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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 Transcript
Q: Sindhu Mahavidyalaya Centre For Biotechnology NAGPUR, INDIA in International (n/a grade teacher): Wish you all a happy DNA Day. My student has amplified defective glucokinase gene in a few families in her type 2 DM study ? Does she need to sequence the PCR products ? If so are there any such low cost sequencing facilities available ? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: If she has amplified a defective gene sequence or product then yes, it would be good to sequence the PCR products. If the gene is amplified, it may be better to look by other methods. There are low cost sequencing facilities, but you may need to check with a local university or research facility. Q: Sindhu Mahavidyalaya Centre For Biotechnology NAGPUR, INDIA in International (n/a grade teacher): In my family there are a number of cases of Diabetes among my paternal uncles. Do they need to go for gene tests ? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Diabetes is commonly known to run in families. Genetic testing is not currently used to diagnose a predisposition to developing diabetes. Knowing your family history is an important first step for your entire family in getting early screening and taking preventive steps such as diet and lifestyle. It is important that you share this family history with your healthcare provider. To learn more about the Surgeon General's Family History Initiative go to www.familyhistory.hhs.gov. Q: Terrell High School in GA (11th grade student): The Human Genome project was completed in 2003. Seeing that we are learning more new information each day, how do we know that we are finished? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: This is an excellent question. The reality is that it may take us awhile to be "finished" and who knows when that will be. As you pointed out, there is still much to be learned and a lot more to be discovered. The fact is that genomes are always changing, so we may never really be finished. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): What is the definition of a gene? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: Our official definition is that a gene is the functional and physical unit of heredity passed from parent to offspring. Genes are pieces of DNA, and most genes contain the information for making a specific protein. However, the definition is still open with the recognition that many RNA's that are transcribed from DNA do not encode proteins. Q: 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: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): HURRAYYYYYY!!!! DNA DAY!! DNA DAY ROCKS!!!!! A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I totally agree!!!!! Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Can gene therapy ever cure a genetic disorder? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Gene therapy is an experimental treatment of a genetic disorder that involves replacing, supplementing, or manipulating the expression of abnormal genes with normally functioning genes. Gene therapy has been used in research settings, but has not yet been shown to cure a genetic disorder. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): What is a primary purpose of junk DNA? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: Most of the genome does not encode proteins (in fact only about 2% of the genome does). However, it is clear that some of the non-coding DNA, which has often been referred to as "junk" also plays important functions such as helping regulate gene expression and functioning to help structure the DNA in the nucleus. Q: eman in International (Higher Education grade student): Hi, I'd like to know where the best place is to begin learning about genetic science? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: You can start by visiting the National Human Genome Research Institute's website at http://www.genome.gov. 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: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): What type of scientist are you? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: I am a molecular immunologist. Translated to English, that means I study the function of genes and proteins that are important in the immune system to help fight off infection. Much of what my laboratory studies are models of immunodeficiencies--that is diseases that prevent people from fighting infections properly (such as the boy in the bubble). Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Why is it called "DNA?" A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. DNA is much easier to say. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): How do Genes get passed on to our kids? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Genes from your parents can get passed on to children in several ways, called patterns of inheritance. A parent can pass on a single, dominant gene mutation that can cause a disease in a child, for example, Huntington disease. Each parent can pass on a recessive gene mutation that can cause a genetic condition such as cystic fibrosis. A parent can also pass on a gene mutation on their X chromosome that can cause a disease in a male such as hemophilia. For more information you can go to the National Library of Medicine www.nlm.nih.gov. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): What is unique about the structure of DNA? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: There are many unique things about DNA, but the most unique is the ability to be copied by virtue of the double-helix structure. Thus, each strand can be copied into an exact replicate allowing your genes to be inherited by your children. 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: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (n/a grade teacher): Why don't we talk about good human genes? Why only defective genes? A: Jean McEwen, J.D., Ph.D.: Good point - since most genetic differences among people are neither inherently "good" nor "bad" - they are just differences! In fact, some genetic variants that are associated with a particular disease make the person who has them LESS susceptible to OTHER diseases. A good example is the genetic change associated with sickle cell disease, which confers resistance to malaria. Even terms like "defective genes" or "genetic defect" are really misleading, because they suggest that people who have the "defective" variant of the gene are in some way "defective" - which is not true. ALL of us carry a number of genes that are associated with a higher risk of developing certain diseases - there are no "perfect genetic specimens"! Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): Why do I have alergies? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: Great question! There are many contributing factors to the development of allergies including both genetic and environmental. As more genetic studies (in particular, genome wide association studies that show association of diseases with particular gene sequences) have revealed that subtle changes in gene or promoter sequences (the sequences that control gene expression) can be associated with asthma. However, the increase in allergies and asthma in recent years argues that environmental factors also have a major contribution. There is a whole theory about childhood illness, cleanliness and increased asthma referred to as the "hygiene hypothesis". Q: North Brunswick Township High School in NJ (9th grade student): Has the completion of the genome led to any cancer cures? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: The completion of the human genome research project is leading to a whole new era of personalized medicine, especially in cancer. Genetic testing can now be done on the particular cancer cells or tumor to determine whether a specific treatment will cure the cancer. Breast cancer is an example of a type of cancer where this approach is being used to help treat the cancer. For more information about cancer and genetic treatments go to www.cancer.gov. Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade other): I am a pharmacy college graduate and I'm interested in learning about genetics. How might I enter this field of science? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are many fields of science that are now using genomic science. One of the best places to begin looking for the many opportunities in the field is at the National Human Genome Research Institute's website, http://www.genome.gov Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): What is your favorite gene? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: Oh, I couldn't even begin to answer that (certainly not without alienating some of my colleagues). Having said that, I think there are some genes that encode fascinating proteins and miRNA's that have major effects on how the immune system works and fights infection (which is my area of research and interest). 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: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): What is your career, and do you like what you do? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Good morning! I am an advanced practice nurse in genetics, and a genetic counselor. I have worked in a public health genetics clinic for over 20 years working with individuals and families who have or who are at risk for genetic disorders. For the past three years I have worked as a Health Educator at the National Human Genome Research Institute helping to develop programs and information about genetic and genomic advances and resources for the general public. I really like what I do! I feel that I am on the cutting edge of new research that will greatly improve our ability to screen, diagnose and treat rare and common genetic diseases. 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: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Is it likely that within the next 50 years we will be able to pick and choose at least some of the traits of our offspring? A: Jean McEwen, J.D., Ph.D.: Probably - but the even more important question is under what circumstances, if any, it is ethical to do this. There is arguably an important ethical difference between using pre-implantation genetic diagnosis to try to avoid the birth of a child who will suffer from a serious, debilitating genetic disorder and using this technology in an effort to control traits like hair or eye color. And the idea that such technologies could be used in an effort to produce "designer babies" (for example, children with exceptional intelligence) is really pretty silly, since we know that behavioral traits like intelligence are influenced by many, many factors besides genes. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): What did you have to major in to become a molecular immunologist? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: I majored in Biochemisitry and Molecular Bology and did an MD-PhD with a PhD with Molecular Biology. I recommend not specializing too early--a good broad background in molecular biology and genetics will allow you to follow your interests in many areas and take advantage of the latest advances in genomic research.
Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How did they discover that genes even exist? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The discovery of genes is most often credited to Gregor Mendel who was an Austrian monk working in the late 19th century. Mendel studied how various traits in pea plants were passed from the plants to their progeny. It took many,many more years until researchers discovered DNA and what the genes look like. Q: North Brunswick Township High School in NJ (9th grade student): My cousin is trying to have a baby. She has been diagnosed with PCOS: Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome. Is there a genetic cause? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: Most researchers think that poly cystic ovary syndrome runs in families. Women who have this disorder tend to have a mother or sister who has poly cystic ovary syndrome. However, there is no proof that it is inherited. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Is DNA pretty? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It all depends on how you describe pretty. I would certainly describe DNA as amazing. 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: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): How do viruses replicate without having DNA? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: There are many different types of viruses, some of which are encoded by RNA, not DNA. Thus, RNA is their genetic material. RNA viruses replicate using their own RNA polymerases. One fascinating set of viruses are the retroviruses and lentiviruses, which have an RNA genome in the virion, but are copied into a DNA copy via an enzyme called reverse transcriptase. The DNA copy is inserted into the host genome, which can cause cancer in some cases by integrating near "oncogenes". The "proviral" DNA is then copied like any other gene by cellular enzymes. The fascinating thing about viruses is that they have evolved all sorts of mechanisms to replicate. They have been around alot longer than us and will outlast and outbeat us.
Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): What is Fragile X? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: Fragile X syndrome is a genetic condition that causes a range of developmental problems including learning disabilities and mental retardation. Usually, males are more severely affected by this disorder than females. Many males with fragile X syndrome have characteristic physical features that become more apparent with age. These features include a long and narrow face, large ears, prominent jaw and forehead, unusually flexible fingers, and enlarged testicles (macroorchidism) after puberty. Fragile X syndrome occurs in approximately 1 in 4,000 males and 1 in 8,000 females. For more information about Fragile X syndrome go to the National Library of Medicine web site at www.nlm.nih.gov Q: Sindhu Mahavidyalaya Centre For Biotechnology NAGPUR, INDIA in n/a (Higher Education grade student): Human genome project has been over, what next? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I would say the the Human Genome Project is not really over. We continue to find out more and more about the genome everyday. Although the majority of the sequencing has been completed, the elucidation of the human genome still continues. The original goals of the Project have been meant, but the work is just beginning. Q: China Medical University. in n/a (Higher Education grade student): How to chose a lab that suits me? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: It is important to chose a lab with work that excites you and also with people that you enjoy. Science is hard work, but it is incredibly exciting and you want to be excited about the work you do. Q: North Brunswick Township High School in NJ (9th grade student): In the video made for Nova on Cracking the Code of Life, patents were issued for sections of the genome. Are these patents still getting in the way of research? A: Jean McEwen, J.D., Ph.D.: The evidence is still a bit unclear about the extent to which DNA patents are actually hindering the progress of genetic research, but there is no question that at least in some cases, the existence of patents may be an impediment to genetic discoveries. Researchers worry about confronting a patent "thicket" that will impede their ability to build on discoveries already made without having to negotiate complicated licenses or having to worry about expensive litigation. The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications (ELSI) Program at NHGRI supports research to assess the extent to which DNA patenting is hindering research, and to explore possible alternative approaches to patenting that will protect the legitimate proprietary interests of researchers who make novel genetic discoveries while at the same time promoting the interest of the public. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): Why do people get allergies? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: The tendency to develop allergies is often hereditary, which means that it can be passed down through your genes. However, just because a parent or sister/brother has allergies, that doesn't mean that you will definitely get them, too. A person doesn't usually inherit a particular allergy, just the likelihood of having allergies. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): What is gene expression? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: Gene expression is when a gene is turned on, that is when a gene is copied into RNA. That RNA copy can be translated into proteins or function as RNA's on their own. Gene expression can also refer to what genes are turned on in a given cell (ie what RNA's are made in a given cell).
Q: North Brunswick Township High School in NJ (9th grade student): When a mistake like Tay Sachs disease occurs, is it possible to change the one base pair that is wrong? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Tay-Sachs disease is a genetic disorder that is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. This means that a person who has Tay-Sachs disease inherited a gene mutation from each parent. It is not possible, at this time, to change or correct a gene mutation that causes the disease. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How many people have DNA? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Everyone has DNA!! It's the "code" that we all have to give us instructions for life, like everyday biology that goes on in our bodies. Not just people like us have DNA. Every living organism does - animals, plants, fish, you name it! Q: Abbeville High School in SC (5th grade student): Does DNA make people mean? A: Jean McEwen, J.D., Ph.D.: We do not know of any genes that make people mean, and it is very unlikely that we ever will, because being mean is a moral shortcoming -- not a biological one. We are learning more and more about genes that influence other aspects of human behavior, but all behaviors are very complex and are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): What types to of jobs are there in the DNA research? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: There are many, many types of jobs involving DNA research. They include everything from working in a lab to figure out how DNA functions, to bioinformatics, to clinical medical research that figures out how variations in DNA affect health, to research about the ethical questions that knowledge of our DNA brings up. In fact, one of the neat things about DNA is how many types of issues it brings up, since it is involved so importantly in who we are as a species and as individuals. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): What is the diffrence in DNA and RNA? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: The difference between DNA and RNA is that DNA is the "source code" that provides all the basic instructions for life. RNA is structurally like DNA but it represents the intermediate between DNA and proteins. Proteins, you may know, are the things that carry out most of the biological processes in our bodies. So the general order of things is: DNA, which is read like code to produce RNA, which is then translated to make proteins, which carry out biological processes. Q: Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in FL (11th grade student): What is the most harmful substance to our DNA? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: That's a great question. I don't think we know the answer to your question. We do know that certain substances are harmful to DNA in that they have the potential to change it's basic structure which can lead to greater risks to develop certain diseases. For example, high doses of radiation can cause changes in our DNA and may lead to risks for certain types of cancers. There are many other harsh chemicals that can also increase risks. Unfortunately, we don't the "most" harmful substance. Q: Pentacostal Holiness Baptist AME High School in SC (10th grade student): What is the difference between mRNA and tRNA? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: DNA is copied into mRNA which is the template for protein synthesis. Each set of three nucleotides in the mRNA stands for a specific amino acid which will be used in building a protein. A tRNA is the structural RNA that recognizes/reads that 3 base code and attaches the proper amino-acid to a protein during translation, the process by which a mRNA is translated into a protein product. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): What kind of work do you do? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Hi there - I am an epidemiologist. That means I try to identify the factors that cause complex diseases like Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. 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: Query in n/a (n/a grade other): What would you do if you learned from genetic mapping that you have a 15% higher chance of developing type 1 diabetes? No more chocolate cake? Eliminate all stress? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: If I learned from a genetic mapping test that I had a 15% chance to have Type 1 diabetes, I would definitely change my diet and any other lifestyle habits that would contribute to my developing the condition. I would go to see a dietitian who can help me work out a specific diet plan that I can follow, and make sure that I get regular exercise. I would also make sure that I saw my health care provider regularly to get screened for the disease. I would miss the chocolate cake! Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): Could scientists look at your DNA and find anything that's wrong with you? If so, can scientists use that to predict any future problems in a persons life? A: Jean McEwen, J.D., Ph.D.: We don't yet know nearly enough about DNA and how genes work for scientists to be able to "find anything that's wrong with you" just by looking at your genes. Even when we understand much more than we do now about the genetic factors that influence health, we will still be a long, long way from being able to predict all future problems in a person's life, because most health conditions result from a complicated interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Genes alone do not "determine" anybody's future health. Q: Lighthouse Christian Academy in SC (12th grade student): Hey Dr. Alan Guttmacher! What color is DNA? