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2008 National DNA Day Online Chatroom TranscriptThe 2008 National DNA Day Moderated Chat was held on Friday, April 25th, 2008 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. NHGRI Director Francis Collins and genomics experts from across the institute took questions from students, teachers and the general public on topics ranging from basic genomic research, to the genetic basis of disease, to ethical questions about genetic privacy. Give Us Your Feedback on National DNA Day Activities! 2008 National DNA Day Moderated Chat TranscriptQ: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): why is this DNA Day ?A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Great question! DNA Day celebrates the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003. It also marks the Watson and Crick description of the double helix in 1953. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): How do you feel about DNA day and what is that day all about? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: DNA Day is a day I look forward to every year! It is a chance to meet new people and new students and talk about the exciting things going on in genetics. This chatroom is especially fun. All of our scientists and researchers get together all day to answer questions about genetics from students around the country. Q: Carri Wilson in MI (n/a grade other): When will discussion of the DNA day contest happen? Our science classes are outside doing schoolground cleanup for Arbor/Earth Days. A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: The winners of the American Society in Human Genetics essay contest will be announced at noon today. Stay tuned!! Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): When was DNA day established?.. A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: This is the 6th DNA Day! It began back in 2003 with the completion of the Human Genome Project. Q: Mary in MA (n/a grade other): Best DNA Day ever, now that legislation has been passed that protects us from discrimination based on our genes! Do we expect the President to sign this bill? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Yes, I agree! This IS the best DNA Day ever, and the Senate passing the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act yesterday makes it even better. The next step is for the House of Representatives to agree and send it to the President. And yes, the President has said that if Congress could successfully pass GINA, he would sign it into law. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): Is there such thing as an RNA day? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Not officially, no, but DNA Day celebrates all molecules related to DNA. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): What are you doing to celebrate DNA Day? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: There are lots of things that happen on DNA Day. Many of our NHGRI researchers travel out to schools around the country to talk about the latest in genetics, and to talk about their own career paths. We also host this chatroom every year. Other organizations also participate in DNA Day and make DNA Day shirts, food, and lots of other activities! Q: Jeffrey Boyer in PA (9th grade student): Why did you pick today to be DNA Day? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Today is DNA Day because it is a celebration both of completing the Human Genome Project in 2003, and of Watson and Crick's description of the double helix in 1953. Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): Why is DNA Day NOT a National Holiday? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: That is a great question! And it would be wonderful to have the day off. But if we did, we couldn't be here answering your questions! Q: Charlotte Latin School in NC (6th grade student): When did America officially start celebrating DNA day? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: DNA Day first began in 2003 with the completion of the Human Genome Project. It has been going strong ever since! Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): are you a nerd? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Well, I might be a bit nerdy; I enjoy learning about the latest in science and get excited when cool things happen in genetics. But I'm a big fans of nerds, we make the world go round... Q: Wright Business School in OK (Higher Education grade student): Can you change my DNA so that I have special powers? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: What kind of special powers would you like? The ability to scale walls? Or the ability to shoot lasers from your eyes? Super abilities through DNA will most likely continue to be limited to movies like Spider Man and X-men. Right now the focus on genetic research at the NHGRI has to do with maximizing the potential in our genetic code that already builds the amazing human body. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): I like Genetics whatever i'm still young (12 years old), do you know the best website about Genetics? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: I love genetics! and I'm definitely older than 12 :). Genome.gov is a great website about genetics. Another great one is http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/...they have lots of fun stuff to do! Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What is MPH and what does it stand for? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: An MPH stands for Master's in Public Health. I went to grad school for two years and learned about preventive health and how new technologies will affect the public and improve the public's health. Go Huskies! Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What classes are important to take if you want to major in science? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: It's important to take your basic science classes related to whatever major you're interested in...biology, chemistry, math, etc. But it's also important to take other classes that you're interested in, especially during your undergrad work. Classes like ethics, sociology, and anthropology are great for understanding broader implications of science. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): i love science! A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Thanks for your enthusiasm! We all love science as well! Happy DNA Day! Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Which website is the best to learn DNA? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: A great place to start is www.genome.gov. From that site are lots of links to other great online resources. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Why is today DNA day? Is there a certain reason? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: DNA Day is celebrated every April 25, as a commemoration of finishing the Human Genome Project in 2003. It also marks the description of the double helix by Watson and Crick in 1953. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): How many people are chatting right now? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Right now we have about 30 people in this room answering questions. Everyone is hard at work to answer as many questions as possible through the day! Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): How long have you celebrated DNA day? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: DNA Day has been around now for 6 years, since 2003! Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): How many of you are there? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Right now there are about 25 of us in this room answering your questions. Everyone is having a great time! Send us more questions! Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): In what ways will knowing the human genome help with different diseases? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Genomic research helps to understand both the causes of different diseases, and also the potential ways to better treat diseases. It's important to understand how different genes contribute to the many diseases that influence human health. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Does DNA tell you how you are going to be in the future? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Our DNA gives us a certain amount of information about our future selves, but certainly does not tell us everything. Our environment is extremely important and influential on our health and future selves. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Is it possible to choose the characteristics of your baby before it is born, and if so what are the possible characteristics you can choose? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: It is possible to choose some traits for an unborn child, through a technology called Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis. PGD is typically used to help screen out certain harmful conditions, such as Tay Sachs disease. It is an important ethical discussion to determine when PGD is appropriate to use or not. Q: Lakota Teoutman in IN (7th grade student): Do kids have the same DNA as their mom and dad? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Children inherit half of their chromosomes from each parent, so 50% from their mom, and 50% from their dad. Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): What are the highs and lows of your job? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: I definitely love my job. My favorite parts are working with really interesting people, and knowing about the exciting things happening in genetics. My least favorite part of my job is that sometimes in science things happen very slowly, over a long period of time, so it's necessary to be pretty patient. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Is it possible to study constantly and become a genuis or is it neccesary to have a certain gene to become one? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Genetics probably has some effect on intelligence, but it is not yet clear how much. Intelligence definitely depends on how hard you study, and how dedicated you are to what topics are of interest to you. Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade student): Why do specific drugs affect one patient differently than another? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Differences in DNA make each of us respond differently to drugs. You can just think about how some people are really sensitive to coffee (like me, it keeps me up all night) and others can drink a cup and still go right to sleep. It all has to do with how our bodies metabolize (utilize) different drugs, which is influenced by our genes. This is a field called pharmacogenomics, and is a huge field of research for the future. Q: Meridian High School in WA (10th grade student): How does DNA taste? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: It tastes like whatever food it's in! I prefer chocolate...but seriously, I've never tasted purified DNA... Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): Do you work by yourself or with others? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: One of the reasons I love my job so much is all of the different people I get to work with. Scientists, policy analysts, photographers, artists, writers...very different people who all make the field of genetics extremely interesting. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): how many years do you have to go to school to get a Ph.D? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: That depends on the Ph.D. program. It can be anywhere from 4-8 years. Usually in the sciences it takes a bit longer, and some fields require a post-doctoral fellowship. Q: Eastmont High School in WA (10th grade student): Do you know of any free sites to watch videos about DNA? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Yes! There are a number of videos on the NHGRI Education site at www.genome.gov. Videos include animations of protein synthesis, descriptions of the life of a scientist, and even a program showing how dance was used to teach genetics! Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Where did the Human Genome Project take place? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: The Human Genome Project was carried out in nations across the world. Genomic research continues to be an international effort. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is philosophy useful to furthering scientific development? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Philosophy is extremely important to scientific development. Philosophy, along with fields like history, law, sociology, anthropology, and others, make it possible to consider ethical and moral questions related to research, which is vital to moving forward responsibly. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade teacher): Would there be any opportunities for high school students interested in DNA to work with geneticists as a summer project in NJ? How do we find out about these opportunities? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: For programs specific to New Jersey, I would encourage you to look at Universities and companies in the state; I don't know specifically. But for information on NIH's summer programs, see http://www.training.nih.gov/. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade other): Would majoring in something like biomedical science be helpful when pursuing a career in biotech? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: Certainly; it's important to take the classes related to the career you want to pursue. But I definitely recommend students to take a broad range of classes, especially during their undergraduate education. Q: NAG ABABU CBIT, RAJAHMUNDRY,INDIA in International (6th grade student): From where did you get the idea of talking to school kids about DNA? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: We love working with students and talking about the latest advances in genomics! It is important that students get excited about genomic research now, both as a potential career, but also so that as adults they can understand how genomic technology might affect their health in the future. Q: Florida Institute of Technology in FL (Higher Education grade student): Aside from the academic spectrum, what types of careers are available for students interested in genetics and molecular biology? Could you offer any advice to someone just starting out upon that path? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: There are lots of potential career areas related to genetics and molecular biology. Everything from public health, law, sociology, ethics, writing, art, and many others are relevant. It's important for students to study what they are interested in, and to explore how those different interests might relate to genetic science. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): I noticed there are alot of women in this chatroom. Did you ever have to deal with prejudice (stereotypes) against women? A: Sarah Harding M.P.H.: You're right, there have been many women in the chatroom today. There have been many advances in getting more women involved in science, and we hope this trend continues! |
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