|
1.
GenoChoice
This is a commercial site (notice the .com in the url) that offers parents the chance to give their children a life free of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s and even to live a life free of obesity and aggression. Doesn’t everyone want the best for their children? But does this sound too good to be true? More research is required (for example, on the hospital or the doctor) to determine if this site is legitimate or a hoax.
2. New England Journal of Medicine
This is titled “Letting the genome out of the bottle - will we get our wish?” Several clues point that this is a scholarly journal article - it has the word “journal” in the title; it has volume and date information; it is written by experts who have degrees in the subject. It would take a little more digging to determine if this is peer reviewed, but the indications so far are that this information is more scholarly and authoritative than the GenoChoice site. Reading the article, we find that commercial businesses that offer “personal genome services” are discussed with some skepticism. Reasons are given as to why these businesses should be approached with caution. References or citations to other scholarly material are provided so the reader can investigate further and determine what other researchers are writing about this topic. Interesting to note is that this is a “letter” or “perspective” piece, so it does not report the results of a scientific experiment but rather offers a point of view.
3. Gene Therapy
This is an electronic book available through the TCNJ Library Catalog. It is published by Facts on File, an educational book publisher, and written by Joseph Panno, who holds a PhD. Judging by the table of contents, it provides an extensive overview of genetic diseases, gene therapy, and the legal and ethical issues. Compared to the other sources, this source is more complete, but might be more difficult to use if you don’t have time to read an entire book, or if you lack the scientific background to understand it. It does provide an overview of the entire topic and may be helpful as an introduction.
|