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: DNA in its native state is essentially colorless. We often represent each of the four bases that make up DNA as having specific colors, but that is just to allow us to depict things in away that is easy to discern at a glance. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): What do you do for a living and where are you located. A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: I run a research laboratory at the National Institutes of Health, the largest research institute in the world and an incredibly exciting and important place to work (located in Bethesda, MD). My lab works on molecular immunology, or studies of genes and proteins that help regulate the immune system and how it fights infection. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): How many years of schooling (after high school) is typical for becoming a geneticist? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It all depends on the field of genetics you pursue. Programs all vary in their length of time and amount of schooling after college. There are those who choose to pursue graduate degrees after college and these programs can take about 4 to 7 years more or less. If you are interested in a clinical career in genetics, you could attend medical school, enroll in a nursing program or a physicians assistants program. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): does dna kill people somtimes A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Hmmm...almost all of us eventually die from some disease, and that disease is almost always due to the interplay of genetic factors (variations in our DNA) and environmental factors. So, in a way, DNA kills almost all of us. Of course, first it allows us all to live and be the individuals who we are. 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: Terrell High School in GA (11th grade student): Do scientists now think RNA may influence heredity more than was once thought? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: That's a great question! Indeed scientists do now think RNA influences heredity more than was once thought. Quite recently, new kinds of RNA have been discovered that can modify the expression of a gene and the initial development of an organism. Researchers won the prestigious Nobel prize for this discovery.
Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): What is your career? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I am a Science Educator for the National Human Genome Research Institute. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): What do you do every day in your job? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: I run a research laboratory studying molecular immunology or studies of genes and proteins that regulate how we fight infection. As the head of the lab, I help plan the direction for the work with my wonderful staff and colleagues and spend a fair amount of time discussing experiments and plans. I also spend a fair amount of time training and teaching people in my lab and the public, working on science policy and answering emails! I love my work. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): Is the "Boy in a Bubble" an accurate treatment? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: At one time, completely controlling the environment of someone who was born with no immune system was a way to treat this disorder. This not a realistic treatment, however. In recent years, new treatments have been developed and these include bone marrow transplantation, and stem-cell transplantation in babies before they are born. Gene therapy has been tried; however, some people developed complications so that research studies using this approach in the United states have been suspended. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): How do researchers know when there is a problem in a gene? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Good question! Sometimes the problem causes a very obvious condition, such an physical abnormality or a metabolic illness. Sometimes the problem is very subtle and goes unnoticed. In some instances, the researcher knows something is wrong, but they don't know what gene is defective yet. However, if the problem has been well researched there could be a clinical test available that can be run to confirm what gene is responsible for the problem. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): What happens to DNA when someone dies? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: That's a fun question! Like all things biological, DNA will degrade over time. But remarkably, DNA is actually quite resistant to degradation compared to other biological things like RNA and protein. So, researchers can actually extract DNA from deceased people who have been dead for a long time. They've even been able to extract DNA from extinct Neanderthals that have been frozen in glaciers for thousands and thousands of years! This is especially useful for studies of evolution. Q: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (Higher Education grade student): Is it ethical to test human genes? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: That is a really great question. We are learning so much about how variation in our genes increases risk for certain diseases. So, testing our genes might provide useful information and help us treat certain diseases. However, it is very important to be cautious with these genetic tests. People who have their genes tested need to understand the risks and the benefits of knowing their risk for disease.
Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): how, if there is a way, can you cure a genetic disorder like, CF A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: First, we usually try to treat the disease - that is, to find away to combat its symptoms effectively. However, a true "cure" - that is, essentially making the disease a thing of the past for the affected individual, is often the ultimate goal. For diseases like CF that are due to specific variations in specific genes, one way to effect a cure is to modify the "abnormal" gene to make it function like a normal copy. This is so-called "genetic engineering" or "gene therapy." However, gene therapy is much more complicated than once thought. I expect that your generations will make it a reality, however, so think about a future in genetics research... 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): How did computers help complete the genome project? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Computers were critical for mangaging the massive amounts of information information that were generated the DNA sequencing machines. Each "read" from a sequencing machine was like one small piece of a very big puzzle. The computers, using specially created software, figured out how to assemble the DNA puzzle pieces into a picture of the whole human genome. This fascinating field is called bioinformatics and it's a great career if you are interested in solving puzzles. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Do you have to know about DNA to be a nurse? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: As a result of human genome research we are learning that genes play a role in rare and common diseases. Also, genetic testing is now being used to find out whether a particular medicine or dose of medicine will work for a patient. This is called personalized medicine. Nurses administer medications and educate patients about their disease and treatments, so having knowledge of DNA and basic genetics is becoming increasingly important for nurses. There are now specific nursing competencies in genetics and genomics that are being taught in nursing school. Q: Daniel in NC (7th grade student): How long is DNA? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Human DNA is 3 BILLION letters long! That's a lot of letters. These 3 billion letters are divided into chromosomes, each of which contains letters that spell out certain RNAs and proteins. We all have 23 pairs of chromosomes, and some are long and some are short. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): What inspired you do study science? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Curiosity, the desire to know how living creatures function. Also fascination for microscopes, the idea of seeing the invisible was so cool to me. Finally a great biology teacher in high school open my eyes to genetics -- I have been focused in this area of science ever since. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): What college did you attend? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Hi there. I went to Penn State University for my Bachelors degree in Biology. Then, I went to the University of Washington in Seattle to earn my Ph.D. in the field of Public Health Genetics. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): What is the purpose for chromatin uncoiling and coiling during prophase? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: Chromatin needs to uncoil during mitosis in order for DNA to replicate. During prophase, chromosomes re-condense in order for them to start the process of separation which will be mediated by centromeres binding to kinetochores via microtubules. Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade student): What is bioinformatics? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Bioinformatics refers to handling the information related to biological research. In this age of computers, you won't be surprised that biologists use computers to store and analyze the results of their research. For the field of genomics, computers are and have been essential in handling the huge amounts of data that are generated from DNA sequencing and other genetic approaches. Imagine the Human Genome Project - one human genome is 3 billion bases or 3 billion bits of data, which was sequenced about 8 times over to get it right (~24 billion bits of data). Then you add the gene information and other forms of annotation. It has to be stored, described and analyzed. For each genome, this is done. Basically this kind of research wouldn't happen without computers and bioinformaticists. 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: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (Higher Education grade student): What is genetic counseling? What qualifications do I need to practice it? