It’s been all over the news lately that companies are beginning to test peoples’ genes in order to determine whether or not they are predisposed to certain diseases or traits. Atlas Sports Genetics has recently offered a test to determine whether or not a child will be the next olympic gold medalist.

I’ll start by saying that genes do not determine everything. However, they can set limits or give advantages. In testing whether or not a child is athletic, Atlas Sports Genetics is actually testing to see what variation of the ACTN3 gene, which is involved in muscle contractions. One version of the gene has an association with sprint athletes, while the other version of the gene was not seen in these athletes. It is true, the test may prove to be quite telling for these children.

While I am supportive of using this information, I would never use Atlas Sports Genetics. The particular method of testing for this ACTN3 gene involves determining which single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) your child has at position 66,084,671 of his or her 11th chromosome. Being that there are two copies of the gene, you are actually looking for two polymorphisms. The particular polymorphism is called rs1815739. A detail record of this SNP can be found on SNPedia (along with literally millions of other SNPs).

My problem with Atlas Sports Genetics is that they are charging $150 to test one SNP when you can pay $250 more at 23andMe to get 500,000 SNPs tested. That’s a half of a tenth of a penny more for each extra SNP. Instead of finding out whether or not you have a version of a gene that tenuously suggests you will be a better sprinter, you can also find out whether or not you are predisposed to autism, alzheimers, depression, or other such illnesses. The data from the 23andMe test is so powerful, you can even trace where and when your genes came from.

Even with a positive result from Atlas Sports Genetics, unless you keep your kid away from too much McDonald’s and on a steady diet of your dreams for the gold, he’s probably not going to the olympics. I wouldn’t say that it’s a bad test or a waste of time, but when the service is more cost efficient elsewhere, I can’t keep my mouth shut.

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