tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post5996699153424158267..comments2024-02-29T03:57:00.088-05:00Comments on The Mermaid's Tale: The efficacy of predicting gene predictionAnne Buchananhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-22517552314988301392010-04-06T10:11:46.298-04:002010-04-06T10:11:46.298-04:00Collins says in the Nature piece, "The promis...Collins says in the Nature piece, "The promise of a revolution in human health remains quite real." <br /><br />But this is nothing new. Mega-spending on human genetics has long been justified as expenditure that won't be good for us, or for our children, but that will benefit our grandchildren. This is a statement of faith, and we are asked to take it on faith as well. <br /><br />But, it means essentially that we can expect no accountability for how this money is spent, as the promised pay off can always be said to be far in the future, too far for any of us to see. And that is troubling.Anne Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09212151396672651221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1812431336777691886.post-10816876177945051852010-04-06T09:05:34.609-04:002010-04-06T09:05:34.609-04:00I want to add an afterthought. No endeavor as hug...I want to add an afterthought. No endeavor as huge as what Collins has lead and advocated would be devoid of successes. And a scientist, like any human, can be excused for dreaming of glories and greatness, and of commitment to his/her idea.<br /><br />The problem is that this is major and ongoing public funding based on promised results. While after the fact one can always single out things that worked, that is not the appropriate measure of the worth of the investment.<br /><br />One more appropriate measure is accountability of results relative to promise. Nobody expects perfect, but one should expect major results from major, long-term funding.<br /><br />A second measure is difficult to make--but is almost never applied though it should always be applied. That is: what _else_ could have been done with the same funds, and might it have had greater success? Here the answer is at least somewhat clear: most disease and public health problems are not due to genetic variation. They are due to many factors that can be called 'environmental'.<br /><br />But once vested interests are in place, as they are here, it is unlikely that the ship of interests will be turned. Thus, Dr Collins continues to promise a pot of gold, only now the rainbow he wants us to chase is larger, longer-term, and much more expensive.<br /><br />That's why a better analysis of what we've done, where we are, and where we should be going--in relation to the source and objective of the funding support--is warranted.Ken Weisshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02049713123559138421noreply@blogger.com