After many decades of promise, the field of genetics is beginning to bear fruit. The opportunities are growing every day, however two areas appear to be playing a significant role – genetic profiling and genetic engineering. As the new “gene chips” continue to develop and become more accurate, analyzing thousands and then tens of thousands of genes, and plummet in price, it will soon become not only possible but practical to establish an individual profile that determines a person’s relative risk for most of the common diseases. From a scientific standpoint, the ideal would be that every child born will have a complete profile of risk factors (either before being born through amniocentesis or immediately upon birth from cord blood) of the major diseases. Companies such as Affymetrix, Genzyme, etc have developed the first steps that demonstrated the feasibility and validity of the chips, now there is significant emphasis on cost reduction to a point where it will be inexpensive enough to be available virtually everywhere. However this possibility raises numerous legal and ethical issues revolving around privacy, data security, right to know, etc. Yet, the availability of this information in a preventive medicine setting, could revolutionize the entire way healthcare could be provided. Preventive measures could be planned rather than the current method of fitting everyone to predetermined schedules, screening absolutely everyone regardless of risk of a disease, etc.