Thomas Goetz

Designating physicians as gatekeepers for genetic information isn't just disempowering -- it's sticking healthcare in a time capsule for a decade or more, until physicians get up to speed.

Cancer is perhaps the most frightening of all diseases we face. And the thing is, it's very often entirely preventable. If we simply made some different decisions, earlier, many cancers would never happen.

U.S. life expectancy is actually heading downward.

We sometimes think of healthcare as something that happens in our doctor's office, but really it starts with the multitude of smaller decisions that we make: what to eat, how much to sleep, how much exercise to get.

What does the doctor need to say to trigger you to do those things that you probably already know you should do? What sort of information would compel you to take action?

In the past year or so, a handful of new devices have come on the market that promise to help you measure your sleep quality. This is the result of two trends: sleep research and better tools.

Why don't we do what we know is good for us? Part of what may be going on here is that we lack a sense of agency in our health - we don't feel like we're actually in control, or that our engagement will matter.