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Or a simple and "ethical" explanation - make sure partner you are getting offspring with has DNA that minimizes chance of inheritable diseases. If everyone foll

Or a simple and "ethical" explanation - make sure partner you are getting offspring with has DNA that minimizes chance of inheritable diseases. If everyone follows same logic in a few generations inheritable diseases would be less dominant. In particular let's look at OP's example - he has mutations in different genes, so he is not is risk group for the disease that 23andme mistakenly reported him for. However if he would have an an offspring with someone who has complementary mutation in same genes, the offspring would stand much higher chance of inheriting that disease.

figglesonrails 13y ago
I don't know about you, but it's rather hard to ensure that your partner has the "right mix". It's hard enough to secure a mate as is! :) Instead, I suppose the suggestion would, "Well, go adopt!", which is a less than satisfactory answer for probably like 99.9% of all of the public, seeing as how nobody bothers to get a "genetic checkup" before they reproduce, and we're pretty much wired to prefer our own offspring to others when it comes to parental investment. All in all, the only context I've ever really heard these sorts of conversations in seem to be surrounding people who have terrible conditions that they are afraid of passing on, not two otherwise healthy individuals who have no idea whether or not their offspring could inherit some kind of genetic disorder that it latent in them. Yes, that is the problem isn't it? Also, given the amount [read:lack] of effort in "planning" that some people seem to put into reproduction, I wouldn't be surprised if this remains the problem...forever.
- TrainedMonkey 13y ago
  Is it? Fundamentally this is just a search problem. Pair up 23andme with a dating site and match only people with below certain threshold of possibility* of an offspring having genetically inherited diseases. * Let's say on average you have 10% chance of having your child inherit something bad. If you show only partners that have this value halved over time you will see a positive trend.

figglesonrails 13y ago

I don't know about you, but it's rather hard to ensure that your partner has the "right mix". It's hard enough to secure a mate as is! :) Instead, I suppose the suggestion would, "Well, go adopt!", which is a less than satisfactory answer for probably like 99.9% of all of the public, seeing as how nobody bothers to get a "genetic checkup" before they reproduce, and we're pretty much wired to prefer our own offspring to others when it comes to parental investment. All in all, the only context I've ever really heard these sorts of conversations in seem to be surrounding people who have terrible conditions that they are afraid of passing on, not two otherwise healthy individuals who have no idea whether or not their offspring could inherit some kind of genetic disorder that it latent in them. Yes, that is the problem isn't it? Also, given the amount [read:lack] of effort in "planning" that some people seem to put into reproduction, I wouldn't be surprised if this remains the problem...forever.

TrainedMonkey 13y ago
Is it? Fundamentally this is just a search problem. Pair up 23andme with a dating site and match only people with below certain threshold of possibility* of an offspring having genetically inherited diseases. * Let's say on average you have 10% chance of having your child inherit something bad. If you show only partners that have this value halved over time you will see a positive trend.