive value for disease and behavior but also because the impact of knowledge of an individual's genetic information may extend to family, future generations, and the community. Genomics extends the study of genetic information to the whole genome exacerbating the many ethical and legal issues inherent to use of genetic information. The combination of genomics and public health promises enormous benefits for improving health of populations, but genomics used on a population-wide basis also brings potential concerns such as the greatly increased burden of counseling and therapeutic intervention. © 2008 Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/2560098