Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - December 9, 2007, Winnipeg, Manitoba Freedom of Trade Liberty of religion Equality of civil rights b 5 w Winnipeg f ree p rests Unda december 9, 2007 a n d b e y o n d fro the w est Winnipeg repress. Com the economist g genetic testing promises a lot. In particular it promises to Tell people things ranging from their risks of developing ailments As diverse As heart disease cancer and autism to How much Coffee they can safely drink. It also promises a lucrative Market for those doing the testing. Single Gene tests such As those for particular forms of genes that predispose people to breast cancer have been available for a while. This year however has seen the arrival of commercial versions of techniques that can Sample a persons entire genetic makeup and do so in a Way that will enable him to Benefit from future discoveries As Well As existing knowledge. In Many cases knowing the risk will also allow and might indeed encourage someone to modify his behaviour to avoid a disease he is at risk of or failing that to mitigate its consequences. Nevertheless concerns Are being raised about the accuracy of some tests now on the Market and also their usefulness when the results Are supplied direct to Consumers rather than with professional medical advice. Last year the government accountability office in the United states said that genetic tests it had bought from four websites misled Consumers into thinking they were at risk of ailments such As heart disease osteoporosis and Type 2 late Onset diabetes. In some cases firms tricked Consumers into buying personalized supplements that were actually no better than Ordinary vitamins but Cost $ 1,200 a year. More recently on dec. 4, the British governments human genetics commission published a review calling for greater regulation of genetic tests. One member of the commission recently went so far As to Brand them a waste of Money. Fraudsters can of course be found in any Industry. But another part of the problem has been the science itself. Eric Brunner an epidemiologist at University College London Points out that he and his fellow researchers have struggled for years to try to understand the genetic basis of common diseases. The Field is plagued by Small weak studies that Are hard to turn into statistically robust conclusions. As a consequence most findings of associations Between diseases and particular genes which often get reported widely in the Media when they Are announced do not stand up to later scientific scrutiny. Yet the Pace of commercialization Means that companies have often started Selling tests based on the earlier studies by the time their results Are discredited. Paul Pharoah an oncologist at Bri taints Cambridge University and a critic of some Gen testing firms says that in the past tests for a Gene called sod2 have been available with companies claiming it was associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. However Pharoah and his colleagues recently published the results of a Large study that showed that sod2 is not associated with breast cancer after All. With Luck this sort of thing will become rarer As scientists gather More data. However some people worry that even those tests that do what they say on the packet May not actually give the consumer useful information. A possible example of this is a Gene called tcf7, which is the subject of a test marketed by decode an icelandic firm. One form of the Gene tcf7l2, is strongly linked to Type 2 diabetes. Having two copies of tcf7l2 one from each Parent doubles your risk of getting diabetes that much is Well established. But some researchers reckon that if you do not have any of the other risk factors for diabetes your Chance of getting the disease will be so Low in the first place that this doubling is not Worth knowing about. The processes that Lead to most diseases Are not however the result of a single genetic failure. Instead they involve hundreds if not thousands of genes interacting with one another. In the past geneticists have concentrated on genes that have Large individual effects when they go wrong because such effects Are easy to spot. But particular combinations of genes that Are not individually significant May also be important. This raises the question of How Many genes a test needs to look at to yield a meaningful estimate of risk. Though the answer is not yet Clear Pharoah reckons it is Likely to be More than just two or three. Tests that look at Only a handful of genes he thinks Are simply not useful. The technology of testing is improving fast and regulation risks slowing Progress. Moreover physicians Calls for scrutiny should themselves be scrutinized because genetic testing inevitably transfers Power from doctors to laymen. That Transfer of Power brings responsibility of course the responsibility of Consumers aided by the Gene testing companies themselves to interpret their new knowledge sensibly. If they do not doctors surgeries May be flooded with what have come to be known As the worried Well and regulation is sure to follow. If people do take responsibility however a healthier life awaits them. Unzipping your genes genetic testing opens new Frontier for capitalists and hucksters w ins Bridgman who earlier this year moved his architecture firm from tree lined River Heights to the shores of a sea of vacant lots at Higgins Avenue and main Street has asked the City to construct a Public washroom on North main in an Effort to mitigate the problem of Public urination on the strip. He has even offered his firms services free of charge. The location recommended by Bridgman is on vacant City owned land at the Northwest Corner of Higgins and main the former site of the architecturally charming Savoy hotel which was demolished in 2000. The idea is a Good one but the suggested location makes bring mans purpose for this undertaking a Little redundant. In my observations As a regular pedestrian on main this Corner of Higgins and main is Only used by the local indigent population when they Are travelling to and from Points North of the up rail tracks and not As a place to congregate. Crossing Higgins and main is a fairly arduous thing for anyone to do particularly at the Northwest Corner where a freeway like exit Lane curbs off main. It is unlikely that the people who gather at Points around main and Henry Avenue a Block South would make the walk up the Street and across Higgins to use a restroom. For that much Effort they May As Well walk the same distance to main Street projects drop in on Martha Street where bathrooms Are already freely available. What would be More effective in dealing