Morgan BellYour DNA could help you pick out a hot date
September 15th 2008 04:15
Wired.com has an insightful article to go with this picture, an article about a company that proposes to match couples based on DNA.
It's just small change, so it's a unique, laughable idea that seems fun to try - who would your DNA match you up with? A supermodel? An olympic swimmer? A Repo Man?
"People may naturally be attracted to mates with HLA profiles different from their own, ostensibly guaranteeing the hybrid vigor of their offspring's immune systems -- and also providing a spark that will last through good times and bad.
"Proper age, similar life goals and ideas, education levels -- all of these things have to fit. And on top of that, you need to be biologically compatible," said Tamara Brown, managing director of GenePartner."
"Proper age, similar life goals and ideas, education levels -- all of these things have to fit. And on top of that, you need to be biologically compatible," said Tamara Brown, managing director of GenePartner."
It's an interesting idea, especially as research suggests that there may be hidden aspects of attraction other than just physical beauty.
But do you want to base your dating life on it? I wouldn't think so...
...I'm reminded of the movie "Gattaca", where children are tweaked as embryos to have the best possible genetic combinations. Naturally born children are despised as genetically inferior, creating a two-class society... the idea is abhorrent to us now, but genetic dating could be one step in that direction.
"Asked about the earlier studies, Penn said, "This is a problem of science: You get selective citations." Studies that don't support earlier findings tend to be overlooked, and don't appear in prominent journals or atop database rankings.
"There's a handful of positive studies, but there's a lot of negative," he said.
Of scientific doubts and Gattaca-inspired fears, Brown replied, "They can make use of it now, or they can wait until it gets established. They just have to keep in mind it might mean they'll have to wait longer until they've found the person to share their life with."
Brown herself was married before the algorithm was finalized.
"Of course I did the test, and it came out good. As we expected it would," she said."
"There's a handful of positive studies, but there's a lot of negative," he said.
Of scientific doubts and Gattaca-inspired fears, Brown replied, "They can make use of it now, or they can wait until it gets established. They just have to keep in mind it might mean they'll have to wait longer until they've found the person to share their life with."
Brown herself was married before the algorithm was finalized.
"Of course I did the test, and it came out good. As we expected it would," she said."
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