Name of Café: Café Sci Boston

Meeting time/date: Monday, October 20, 6:00pm

Meeting location:
Cambridge 1. Fenway. http://cambridge1.us/
1381 Boylston Street, Boston

Description of meeting:
George Church has a vision. He wants to sequence the genomes of 100,000 people and make the information publicly available.

But that's not all. To be useful this must be accompanied by a host of other personal details, like medical histories, cell-lines…even your real age and real weight.

The idea is that with enough information freely available, researchers (and even hobbyists!) will uncover new associations between DNA sequences and diseases.

But who is willing to expose themselves to this type of public scrutiny? We can't imagine all of the pitfalls yet. Plus a genome is like a massive social security number, so George can't even guarantee your anonymity.

To explore the personal risks, George decided to take the plunge himself. But being an outgoing guy, he's bringing some friends along. This Monday the first 10 people to participate in this historic project will review the results with a physician and decide whether or not to "go public."

Join these 10 pioneers as they usher in the age of personal genomics this Monday evening at Café Sci, with beer, pizza, and great conversation.

FREE FOOD FROM 5:30 – 6:00

$6 Parking in garage off Kilmarnock St.

Café organized by:WGBH, producers of the public television series NOVA scienceNOW.

Café contact: getinvolved@wgbh.org

Date of next meeting: To be determined

About the café:

Thirsty for real conversation? Come to Café Sci and join a lively discussion at a local pub.

Café Sci encourages open, easy-to-understand conversation. No lectures. No PowerPoint. No technical jargon.

Café Sci is free and open to all. Bring your friends, tell your neighbors, post this announcement, and pass it along.

Café Sci is an ongoing series. To be added to the e-mail list write to getinvolved@wgbh.org