ABSTRACT
Science promises enormous public benefit, but simultaneously threatens significant social harm. Genomics is no exception to the enigmatic prospects of science. Genomics, the study and application of genetic information, can identify asymptomatic individuals who are at risk of becoming ill or of transmitting inheritable illnesses to their children. In principle, people who test positively for potentially disabling genes could take various kinds of prophylactic measures to slow or stop manifestations of disease. At the same time, however, predictive genetic testing could make unprecedented numbers of asymptomatic people vulnerable to the kind of work-place discrimination usually targeted at people with detectable disabilities.
