Why Is Genetic Testing Good?
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Significance
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Genes contain the coding information for everything we inherit from our parents and ancestors. This includes information about our appearance, personality, genetic disease risk, disease carrier status and ancestry.
Effects
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Genetics have changed the way we look at many scientific fields. Genealogy is a rapidly growing field greatly affected by genetic testing, which can help determine information about where ancestors came from.
Considerations
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Genetic testing has been particularly beneficial for potential parents, as they can test to see if they are a carrier of any genetic diseases they could pass on to their children.
Benefits
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Genetic testing can predict whether you're at increased risk for inheriting certain genetic diseases. If you're at increased risk for a disease, you can control environmental risk factors and be aware of early symptoms to treat the disease as soon as possible.
Warning
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While genetic testing has numerous benefits, you will likely want to speak to a genetic counselor before you receive your results.
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