Is it true that you can test your child's talent with spit for 5 thousand yuan?

Which interest class is suitable for the doll's talent? Recently, there seems to be a "high-tech" solution to this problem that bothers parents-a genetic test that claims to find children's natural advantages has begun to be popular among parents.

A spit or a tube of blood sample is sent to the company, and the innate potential of the child can be discovered through gene sequencing technology. The price of this kind of "high-tech fortune telling" ranges from a few hundred yuan cheaper to tens of thousands more expensive. Is expensive genetic testing reliable? Why is it suddenly popular with parents? A survey by Chengdu Business Daily reporter found that although the concept of genetic testing is popular in the market, its application in non-clinical fields has not been supported by scientific research.

In an interview, several experts in related fields pointed out that the genetic testing of talents is an over-interpretation of the correlation between genes and talents, all in order to make money.

situation

5 180 yuan tests 7 aptitude tendencies.

Extract oral endometrial cells and send the samples to the seller.

Ms. Liu's daughter attended the training course of Malbien Early Education Center. Not long ago, two staff members came to the center to do a talent test for the doll for free with simple equipment: as long as the fingerprints of ten fingers are printed on the equipment, you can understand the current brain development of the doll; If you want more accurate test results, you can make two packages: 7 items of talent tendency or 5 items of personality tendency. However, the package is self-funded and the price is 5 180 yuan. Talking about this among parents, Ms. Liu found that this is not a case of an early education center. Several early education centers in the city claim that genetic testing can be done through a third party, and parents are advised to discover their children's talents as soon as possible and teach them in accordance with their aptitude.

The reporter searched for "natural genetic test" on an online shopping platform, and found that the prices of related products ranged from 350 yuan to 69,800 yuan, claiming to test children's IQ, EQ, art, sports and other talents. Advertisements such as "advanced parenting choices" and "giving children a happier and better way to grow up" can be seen everywhere.

Although expensive, the test procedure is not complicated. After online payment, the seller will mail the cell collector, and the buyer will extract the oral endometrial cells according to the instruction manual and send the samples to the seller. Usually within 7 working days, the seller will feed back the test report and provide interpretation.

The reporter contacted "Early Know" Chengdu Education Technology Co., Ltd., which provides testing services for many early education centers in the city. However, the reporter's investigation found that this company is only an intermediary, and the report sample provided by general manager Wei Xiaohe came from a company called Huaxia Gene Health Management Group. "Early Know" is the agent of Huaxia Gene in Chengdu. It has been more than two years since it entered the Chengdu market.

report

A 65-page sample

The ability to analyze memory, artistic and musical talent, etc.

"Because it is expensive, Chengdu's parents have made less than 100 people in the past two years, but this is the most advanced genetic technology." Wei Xiaohe took out a sample report and introduced it to reporters. The reporter noticed that this 65-page sample report is a comprehensive version of two types of packages, in which sexual orientation includes IQ and learning ability, mathematics ability, language and writing ability, creativity, memory, artistic and musical talent, and sports talent; Personality tendency includes extroversion, emotional stability, openness, easygoing and conscientious. In addition to various forms, there are also English references in the report. The contents of the forms are all letters.

In the list of molecular test results, the test results and genotype changes are obtained by listing the genes related to the test items. At the same time, the report provides the ability ranking as a reference. By comparing the test results of the samples in the ability ranking table, we can know how talented the samples are. For example, in the report, in order to test children's spatial memory, the related gene of the test item CPE 1 12-0 1 is BDNF, the test result is CT, and the gene change is C/T, due to the ability ranking of CC >; CT & gtTT, it can be concluded that the child's spatial memory is average.

At the same time, Wei Xiaohe provided a propaganda film about talent gene testing, claiming that gene testing is a scientific means to detect talent-related genes. Through mature genetic testing technology, hidden talents can be detected. Through the analysis of the results, we can find out the innate potential, strengths and weaknesses of children as early as possible, so as to give scientific guidance and teach students in accordance with their aptitude. "Early detection, early training and early success."

Can the test results prove it? Wei Xiaohe told reporters that parents used to bring dolls to test. Just two years ago, it was difficult to see the future development trend of children. The observation period will accompany the growth of the doll for more than ten years.

How can parents be willing to pay if they can't see the effect? Wei Xiaohe revealed that talent genetic testing is aimed at parents' trust in "high technology", mainly through kindergartens and early education centers; At the same time, parents who have purchased this project will get a commission of 10% for each genetic testing project promoted and sold to friends.

expert

Clinically, it is only used to detect single gene diseases.

