Behold Your Future, uh..Medically Speaking

A lot of say we would like to know the future.  But would we really?  Let's take it to the end of the future. Would you want to know how and when you'll go?

If the end of your story has a medical component, then a new technique developed by the Harvard Medical School might soon be able to "lift the veil".   It's a genetic test called "polygenic risk scoring" and it can calculate your risk of developing any of the five biggest killers decades before any symptoms show up.

Accidents, falls, car wrecks, food poisoning--none of these are predictable - yet.  But, coronary artery disease, atrial fibrillation, type 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and breast cancer show signs before they, well, show signs.

Lead study author Sekar Kathiresan explains, "We've known for long time that there are people out there at high risk for disease based just on their overall genetic variation. Now we're able to measure that risk using genomic data in a meaningful way."

Now you may not want to know the exact date and time when your number is up but researchers say that from a public health perspective, it's important to identify the higher-risk segments of the population so appropriate care can be provided.
(Daily Mail)