Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
'Spit Parties:' Social Networking Gattaca-Style
Spit parties will soon be all the rage among upscale New Yorkers, according to genetic testing firm 23andMe.
Here's how it works: At the party, you are presented with a small vial with an attached funnel. While salivating over party hors d'oeuvres, you gracefully expectorate a small volume of genetic material into the small vial. This material is then submitted to the testing company, which, for just $399, performs a DNA analysis. A month or so later, you receive the results.
(Spit Party just getting started)
You might be surprised at the variety of information available. 23andMe claims to provide information about more than 80 diseases, conditions and traits that might describe you. In addition, information about your genetic heritage, including the continental origins of your line, utilizing the latest research. The company claims to fund the genotyping of more than 50 ethnic groups worldwide to make sure that a diverse population is used for comparison.
Even better, customers are encouraged to share their results via their online datasheets. Your data is rigorously protected with encryption and regular security audits, which should help a lot after you've shared it with Paris, Britney's mom and the rest of your friends.
(Spit Party data presentation)
It's too bad that this information can't be made available quicker, like maybe the very night of the party. If somebody can come up with immediate automated DNA typing, that might be possible.
The ability of companies to perform checks of your DNA that give details on possible medical conditions and other traits you have, along with your ancestry, combined with the encouraged social setting, is uncomfortably close to the milieu from the movie Gattica.
(Gattaca: Can the imperfect mix socially with the perfect?)
In the film, social strata and work relationships are strictly organized along genetic lines; the people whose DNA is found to be "perfect" are discouraged from socializing with people whose DNA doesn't measure up.
Once hooked on genetic insight into yourself and your friends, you might want to subscribe to their classy blog the Spittoon for the latest information.
From 23andMe.com via NYTimes. Thanks also to Moira for submitting her material on this story.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/17/2008)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 1 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...' - Charles Recour, 1949.
Brain Implant Is Able To Capture Your Inner Dialogue
'So you see, you can hide nothing from me.'
'Pregnancy Humanoids' From China Replace Moms
'A great many of these synthetic babies were made...' - David H. Keller, 1928.
Bacteria Turns Plastic Into Pain Relief? That Gives Me An Idea.
'I guess there's nobody round this table who doesn't have a Crosswell [tapeworm] working for him in the small intestine.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Natural Gait With Prosthetic Connected To Nervous System
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain...'
Woman Marries Computer, Vonnegut's Dream Comes True
'Men are made of protoplasm... Lasts forever.'
Spidery 'Walk Me' Toyota Autonomous Wheel Chair Like Star Wars
Walk along with the emperor.
Dancing Robots Taught Dance Moves
'A clockwork figure would be the thing for you...'
Proof Of Robothood - Not A Person
'Who are you people? - Show 'em.'
Indonesian Clans Battle
'The observation vehicle was of that peculiar variety used in conveying a large number of people across rough terrain.'
The 'Last Mile' In China Crowded With Delivery Robots
Yes, it's a delivery robot. On wheels.
Tornyol Microdrone Kills Mosquitoes
'The real border was defended by... a swarm of quasi-independent aerostats.'
PLATO Spacecraft, Hunter Of Habitable Planets, Now Ready
'I ... set my automatic astronomical instruments to searching for a habitable planet.'
Factory Humanoid Robots Built By Humanoid Robots
'...haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'
iPhone Air Fulfils Jobs' Promise From 2007 - A Giant Screen!
'... oblongs were all over the floor and surfaces.'
ChatGPT Now Participates in Group Chats
'...the city was their laboratory in human psychology.'
iPhone Pocket All Sold Out!
'A long, strong, slender net...'
Did The Yautja Have These First?
What a marvel of ingenuity the little device was!
Jetson ONE Air Races Begin, Can Air Polo Be Far Behind?
'If you're one of those rarities who haven't attended a rocket-polo "carnage", let me tell you it's a colorful affair.'
Will Space Stations Have Large Interior Spaces Again?
'They filed clumsily into the battleroom, like children in a swimming pool for the first time, clinging to the handholds along the side.'
