Should babies have their DNA profiled at birth?

Every newborn will, within 10 years, be able to have their entire genome mapped, a leading geneticist claims

The idea of taking genetic profiles for babies is not new. The issue was raised as a possibility in the government's genetics white paper in 2003. Back then, the thinking was that the information would reveal a person's risk of disease later in life, and potentially pave the way for treatment tailored to a patient's genetic make-up.

The issue has re-emerged in an interview with Jay Flatley, chief executive of a genome sequencing company called Illumina. It may not be surprising that someone who makes their money from mapping genomes thinks we will map more of them in the future.

But Flatley has some interesting thoughts. He sees the technology being readily available and cheap enough within 10 years to do this gargantuan task.

What stills needs to be ironed out are the social and legal issues.

When the Human Genetics Commission looked at the issue in 2005, it concluded that the idea should be shelved, at least as far as the NHS was concerned: it would cost too much; have insufficient benefits to health to be warranted; and was at least 20 years in the future.

The prospect is still intriguing though. Do people want to know their genetic make-up, and so what science makes of their risks of heart disease and dementia, from the moment they are born? Would the message from GPs be any different to health advice now: don't drink too much alcohol, don't smoke, eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, leave out the red meat and exercise a lot?