Genetic predictions about our health are more accurate than ever – but serious implications are being ignored

Earlier this year, the health secretary announced a gene-sequencing project that would be sold to patients by the NHS. But it could see a two-tier health service develop as a result

Scarcely a week goes by without some new medical advance that relies on the study of the human genome.

The latest – courtesy of Stanford and Cambridge universities – offers a new way of classifying breast cancer, according to the genetic mutations of the tumours, which makes it possible to predict which cancers will recur.

As with most medical research, there is still a long way to go, but the buzzword is “personalisation”.