Sewer Trawling

I just read the always interesting Science Sunday post by +Mark Bruce. Far too dense to discuss all ten, but number six sparked something interesting. It detailed a process that successfully separated cells from urine, convinced them to turn into stem cells, and then into neurons that weren't tumorous. A myriad of amazing, positive benefits that this could lead to entered and left my consideration rather quickly. What stuck was the certainty that genetic information can be harvested from human waste, even liquid waste.

Enter the more enticing, dark possibilities.

I can imagine employers turning drug test urine samples over to a general genetic sequencing company to find out more about their employees. (Yes, potential employers are allowed to drugs test applicants in this country.) More exciting, I can imagine tissue culture companies trawling sewage treatment plants for novel genetic variants to use in bioreactors or to grow specialty organs. [Nina Tandon's TED talk on tissue engineering]

Would you pay extra for a new liver of the type that can survive a lifetime of binge drinking? Lungs of a chain-smoking woman that lived to 92? I sure would. Companies like 23andMe are aggregating a great deal of data linking  genotypes and lifestyles - once it becomes valuable enough corporate espionage is inevitable. From there, the sky is the limit.