Gene tests raise legal and ethical questions

State stepping in to halt practices Do your personal genetics make it more likely that you could develop cancer or Alzheimer's disease? Or do you need a personalized nutrition plan because your genetic profile shows you are unable to absorb certain vitamins properly? Workers processed genetic test kits sold by Navigenics, a company based in Redwood Shores. A growing number of companies around the globe are offering to provide the answers to these questions and more by selling direct-to-consumer genetic tests. The companies are trying to capitalize on rapid advances in the study of human genetics, the chain of chemicals that dictates everything from eye and hair color to a propensity for specific diseases. As the science has progressed, the price of analyzing an individual's genetic map, or genome, has fallen to the point that... [read full story]