That's actually a very interesting idea, I'm surprised that no one has thought of it before.
Anyway, that probably will help science and your students if it finds anything.
Wish you luck!
DNA testing for new students!
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Nov 25, 2018
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#3
I have a PhD in biology and specialize in analyzing DNA sequencing data. All I can say about this idea is: please don't. That would be a waste of time and money for no benefit whatsoever. DNA testing can be very useful for certain things, but this newfangled fad of "sports testing" is just marketing BS. Before demanding your students do anything of the sort, please talk to an expert in the field who can explain more about what information we can and cannot glean from DNA testing.
Nov 25, 2018
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#4
Thanks for your input terdon but why do you think 1 expert is enough? Isn't the marketing BS coming from at least 1 expert anyway? By the way, are you saying if you were in sports medicine etc, you would NOT use DNA tests?
Nov 26, 2018
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#5
Yes, I am absolutely saying I wouldn't use them. Or, rather, there may be some very specific instances where they could provide useful information, but by and large they don't. DNA sequencing is a very powerful tool but not applicable to all situations. And by expert I mean one who isn't paid to sell this sort of testing to people 
. Also so it can be someone you have reason to trust as opposed to some random person on the internet who claims expertise.
Nov 26, 2018
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#6
We are somewhat on the same boat, I am a "computer scientist" who is very skeptical of computer science. But when it comes to DNA, I am a believer!
Nov 26, 2018
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#7
Oh, don't get me wrong, I am absolutely not skeptical about DNA analysis. You just need to understand its limitations, just like any other powerful diagnostic method. And I have yet to see any reason why something like this, for example, would be anything but a waste of money.
That isn't to say that DNA sequence analysis isn't one of the most powerful diagnostic tools around, only that trying to use information gleaned from it to improve your athletic prowess is not very likely to succeed.
Taking a page from Dan Peña's "trust that weird idea you once had", I will be strongly encouraging, forcing you might say, my new students to submit at least some kind of "Sports DNA Test" at the beginning of their studies. From whatever contact I have with athletics etc, it is still uncommon for amateurs to go through DNA testing and chess cannot even use info such as "you will respond better to aerobic versus non-aeorbic exercise". Still, I feel I would have benefitted tremendously from, let's say, vitamin B12 specifics early in my career, while in the long run we may move towards detecting the chess gene - oh my! Your comments are appreciated!