Sergey Brin's Blog

Sergey Brin has a new blog which he talks about his discovery through the 23andMe personal genetics testing service that he is at '20-80%' higher risk of developing Parkinson's Disease than the general population:

This leaves me in a rather unique position. I know early in my life something I am substantially predisposed to. I now have the opportunity to adjust my life to reduce those odds (e.g. there is evidence that exercise may be protective against Parkinson's). I also have the opportunity to perform and support research into this disease long before it may affect me. And, regardless of my own health it can help my family members as well as others.

I've highlighted a particularly interesting sentence. Do you think we will start seeing a trend where wealthy individuals start contributing to research that might provide them personally with a benefit within their lifetimes? This is of course already happening to some degree, but genetic testing will give them the opportunity to invest more accurately for their personal benefit.