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Genetic counseling is a profession that focuses on helping individuals and their families to understand the genetic or inherited basis of a disease that they have or is in their family. GCs also assist families in sorting through the information from a psychological and social basis in order to help them make decisions about genetic testing, reproductive options, prenatal testing and a multitude of other issues that they may face as they learn about genetic risk and available genetic technologies. I would encourage you to go to the web site of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) to learn in greater detail about the professional. An official definition for GC exists their as well. This site also provides stories about GCs and paths they have taken in becoming a GC. To be a GC, one must complete a receive a graduate degree (masters of science) from a graduate program that is accredited by the American Board of Genetic Counseling (ABGC). ABGC has it's own web site which lists the GC graduate programs that are fully accredited. You can either go to ABGC directly (www.ABGC.net) or reach it through the NSGC web site. Good luck. We can use more interested people in our profession. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): Does malaria make sickle cells stop growing? Is there a way for scientists to use sickle cells to cure aids, or stop it from growing? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: You ask a very good question. There appears to be evidence that cells that carry sickle cell hemoglobin do not get as easily infected with malaria. The mechanism appears to be that malaria carries enzymes (working proteins) that break down normal hemoglobin but it has a harder time breaking down sickle cell hemoglobin. So people with sickle cell disease have a resistance to malaria. As for using sickle cell to cure aids, I do not know a strategy currently being used in that direction. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): How much research is being done to associate genes with fetal alcohol syndrome and drug-related disorders? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: There is research being done on the effects of alcohol on the fetus during pregnancy. You can always check the National Institutes of Health Clinical Trials at www.clinicaltrials.gov to find the specific research on fetal alcohol syndrome and drug-related disorders. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Why is the structure of DNA so important anyway? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: That's a great question! And a hard question too! One answer to this question is that the structure of DNA, which was discovery in 1953, actually tells us a lot about how it works. There are two strands of DNA that are interwoven, and each strand is used as a source or template to copy the DNA to future cells. On a historical note, today is a celebration of the discovery in 1953, a really remarkable scientific accomplishment. And we also celebrate the completion of the sequencing of the human genome today. Q: Sharda, India in n/a (Higher Education grade student): How much contribution of DNA is there for controlling human behavior? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Thanks for your question. Human behavior is very complicated. Genes, which are made up of DNA, probably have some influence on certain human behaviors . However, the environment and other non-genetic factors probably play an even bigger role. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): What is Fos and Jun? A: Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: Fos and Jun are two transcription factors, that is they bind certain DNA sequences called promoters that regulate gene expression (ie they "turn on" genes). Fos and Jun are among the first transcription factors that get activated when cells are stimulated to divide. Interestingly, both Fos and Jun were first discovered as oncogenes picked up by acutely transforming retroviruses. Many genes regulating important cellular processes were first discovered this way. Q: Preeti Govindas, M.Sc, SMV Center for Biotechnology in n/a (Higher Education grade student): Besides sequencing, what are the alternate methods to detect single nucleotide polymorphisms in a DNA? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Yes. There are other ways to detect SNPs, called genotyping. Using DNA's ability to complementarily bind to itself, scientists can design screens to find differences between two pieces of DNA. In other words, if the pieces bind, then no SNP. If they don't bind, then a SNP is detected. Q: East Hickman County High School in TN (10th grade student): How does the new DNA nondiscrimination act assist my future? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Great question. I was lucky enough yesterday to be in the Senate gallery to watch the debate and witness the historic 95-0 vote by which the Senate passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA). We expect the House, which passed a similar bill earlier this year by a vote of 420-3, to concur with the Senate bill next week and the President to sign it soon afterwards. GINA essentially prevents health insurers and employers from forcing anyone to have a genetic test or to use information about an individual's genetic makeup to set rates, decide who to hire or fire, etc. Perhaps most importantly, GINA will allow people in the future to use information about their individual genetic makeup to improve their health, without fear that this knowledge will backfire by being used against them in health insurance and employment. This is particularly important for people in your generation, since by the time you are old enough to be developing the serious conditions that become common in middle age, we should know a lot about how specific variations in genetic makeup affect health. It is reassuring to know that, after over a dozen years of waiting to see GINA pass, we appear now to be only one week or so away from having it protect us all. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Can some people have the same DNA? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Identical twins are the only ones that theoretically are born with identical DNA. But even they are not totally identical. While in the womb the environment can be such that they are developing differently. They also accumulate differences at the DNA level due to environmental influence over the years. For instance imagine that one likes to tan and the other doesn't: the one that tans frequently may end up with DNA damage due to ultraviolet light resulting in skin cancer. Did you know that identical twins don't have the same fingerprints? Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): Is Severe Combined Immunodeficiency worse than immunodeficiency? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: Immunodeficiency refers to the inability of the body to fight off infections well. Severe Combined Immunodeficiency or SCID is a type of immunodeficiency. There are many types of immunodeficiency and SCID one of the most severe. There is currently research going on to help these affected children's bodies fight off infection, there is still alot of work to do to understand this disorder and help the children feel better. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade teacher): I have started a new biotechnology program here at Scarlet oaks and have been telling the students about the job opportunities in this field. Could you elaborate on the types of jobs out there for this field A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are a number of jobs opportunities available. Bioinformatics is a really hot field and perfect for those individuals who have both biology and informatics interests. Also, there are always careers in research, but fields like pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics are emerging. They also can consider careers in fields that pertain to the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetics and genomics. Many clinical opportunities exist and there is a great need for genetic counselors. Overall, there really are a lot of job opportunities for high school students to consider as they think about their futures and the careers they could pursue in genetics and genomics . Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): What made you go into this career? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I have always loved biology. I also love math. Since much of genetics is math, I was drawn to it. I spent some time in the lab, but found I didn't want to stay there as a career. So, now I am a government bureaucrat. I help to figure out how to fund the best scientific research possible. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): What causes one allele to be dominant over another? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Nice question! One allele is dominant over another often because the mutation causes the resulting protein act in a way that disturbs or inhibits the function of the other, normal allele. This is often called a "dominant negative" effect. Often proteins need to work in pairs (or in larger numbers), and if the mutant protein pairs with partner proteins better than the normal one but as a result disrupts normal function of this protein group, you get this kind of effect. This is not always the case. Sometimes, as you probably know already, there are recessive effects (where you need two mutations to cause dysfunction) and some that are co-dominant, where both alleles exert their effects. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): Why does science interest you? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I really love how the natural world works. To me, it's fascinating that all these species exist in the world and interact with each other and the environment. Biodiversity to me its beautiful. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): What is the Genome project? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: You probably are referring to the "Human Genome Project" which officially began in October, 1990 and ended on April 14, 2003. The ultimate goal of this international project - which ended ahead of schedule and under budget - was to sequence the DNA that makes up the human genome. That was achieved on April 14, 2003. While the Project, itself, is officially over, we are now in the midst of the really exciting and even more important work of figuring out how the genome functions and how it affects our health. 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: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Is Duke University a good collage to lean about D.N.A A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Duke University is an excellent university with wonderful programs in the sciences. I am sure that you would learn a lot about DNA there. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): If you have too many chromosomes, why do you have down syndrome? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: A person who has Down syndrome has an extra number 21 chromosome. Another name for Down syndrome is trisomy 21. There are other genetic conditions that involve extra or missing chromosomes such as Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18 and Klinefelter syndrome (47,XXY). Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): Why are some traits such as sickle cell hiden during some generations? