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Max McCoy speaks with Joyce about his recent personal adventure, exploring the depths of his own genome. It’s an ongoing adventure worthy of some of his fictional heroes — unexpected twists and turns, sometimes more information than you know what to do with, and often more questions than answers are unearthed.
Max McCoy is an award-winning author and journalist. He’s the author of four original Indiana Jones adventures for Lucasfilm, the critically acclaimed thriller The Moon Pool, and the Hellfire western noir trilogy. Damnation Road, the last book in the trilogy, won the 2011 Spur Award from the Western Writers of America for Best Novel. Hellfire Canyon, the first book, also won the Spur and was named a Kansas Notable Book for 2008. Max wrote the novelization for Steven Spielberg’s epic miniseries, Into the West. His books have been published by Random House, Simon and Schuster, and Kensington. He teaches journalism at Emporia State University in Kansas.
See his website at http://www.maxmccoy.com
There are several services offering genetic diagnosis for family history and/or health risks. The one we talk about most today is 23andMe (http://23andme.com). To find others, use a search engine and search for “dna ancestry” or “dna analysis”.
There are labs that specialize in paternity testing, others that offer testing to determine family origins, and still others that offer medical testing for physicians and hospitals, and sometimes also for individuals to determine familial risk factors. Be sure to read the product offerings on each site and make sure that their goals are consistent with your own.
The reports that come back are often difficult to understand, as this is a new technology for most of us. You might inquire whether the company offers time with a professional who can help you understand the report. Alternatively you might wish to speak with your own doctor, and/or make an appointment with a genetics professional to review the report and make sure you have understood it correctly.
Information about your own genome has implications for the genetics of other family members — especially your children, your siblings, and your parents. You might want to discuss your endeavor with them, and ask how much of the information you learn they might wish to know, or may specifically want not to know. There is a discussion of this aspect on the 23andme website which you may find useful. Click here to read their explanation of what “unexpected” things you might learn.
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