Reading Genes for Disease, Part 4: Dilemmas

NPR | By Joe Palca,

Linda Wertheimer

Published May 30, 2004 at 12:00 AM EDT

Tests that can reveal a person's risk of a disease are an advance of modern medicine. But they are also perceived as a double-edged sword: The ability to diagnose a disease or to predict its arrival has outstripped the ability to treat it.

In the conclusion of a four-part series on genetic testing, NPR's Linda Wertheimer talks with NPR's Joe Palca about the various dilemmas the medical tests pose: from personal choices to the reactions of insurance companies and employers.

Joe Palca

Joe Palca is a science correspondent for NPR.

See stories by Joe Palca

Linda Wertheimer

As NPR's senior national correspondent, Linda Wertheimer travels the country and the globe for NPR News, bringing her unique insights and wealth of experience to bear on the day's top news stories.

See stories by Linda Wertheimer

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