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Genetic conditions like Sickle Cell Disease, Cystic Fibrosis, Tay Sachs Disease, Phenylketonuria and many others are inherited in a way that is referred as autosomal recessive inheritance. In short, this means that a person has the disease if they receive one copy of the gene that carries the mutation from BOTH parents. If a person only has one copy, they do not express the symptoms of the disease. So, parents of an affected person usually only have one copy of the gene that contains the mutation and one "normal" copy. THey, therefore, don't show any symptoms. It's not unusual for persons who have a autosomal recessive diseases to question, "how can this be inherited? No one else in my family has this disease!" I would encourage you to go to the NHGRI website and use the Talking Glossary to hear more examples and explanations about mechanisms of inheritance. (genome.gov) Great question. Thanks for asking. Q: Preeti Govindas, M.Sc, SMV Center for Biotechnology in n/a (Higher Education grade student): With the help of DNA is it possible to bring back extinct species like the mammoth? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Funny that you ask! Just a couple of years ago researchers successfully read long stretches of mammoth DNA extracted from fossil bones. In fact, there is a whole electronic database of DNA from extinct animals and plants. Querying the information they were able to collect the investigators were able to deduce interesting facts, such as that mammoth's fur was of different colors. But bringing back the species is a science fiction scenario with the current technology. Q: Fort Dorchester High School in SC (10th grade student): How can knowledge of DNA cure cancer? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: One of the main issues with cancer is that cancer cells do not know when to stop growing. If scientists could figure out which genes in the DNA are involved in why these cells grow so out of control and figure out how to stop it that would certainly be a good therapy for cancer. The other problem with cancer cells is that they invade or metastasize to healthy tissues. Scientists are also working on finding genes that control this invasion and ways to stop it as well. Thank you for asking such a great question. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Why do you use microscopes? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I use microscopes so I can see things that are too small to see with my eyes. There is a lot going on in the microscopic world. Did you know that your body contains more cells from microscopic creatures than from your own cells? Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): What is protien? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: A protein is a molecule in living things that make up tissues and perform chemical reactions in the body. It is made up of amino acids and is coded by DNA. In other words, DNA has the information need to make a protein. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Was it hard for you to learn about DNA? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Some things about DNA were hard for me to learn. There are some things that are obvious and stand out. But other things are more subtle, like how DNA is actually controlled in how it's read by it's complicated structure. DNA is of course a very long string of base pairs, which is tethered to a backbone structure, and this is all wrapped around proteins (called histones) to make it compact enough to fit in the nucleus of a cell. This wrapping around proteins is not random, and it actually determines if the DNA will be transcribed or kept silent. That was hard for me to learn. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Why is DNA important? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: It is the manual of instructions that spells how are you build, how does your body works, and who are your parents. It also holds information on your risk factors for disease that can be used to keep you healthy. I would say that is pretty important (and cool). Q: Athens High School in AL (11th grade student): How far along are we in really knowing everything there is to know about DNA? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: It's hard to know, since the more we know about DNA the more we realize how much more there is to know. For instance, the ENCODE project (http://www.genome.gov/10005107) has told us much new about how DNA functions, but has also made it clear that its function is more complex than we thought even recently. I hope that your generation will be involved in finally figuring out all there is to know about DNA - a very intriguing and important mystery to solve. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): Where do you start when you begin to research a trait or gene? What are the usual steps for the research? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: One way to look for a gene associated with a trait is to find a population (a group of people for example) that have a certain trait (say, a disease) and then find the genetic sequences in common in those people. This may sound simple, but it is hard research to do. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): Are there genes in water? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Not if the water is pure. However, if you take water from a lake, you might just find some organisms in there with genes of their own. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Is their a gene that causes breast cancer? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Research studies indicate that genetic factors have a role in susceptibility to breast cancer. There are a number of autosomal dominant inherited genes that are known to cause hereditary breast cancer. These include BRCA1, BRCA2 gene mutations. Genetic testing is now available for families with hereditary breast cancer so that family members can learn whether they have inherited one of these genes. For more information about genes and breast cancer you can go to www.cancer.gov. Q: Liberty Jr.Sr. High School in PA (10th grade student): Who's DNA was used for the human genome project. A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: When the public Human Genome Project was lauched, the researchers decided not to have the DNA come from a single individual. Instead, one of the researchers working on the project put an advertisement in the local newspaper in upstate New York to get volunteers to donate some blood and then extracted DNA from the white blood cells of several anonymous volunteers. So, no one actually knows whose DNA was seqeunced in the original Human Genome Project -- and it doesn't really matter because it is a reference sequence for all of us and we know that we all differ by some one-tenth of a percent so no single individual's DNA would make a perfect reference sequence anyway. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Who is Gregor Mendal and what did he do? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Gregor Mendel is often known as the father of genetics. He was an Austrian monk in the 19th century who studied the transfer of physical traits from pea plants to their progeny. He is often credited with the discovery of genes. In fact, a whole approach to examining genetics, Mendelian Genetics, is named after him. Pretty cool! Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): Can you explain to me how do you do your job? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: My office's role is to fund research. So, I am not in a lab, but I work to support labs that conduct research. I attend a lot of meetings, do a lot of thinking and get to interact with a lot of great people. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): what made you want to become a scientist? And how do it feel to help people? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: In fact, what made me want to be a scientist was, most of all, the desire to help people (and, also, that I am curious and interested in finding out things that no one has ever known before). It is an incredibly wonderful feeling when you are part of a scientific team that discovers some information than then translates into helping people - for instance, by leading to a new cure for a disease or even a way to prevent the disease from occurring. It is hard for me to imagine anything that can be satisfying as doing work that you know is helping other people. Of course, many jobs allow you to do that, but scientific and medical research is certainly among them. Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): What is Autism? I heard it is caused by Fragile X and Phenylkentonuria A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: According to the National Autism Association, Autism impacts the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction, communication skills, and cognitive function. Individuals with autism typically have difficulties in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and leisure or play activities. Autism is diagnosed four times more often in boys than girls. Its prevalence is not affected by race, region, or socio-economic status. Since autism was first diagnosed in the U.S. the occurrence has climbed to an alarming one in 150 people across the country. Autism can result from many different causes and can include Fragile X syndrome, as well as other genetic conditions. We suspect that it may also have an environmental component, meaning that certain environmental conditions or exposures can increase the chance that a person will develop autism. It is a complex disorder that may involve both genetic and environmental causes. Q: Liberty Jr.Sr. High School in PA (10th grade student): Could you give a brief explanation of the epigenome? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: I'm impressed that you asked about the epigenome. If DNA is the words in a book, then the epigenome is the way all the words are packed up into pages, chapters, and the whole book. To be more scientific, the epigenome consists of different ways in which DNA is packaged, be it different styles of wrapping up the DNA onto histone proteins, whether the DNA is "marked" by tags (methylation tags) that signal to transcribe (or not) the DNA, and more. Recently it has been shown that the epigenome has a strong effect on traits we used to think were caused by DNA. Twins, who have identical DNA sequence, can have different epigenomes, resulting in different features (slight differences in the way they look, for example). Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): Does studying DNA ever get boring? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Never, ever! Being a genetic researcher feels like decoding important messages everyday. You have this question in your mind and you dig in the DNA database for answers. It gives you so much satisfaction when you finally get your answer. Having said so, genetics has many sub-disciplines and I don't like them all the same. It is important to find your focus and concentrate on that area to maximize the fun. Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): Is it possible to cross DNA in humans with DNA in animals. A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Sure. First of all, humans are animals. And DNA works the same in all living things. Genetic engineers commonly take human DNA and insert it into a wide range of organisms such as bacteria, yeast and even mice, where it works just fine. Scientists have even taken firefly DNA that makes a protein that glows and put it in plants. These experiements in which DNA is moved across species dramatically shows the unity of life as it has evolved across the planet -- and across time. Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): Do you think that as we continue to unlock answers in the genome and DNA itself, further ethical problems will arise? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Yes, as we learn more and more about the human genome and try to apply what we learn to improving health and preventing disease, ethical issues will continue to arise. It is important to consider and address these ethical issues and continue to work hard to make sure that the benefits of what we learn are made available to people around the world. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): Why do some animals that seem simpler that humans, such as frogs, have more genes than humans? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Are frogs simpler, or are they just smaller? You are basically asking about the evolution of genomes. I think this is a fascinating topic. For humans, the answer is that we may have fewer genes, but we produce multiple and different proteins from those genes. Q: Carvin School Inc. Puerto Rico in International (12th grade student): What is the relationship between telomerase and cancer? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: Telomeres is the DNA at the very tips of chromosomes. Telomerase is an enzyme that breaks down telomeres. The study of telomeres has been very exciting in the past few years because it appears that telomerase is very active in cancer cells, more than normal cells. Scientists are thinking that if they can find a drug that changes the activity of telomerase, it might be useful in treating cancer. As with all treatments, one also has to think of the side effects. Remember that telomeres also appear to change with aging. How drugs that affect telomerase will affect the processes of aging, need to be thought about as well. Q: Princeton High School in NJ (11th grade student): Was Rosalind Franklin ripped off?! A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: In my opinion, it took a longer than expected to give her the credit she deserved. In recent years, more and more people have recognized her phenomenal contributions, and the fact that you asked about her is a testament to this. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): In theory, is it posible to modify a gene to prevent cancer? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: In theory, it is possible to modify a gene to prevent cancer. The science has not yet advanced to where a gene can be modified to prevent cancer. For example, one cause of hereditary breast cancer is a mutation in a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. Currently, it is not possible to modify a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation to prevent a person from developing hereditary breast cancer. However, gene testing of cancer cells and tumors is being done to determine a specific treatment based on the genetic makeup of the cancer. For more information about gene-based treatments for cancer go to www.cancer.gov. Q: Athens High School in AL (11th grade student): How many years of college does it usually take to become a geneticist? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: The answer depends on what kind of geneticist you want to be. I'm a research geneticist, and that took 4 years of college and then another 4-5 years of graduate school. If you want to be a medical geneticist working with patients, it would take 4 years of college, 4 years of medical school, and then some additional residency training. So those are long roads to take, but they can be extremely satisfying and gratifying! You can do other types of genetics work, in a research lab or diagnostics lab, that would only take the 4 years of college. So there are different options to consider. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): How do you guys extract DNA from ? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: While it's not always this simple, you could actually extract DNA from a strawberry with detergent, salt and alcohol. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): Are you ever consulted by shows such as csi to see if their information on the show is accurate? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Yes, we definitely get calls from Hollywood movie and television producers and writers, usually when they are testing an idea for a script they are writing or producing. We also get many calls from documentary producers who are exploring some new area of this exciting new science. They will come and interview our scientists and shoot b-roll in our laboratories. Genome scientists try to be helpful because we think this stuff is cool. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): How is sickle cell anemia formed in your genes and is there a cure A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Sickle cell disease (SCD) occurs when a person inherits mutations, or variations, in both copies of a specific gene on chromosome #11 - the copy inherited from the mother and the copy inherited from the father. There is no true "cure" yet for SCD (except, possibly for bone marrow transplant, which is a quite expensive, complicated, and difficult procedure), but there are some treatments that can be quite helpful, such as a medication called "hydroxyurea." We are hard at work, however, developing even better treatments and, one day, true cures - and even ways to prevent SCD from occurring. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): How does bioinformatics fit into the big picture of DNA research? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: DNA research generates a LOT of information. One human genome alone is 3 billion bits of information. Scientists have to store all this data (were talking lots of disk space) and analyze the data (by some very smart computer programmers). Q: Wright Business School in OK (Higher Education grade student): What does DNA stand for? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Deoxyribonucleic Acid. 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: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): What is the size of the entire human genome? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: If you are talking about the number of bases or "letters" it would be three billion letters! That is awfully long. If you were using a typewriter it would take two hundred 1,000 page phone books to type it all. Although long the actual DNA molecule is incredibly tiny and the cell manages to pack all its DNA in its nucleus with no problems. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Do histones contribute to our genetic expression, or are they mostly just anchoring devices? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Nice question! Histones do contribute to our gene expression. Histones are modified by methylation signals that either encourage the histone to unwrap and let the DNA be transcribed, or remain closed and so the DNA remains silent. So the histones have both structural and functional roles. Q: Athens High School in AL (11th grade student): How much is a yearly salalry for most geneticsts A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The salaries for individuals in the field of genetics vary greatly depending on the occupation. It is hard to give you an estimate of the yearly salary because there are so many the different types of jobs. For a good estimate of salaries, visit the National Institutes of Health Office of Science Education LifeWorks webite at: http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm. This site contains a number of career profiles, including their salaries. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): How likely is a Jurassic Park scenario in the future using early human/Neanderthal DNA? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: It's not clear that we have enough early human or Neanderthal DNA to try reproductively cloning a person from the past. But some scientists have suggested trying a Jurassic Park-like experiment with mammoth DNA, since an entire wooly mammoth was found frozen since the Ice Age and has been preserved. Presumeably, there would be plenty of DNA in that tissue for such an experiment, but I don't think anyone has worked out the technology to keep the DNA intact and figure how how to get it into an egg or what animal would serve as the surrogate mother -- maybe an elephant. Q: Liberty Jr.Sr. High School in PA (10th grade student): Could you explain the epigenome? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: The genome is the DNA. The epigenome refers to additional chemical groups attached to the DNA. These other chemicals actually convey information that is important to how the genome works. Q: Wekiva High School in FL (10th grade student): what advice would you give to students who are planning to take the A.P Biology Exam? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: The obvious advice: study hard ahead of time and be relaxed when you take the exam. Also, while you want to approach it seriously, not to get too caught up in the results of the exam. Sometimes doing badly on exams can even be helpful in the long run, if you use it to energize, rather than defeat you. I failed some exams early in medical school, but went on to do fine, because I used the experience to encourage me simply to go back and learn the subject matter better. Q: Evan Ryan in MA (7th grade student): If your parent is diagnosed with cancer what are the chances that the child or his brothers and sisters will carry this disease? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Most cancers are not inherited. In fact, it is estimated that only about 5-10 of cancer has a hereditary basis. With that said, if you have a close relative who has been diagnosed with a cancer, your risk is somewhat higher than a person who does not have a family history of cancer. This may be a general question, but if this question is about your personal risks, I would encourage you to contact a genetic counselor (GC) near to your home to discuss this further. You can find a GC by going on the web site for the National Society of Genetic Counselors (http://www.nsgc.org/resourcelink.cfm) Also, you can find a lot of information through the National Cancer Institute (cancer.gov) Thanks for contacting us. Q: Princeton High School in NJ (12th grade student): If all of the "junk" DNA was removed from the genome, could we still encode for a human being? