Only trouble is, there's a big difference between identifying a disease and curing it. Although the ability to study individual genes has been heralded as a remarkable advancement, it's also rife with social, ethical and technological quandaries. But other tests are being used much more extensively. Up to 100,000 Americans are thought to undergo testing each year to determine if they're carriers of cystic fibrosis. An estimated 50,000 more are tested for sickle cell disease.
Some experts believe that it's only time before genetic testing is standard practice.
Testing offers answers, but no solutions Jane Perez watches as a large needle is inserted into her very pregnant belly. It travels through muscle tissue and then finds its way into a sac of amniotic fluid that contains waste from her growing fetus. A small sample is drawn before the needle quickly retreats and Perez is told she's through for the day. Just by analyzing a few milliliters of fluid, her doctor can tell Perez with utmost certainty whether her unborn child has Down syndrome, Tay-Sachs disease or a number of other genetic disorders. Perez knows that simply because of her age, her baby is at an increased risk of having a birth defect.