pharmacogenomics

by Jacquelyn Mahendra ‘05

so we know a whole lot about yeast these days
got it mapped sorted and sifted for sure
but we’ve got a ways to go yet
when it comes to humankind

they say they’re trying to render health care rational
as though pharmaco were the next logical step
as though there might be a next logical step
into the tangle of scientific discovery

and Thomas Kuhn would say each break
is really just a movement away
a revolution but not necessarily
a better approximation
of some ultimate truth
some final equation

and they say it’s in everyone’s interest to embrace difference
to make medicine fit the finest range of polymorhpisms
to cater to the needs of ethnic populations
to cut costs and reduce risks
but in the end for whom
at what price
how far off

and how do we license variation or profile populations
or fill in the data gap left by pie in the sky rhetoric

maybe a gene chip can tell us the genetic profile of a virus
i still wonder though will it bring us happiness
or why we ask this of science to begin with