Consumer-grade genetic testing can only be "entertainment"

Does the detection of related gene mutations mean that dolls have related talents? Herry Liu (a pseudonym), a young scholar at Karolinska Medical College in Sweden, told reporters that from a group perspective, the human genome mutates all the time, and mutation is the internal driving force of biological evolution, which is often meaningless. At the individual level, everyone's genome is roughly the same, so it is nonsense to predict talent performance by detecting a single mutation. DNA bases are mainly composed of ATCG, and all human gene sequences are various combinations of ATCG. For example, the CT in the sample report is the sequencing result of detecting specific sites, and the ranking of capabilities such as CC & gtCT & gtTT is completely determined by the merchants themselves, which is not the practice in the research field.

"The role that each locus can explain is too small." Wallace Wang, who is engaged in postdoctoral research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center of Harvard Medical School, said that the whole human genome consists of about 3 billion loci, each of which has a unique function. Some of them have been discovered, while others have not yet been discovered and are under study. Even the most complete genome sequencing in clinic can only read 90% of the sites. However, the common commercial gene detection chip sequencing technology can only read millions to millions of loci, and there are only nine Niu Yi hairs relative to the whole genome. What's more, human phenotype is coordinated by many loci on the genome, which may be covered or enhanced by other loci. At present, commercial genetic testing can't detect the interaction between loci. "If it is not enough to interpret the whole level through hundreds or millions of sites, it will lead to over-interpretation."

Even in clinic, what gene sequencing can achieve is mostly used to detect rare diseases of a single gene. Wallace Wang explained that in clinic, if several generations in a family suffer from monogenic diseases, it is effective to make gene diagnosis by comparing with clinical indicators, such as familial congenital heart disease and familial cancer. Existing research shows that children's autism, Alzheimer's disease, emotional talent and other complex diseases and phenotypes are often determined by multiple genes, and it is difficult to predict by single gene detection.

"These are the applications of genes in diseases. No gene has been found in the genome that can completely determine human talent, spirit and thinking ability. " Wallace Wang said that we can't just emphasize the contribution at the genetic level. In the process of people's growth, contact and interaction with the environment can affect people's success. "It is completely related to the education and growth environment of the day after tomorrow."

"The so-called talent can only be tested from behavior, and how to quantify it through genes is impossible." Liu Zhi said that many studies of genetic testing are still in the field of diseases, and whether it can be commercialized is a question mark. Yang Jinliang, a professor at the State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy of Sichuan University and director of the Genetic Engineering Antibody Research Office, told reporters that genetic testing is mainly used for screening genetic diseases, precise treatment of tumors, guiding rational drug use, etc., while others are rarely used. He even pointed out that "the domestic market is chaotic, and some genetic tests are just to collect money."

In the process of commercialization of genetic testing, why does the price range from 350 to 69800 yuan, and where does its cost come from? Wallace Wang explained that the cost lies in the interpretation of the genome. One is what technology is used to read the information on the genome, and the other is how to interpret these letters, which is the cost of analysis. For consumers, background technologies include genotyping, whole exon sequencing or whole genome sequencing. Chip genotyping technology is widely used in domestic consumer-grade genetic testing, and the information that can be read is very limited, and the cost in the United States is twenty or thirty dollars.

"How to interpret the data after getting it requires professional personnel, professional databases and upstream scientific research." Wallace Wang said that after the technical level is solved, the interpretation level is a big problem. In China, in order to attract consumers and cater to the market, there is always the problem of over-interpretation, and it is extremely unlikely that it will be "misunderstood" as a fact. In order to explore the role of a gene locus in scientific research, thousands of samples are often needed for statistical analysis. Even with such a large sample size, the phenotypic contribution of detectable significant sites is often very weak. Considering the interaction between genes and between genes and environment, the interpretation based on a single site is often meaningless.

News link

People's Daily reminds that genetic testing of talents is suspected of cheating.

A few days ago, the People's Daily published a report that "the detection of gifted genes is suspected of cheating, and the application in the research stage should be banned from entering the market", paying attention to market chaos.

Zhang Hongbing, a professor at the School of Basic Sciences of Peking Union Medical College, believes that at the current level of science and technology, it is not reliable to detect gifted genes, which is suspected of cheating and speculation, and the fees are very high. Zhang Hongbing said that the detection of "natural genes" is based on the association analysis of genes, and the association analysis only shows a very small possibility. Testing institutions have expanded it, turned specious things into facts and turned it into various "natural genes", such as music genes and art genes. In fact, it is impossible to give an accurate answer with the current level of science and technology.

For example, IQ is closely related to genes, but IQ is determined by thousands of genes. From the perspective of gene sequencing, it is difficult to detect a person's IQ talent. On the contrary, low IQ caused by gene mutation is completely detectable, such as Down syndrome and tuberous sclerosis, but this is the application of gene detection in medicine.