with the problem of profligate Public urination is a Public facility at the main and Henry intersection such As somewhere on the thunderbird House property which is becoming a popular Campground for drinking and sniffing parties. Or in a self contained area just inside the unused main Street Entrance of the salvation army building where people already regularly urinate in the doorway. Perhaps the Point of suggesting a restroom facility be placed at Higgins in an a Busy Corner of the main Street strip is that it would be largely ignored by the regular main Street drinking and sniffing crowd and thus less intimidating to other pedestrians to use. Conversely it May draw them away from main and Henry to a new locale in and around the new restroom making main around Henry a Little More attractive to other pedestrians and future commercial development. In any Case Public restrooms in cities Are not a new thing and serve As a practical necessity for pedestrians. In european and major North american cities they Are commonly found in streets Parks and squares. One exception to this Rule is new York City which is known among tourists for its Lack of Public facilities. On about. Com an article on the subject recommends visitors use the restrooms in the Cit yes countless Starbucks locations. In Winnipeg searching for a Starbucks downtown would be a time consuming exercise and building Public facilities May be a better course of action. Its True that it would be used mostly by the poor but who besides the poor walks in Winnipeg anyway a photo i recently found of the Corner of Logan Avenue and main Street circa 1918, shows a rather stately looking restroom constructed of Limestone and Brick standing alongside the Occidental hotel. In the foreground of the photo a police officer stands minding the Busy intersection. His presence in this photo provides some indication of Why Public restrooms were probably less subject to misuse in 1918 than they would be today. Though it was indeed bustling North main in 1918 was still not entirely wholesome. Men who slept in the neighbourhood Odds Shab Biest boarding houses would traverse the strip Between Choice drinking spots on the Riverbank loading docks and the seedy hotel bars and Pool rooms. Even Back in 1892, North main was called Winnipeg Gas bowery a reference to new York Cit yes legendary skid Row. Today a police officer standing at a Street Corner or walking the beat cannot eliminate crime and disorder entirely just like a Public restroom cannot eliminate open urination entirely. Nor can either of these things solve the Host of social problems that face the Cit yes poorest citizens. But the presence of officers of the Law and civic amenities like Public restrooms instil a message in the mind of the Public that we As a society do care enough to provide proper safety and sanitation and a greater sense of order and decency for everyone. Robert Galston is a writer who lives in Winnipeg Gas North end. The following editorial appeared in the Chicago Tribune on Friday u. S. P resident George w. Bush unveiled his plan thursday to help hundreds of thousands of homeowners whose subprime mortgages Are due to reset at higher interest rates Over the next two years. The Rescue plan comes against a backdrop of plummeting Home sales soaring foreclosures tightening credit and growing political pressure to do something. The administrations something would freeze for five years so called teaser rates on subprime mortgages issued from Jan. 1, 2005 until july 31, 2007. Subprime mortgages generally were taken out by borrowers whose spotty credit records prevented them from qualifying for conventional fixed rate mortgages at lower rates. Subprime teaser rates were in the seven per cent to eight per cent Range and Are due to reset to As High As 11 per cent Over the next two years. That would add hundreds of dollars to borrowers monthly mortgage payments potentially leading to Many More foreclosures. Only those who Are current on their mortgage payments who live in the Homes at risk and who can show they afford the higher payments would be eligible for the freeze. That rules out thousands of homeowners who Are still at risk of foreclosure. Bushes teaser freeze Drew Quick fire. Democrats complained it does not help enough distressed homeowners and republicans objected to any government tinkering in the contractual relationship Between Borrower and Lender. Would the subprime bailout plan alleviate a serious recession risk that the Market cant Correct on its own the plan proposed thursday does not inspire much Confidence that it will do that. The bursting of the housing Bubble is Well underway and its Ripple effects will continue to roil through the Economy. The mortgage Bankers association reported thursday that Home foreclosures in the United states reached a record High in the third Quarter. The flood of foreclosures is daunting and not just for the people who lose their Homes. Anyone who has lived in a Chicago neighbourhood that has experienced an epidemic of foreclosures knows full Well How it impacts a Community. Boarded up windows a Large x on the front door. When there Are no buyers the psychological and economic damage feeds on itself and a neighbourhood slides. Banks mortgage servicing companies and investors in real estate Are free to renegotiate subprime Loans now. They have incentives to work out alternative terms that borrowers can meet and Many of them Are doing so. So its unclear How much Impact this program would have beyond what the Market will do itself. The risk is that any government plan to manage this problem will skew the lending markets. The higher rates on subprime mortgages both teaser starter rates and resets reflect the higher risk of lending to those with poor credit histories. The government would be putting its imprimatur on an interest rate freeze. That Means investors who bought bundles of these mortgages will earn less of a return so investors May think twice before investing in u. S. Real estate in the future. Thatus Likely to put More upward pressure on interest rates which is going to make buying a Home More expensive. Leaders in Congress though Are Likely to press for even greater government intrusion in the lending markets. Winston Churchill once described democracy As the worst form of government except for All the others. That Best describes the Bush plan to Rescue the subprime lending mess. Bush freezes the teasers for upset homeowners other opinion Robert Galston Public restrooms Are a humane gesture Glenn Baglo / can West news service archives one of eight free Public toilets that opened in Vancouver earlier this year ;