[ExI] before?

[William Flynn Wallace]

On Sat, Apr 2, 2016 at 12:41 PM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:

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> *From:* extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org] *On
> Behalf Of *John Clark
> *Sent:* Saturday, April 02, 2016 10:29 AM
> *To:* ExI chat list <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>
> *Subject:* Re: [ExI] before?
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> On Sat, Apr 2, 2016 at 11:58 AM, spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:
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> For almost ten years now, a means has existed whereby gene sequencing can
> be done on a sampling basis, the way 23andMe and AncestryDNA are doing, for
> a cost of mid-two digit numbers.  Think how simple it would be for funeral
> homes to snip off a tiny piece of toenail, drop it in a ziplock and file it
> away
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> ​>…No need to wait till somebody is dead. A healthy human sheds about 10
> skin cells a second into the air each with a complete record of the
> person's genome, ​if there was a few hundred dollar gadget that could
> recover those airborne cells and sequence their DNA, and no doubt there
> will be in a few years, then laws against the practice would be even less
> effective than laws against marijuana use.
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>  John K Clark
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> No need to wait a few years John.  You can already sequence DNA using a
> skin sample if you know what you are doing.  You don’t recover the skin
> cells out of the air, but a swipe across the skin can probably do it.  I
> collected a person’s DNA on her deathbed using a cheek swab.  The 100
> dollar kits don’t care what kind of cells it is reading: spit has skin
> cells in it, a bandage would have them, a hair sample would have them, a
> blood sample, a semen sample, I’m not sure about urine but probably would
> since the bladder sheds cells.  AncestryDNA and 23andMe can read them all.
> You are not required to tell them what kind of cell it is or how you
> obtained it.
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> Any time now I am fully expecting a DNA sample someone will claim is
> Chelsea Clinton’s baby.  Then the whole world will be talking about what we
> are discussing right now.
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> spike
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> ​INsurance companies are in no danger of going broke.  But they will
> reject people and I am one of them.  I am uninsurable. Oh, they will sell
> me a life insurance policy for about $500 a month for the cheapest policy.
> They know of my cancer diagnoses or it would be a lot lower.
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​Is it really fair for a person, say a male whose fathers and grandfathers
and brothers etc. all died of heart problems before the age of 50, to pay
the same as someone else?  More risk, more premium.  In any event,
insurance ought to be for catastrophic situations and not a method of
saving​.

I'll add this:  no one should have to go bankrupt because of high medical
bills.  It happens a lot even with Medicare and Medicaid.

bill w

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