It’s hard to imagine anything more personal than the genetic information encoded in your DNA. But it’s only protected by privacy laws some of the time.

The actual status of California’s law protecting genetic information with regard to long term care insurance is currently a bit murky, says health journalist April Lynch. It is generally assumed to have ended, but it seems to have lapsed rather than having been repealed.

As genetic information becomes increasingly available, Lych suggests that consumers will more and more have to make decisions about how much they themselves want to know about it, as well as how much is shared with doctors and insurers.

April Lynch

Sonoma County’s ground-breaking website to monitor and guide the overall health of the local population is winning appreciative national attention, including recognition from US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sibelius (left).

The impressive county health website was a prototype for the county’s partners in the project, and Supervisor Brown says Sonoma County benefited as they shouldered most of the considerable costs involved in its design and development.

Early clinical trials suggest the drug MDMA, also known as Ecstasy, may be beneficial in treating and even curing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The research protocol used in the MAPS studies uses a male-female team of therapists working with each patient. It is an expensive and labor intensive approach, but Executive Director Rick  Doblin says there are several sound reasons for proceeding that way.

What is it like growing up in the areas of Africa that have been ravaged by the AIDS epidemic? A traveling exhibit visiting Santa Rosa this week supplies some first-hand answers.

To reserve times and tickets for the free exhibit while it is in Santa Rosa, click here. Reservations are not required, but they are strongly encouraged. Mike Griffin explains that’s for more than one reason.

The organization behind the exhibit, World Vision, is hardly a household name, but Griffin believes that they do good work.

Use this link for more background information on the  the Experience AIDS tour. The phorograph below is an overhead view of the walk-through display area.