Will Gathering Vast Troves of Information Really Lead To Better Health?
Hundreds of millions of dollars are pouring into research labs in an effort to collect genetic information on a million people. But some skeptics say the focus should be on humans themselves, not DNA.
The Mayo Clinic is building its future around high-tech approaches to research known as "precision medicine." This involves gathering huge amounts of information from genetic tests, medical records and other data sources to ferret out unexpected ideas to advance health.
But one long-time scientist at the Mayo Clinic isn't playing along. Dr. Michael Joyner is a skeptical voice in a sea of eager advocates.
Joyner's lab studies exercise. It is, fittingly enough, in a hospital building founded in the 1880s. While Mayo has built all sorts of new labs at its sprawling campus in Rochester, Minn., Joyner can conduct his work without glitzy DNA sequencers and other high-tech tools of precision medicine.
And it's not simply that he's an old-school