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Nope. The "junk" is not junk at all. It has information about how the genome should work. When genes are "on". Which genes are "on". Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (10th grade student): How many years of schooling, do you have to take, in order to have a job, such as yours? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I went to college for four years and majored in Microbiology. I then spent six years in graduate school to get a PhD in Biology with an emphasis on Molecular Genetics. Q: Francis Howell North in MO (n/a grade teacher): Could you please distinguish between a polymorphism and an allele? Thanks A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: That's a good question, one that's a little tricky to answer. So I will try and let's see how it goes. A polymorphism is a sequence difference that is present in at least 1% of the population. An allele, on the other hand, doesn't have the 1% frequency requirement. Any sequence change (or mutation) that is found can be called an allele, regardless of whether it's present in 1 person in the entire world or half the world's population. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): When did DNA Day first start? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The first National DNA Day was celebrated in April of 2003. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): Since DNA can never be completely destroyed, what will happen if you exspose it to complete radiation? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: DNA can be destroyed. It will degrade under many conditions. Radiation especially will affect DNA. 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: Bennett Smed School in MN (9th grade other): How does DNA affect your genitals? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Each of us has 23 pairs of chromosomes with one pair involved in determining the gender of the person whether they are male or female - females have two X chromosomes and males have an X and a Y. There are genes on the X and Y chromosome that determine male and female characteristics. Q: School of Michigan in MI (n/a grade other): How many letters are in DNA A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Well, technically speaking, DNA has 3 letters, D, N, and A. How's that for being a smart alec? Scientifically speaking, which is what you probably are getting at, DNA is composed for 4 letters, A, C, G and T. These 4 letters are strung together, forming a total of 3 billion letters in the genome in total. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): What is BAC and YAC? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: BAC stands for bacterial artificial chromosome. YAC stands for yeast artificial chromosome. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Do you wear a lab coat? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I do not. I am actually a bureaucrat and no longer work in the lab. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): How does gene therapy work? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: Gene therapy is used to treat genetic disorders by a very special medical strategy. Because we know that many disorders are caused by changes in individual genes, the strategy is to put a gene in the body that has normal sequence and function. There have been many attempts at this with the problem being: the gene must make enough of the normal protein to cure the disease, also, sometimes it is really difficult to get the gene to go to cells that have the disease. For example, gene therapy for a cystic fibrosis, that affects the lungs, must be directed toward lung cells. So far, the greatest successes in gene therapy have been in disorders of the immune system where the patient's own bone marrow cells, which contain immune cells, are withdrawn from the body, the functional gene is inserted, and the bone marrow is given back to the patient. Hopefully, these new cells, with the gene inserted, will function and help the patient feel better. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): What school did you go attend to learn about DNA? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I went to the University of Miami in Florida for my Bachelor's in biology. I went to Cornell University in New York for my Master's in genetics. Q: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (Higher Education grade teacher): Can we find any permanent solution for genetic diseases like Psoriasis, Arthritis, Parkinsons etc. in this post human genomic era ? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Excellent question. I think we will find such solutions - if enough researchers from around the world work together to find them. By understanding the genetics mechanisms that playa role in these diseases, we gain important new insights into the biological pathways that actually lead to them - and thus new ways to interfere with those pathways in ways to treat the diseases more effectively, or even to truly prevent them. One point, however: I think we are not yet in the post-human genome era. We are just at the start of the genome era, which can be said to have started on April 14, 2003, with the finished sequence of the human genome on that date. Q: Kayla Reyes in PA (9th grade student): What happens to DNA when you die? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: The DNA will degrade over time depending on the environmental conditions. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): If you are addicted to drugs, does it appear in your genetic code? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Your genetic code (DNA) can not determine if you are addicted to drugs. However, it may be able to determine if a person has a genetic make-up which increases their chances of becoming addicted if they use drugs. We are still learning about genetic changes which predispose a person to risks like this. For example, some may have greater risk to become obese; that doesn't mean that they will become obese if they carefully watch their diet, exercise, etc. The same is true for drug addiction; even if a person has greater risk, they can avoid that risk by not using drugs. I hope this helps. Good question. Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): How much more similar is the DNA in siblings than parents? Or can you tell at all? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: For each gene that you have, your father gave you one copy of it and your mother gave you another. So theoretically you are 50% like your father and 50% like your mother. This is not entirely accurate because we all have a number of new mutations across the genome that are new and unique to us, meaning they were not present in either of our parents. Siblings get random combinations of genes from their parents. This creates a range of similarities between siblings -- but the AVERAGE similarity across their genomes is 50%. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What new discoveries have you guys uncovered lately? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: There are new discoveries coming out every week! Here a few recent ones that are fun: 1. Twins are not totally genetically identical! They differ in their epigenomes - not the actual DNA sequence but the way the DNA is packaged and read. 2. Some common diseases are the result of small changes in our DNA, diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and more. 3. Certain traits in dogs, like the racing speed of whippets and greyhounds, have ben traced to genetics too. How's that for exciting! Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Do genes control absolutly every aspect of your body? Like, do they control health, weight, and disposition? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Genes probably fully control almost nothing about us; however, they partially control almost everything about us. That is because almost all human traits and diseases result from a complex interaction of multiple genetic factors with such other influences as diet, lifestyle, physical environment, culture, and beliefs. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Is there a gene that makes you fight? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: That is a very good question. Human behaviors like being aggressive are very complicated traits. These kinds of traits are likely influenced by our genes and probably even more so by our environment. There have been a few studies that have tried to identify genes associated with being aggressive, but the results have not been conclusive. Again, this is probably because behaviors are very complicated and our environment and other non-genetic factors strongly influence our behaviors. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): How much DNA is in your body? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Each cell in our body contains 2 copies of our entire 3 billion base pair genome. 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: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): How many years have you been studying DNA? A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: I've been studying DNA for about 7 years. That's about one fifth of my life! And I do it because I like it - it's fun and exciting! 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: Academy of the Sacred Heart Bloomfield Hills in MI (n/a grade teacher): I have two Australian Shepherds who are black tri color (black, white, and copper). There are blue merle Aussies, also, and I would like to know if transposons cause the merle effect of the coat color. Thank you. My Molecular Biology class is having a party now, complete with DNA hats and DNA cupcakes. Eleanor Jones A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: Yes, it was found that the insertion of a transposon called a SINE is responsible for the merle coloring. The insertion is in a gene called SILV which is involved in pigmentation. These particular transposons are very common in the dog genome. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): You guys have alot of letters after your names, what do all of those letters stand for? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: The letters after my name are RN, MPH, CGC, FAAN. These stand for: RN - registered nurse MPH - masters degree in public health CGC - certified genetic counselor FAAN - Fellow of the American Academy of Nurses Other letters you may see after my colleagues' names are: MD - physician PhD - doctoral degree; doctor of philosophy Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): What is the major goal in DNA research at this time? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Unfortunately, I can't pick one goal. I'll give you a few: improve sequencing technology so we can do more sequencing in the future, understand how the genome works through identifying functional elements and determining the genetic sequences involved in human disease.
Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): how many hours a day do you work A: Samir Kelada, Ph.D., M.P.H.: Hah! That's fun. I work about 8-9 hours a day, a very reasonable work schedule in my opinion. Some people work more than I do, say 10-12 hours a day. But I find that I can get my work done usually in 8 hours, and then I go home and do other things I like to do, like play with my cats, read books, and ride my bike. 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: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): Why is only .1% of the DNA the only thing that changes the way a living organism looks? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Actually, it is not the only thing, since non-genetic factors also influence how an organism looks. For instance, no matter what variations in genes having to do with height you inherit, if your diet does not contain sufficient calories and nutrients, you will not be tall. Moreover, the 99.9% of the genome that is the same in any two people does, of course, have much to do with how we look, as it is responsible for how many eyes ands ears we have and all those other features that we recognize as characteristically human... Q: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (Higher Education grade student): Kris Wetterstran: You said that there are more cells from microscopic organsisms on our bodies than our own cells. Does their DNA affect our own DNA ? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: The DNA of microbes doesn't necessarily affect our DNA. But the their presence definitely affects how our bodies work, for example how we digest food or how we are susceptible to infection. Q: Preeti Govindas, M.Sc, SMV Center for Biotechnology in n/a (Higher Education grade student): Is intelligence related to any gene? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: That is a very good and complicated question. There have been studies that have tried to correlate genes with intelligence. But, these studies are hard to interpret because traits like intelligence are very complicated are likely influenced by genes and even more so by our environment (non-genetic factors). 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 long does it take to complete education from college to residency. Additionaly, how long does specialization for a certain practice take? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: There are several paths to take, but here is a general outline: -College ~ 4 years -Medical school ~ 4 years -Residency varies from 3 years (for example medicine and pediatrics) to 8 years (some neurosurgery programs). -Specialization ranges from about 1 to 4 years depending on what you want to do. Q: Athens High School in AL (11th grade student): Is it possible to change my DNA so that, say, if i had brown eyes I could instead have blue or green eyes? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: You couldn't change your eye color now. You could try contact lenses. However, you bring up a good point. Would you want to pick the eye color of your children if you could? Is eye color important enough to do that? Would you want to keep your children from getting a genetic disease? Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): Does it take the same amount of time in college to become an animal geneticists as it does for a human geneticists? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are many programs in human genetics and animal genetics offered by colleges, and I would imagine that the time to complete a college degree in these fields would be similar. In addition, one could do more specialized work in these fields by pursuing professional or graduate degrees after college.
Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): What is Dna profiling and what are the benefits of using it A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: It depends upon exactly what one means by "DNA profiling." One application of that term is in forensics - the use of DNA in the legal system - for instance, to determine who might be responsible for a specific crime. Another is in medical care, for instance, to individualize care based on one's individual genetic makeup. That use of profiling is incredibly promising, as it will allow us to create individualized disease prevention and treatment strategies for each person, which should prove much more effective than our current "one size fits all" approach in health care. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): how did you get into biology? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: I always loved animals, and like a lot of people in High School, briefly considered being a veterinarian. It probably traces back to my dad watching a lot of nature documentaries when I was young. I always loved science and understanding the natural world; in high school, biology was my favorite of all the science courses I took. As I moved further through school, understanding how we worked (what an amazing machine!) became the problem I wanted to solve most of all. Q: East Forest High School in PA (8th grade student): Could there one day be a clone of the Wooly Mammoth A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Yes, I answered this one earlier, so search the answers for mammoth and you see that some people think that it might be possible to clone a wooly mammoth. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What causes DNA to mutate? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Many things can damage DNA: ultraviolet light for instance, radiation or exposure to certain chemicals. Fortunately the cell has built in mechanisms to detect mutations and correct them. One of the elegant characteristics of DNA is the REDUNDANCY of information. Because it is a double-stranded molecule it is unlikely that you would have a mutation affecting the same location on both strands: the cell always has an "original strand" to recover the information and repair the mutation on the other strand.
Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): ?Te ha DNA en aprender espa?ol? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: No te entiendo bien, que quieres decir? Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What does genetics have to do with your ability to grow and gain muscle? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: There are many genes involved in muscle cell development just like any other cell type in the body. Mutations have been found in some of these genes that can cause an increase in muscle mass. Originally these were found in meat producing animals. More recently one such mutation was discovered in a gene called myostatin that both increased muscle and possibly improved racing performance in a racing breed of dog. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Will I get to pick my kids' eye color before they are born? A: Erin Ramos, Ph.D., M.P.H.: We used to think that eye color was controlled by one or two genes at most. However, new studies suggest that traits like eye color and hair color are influenced by many genes. So, with our current technology, it will probably be pretty difficult to pick the eye color of your children Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Do you get any DNA from your parents? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: You get 50% of your DNA from your father and 50% from your mother. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Is it complicated to extract DNA? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: In general DNA extraction is pretty simple! On the education pages of www.genome.gov, you can learn how to extract DNA from a strawberry with ingredients found in your home. In a laboratory, extraction from blood or a cheek swab takes about 45 minutes, there are kits that make it very straightforward. But it also depends a bit on what you're trying to get DNA from. Think about dinosaur bones, that's probably pretty challenging. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): Do genes have anything to do with your hair type or how shiny it will be? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Genes are responsible for all of our features. I suspect that the color, quality and texture of our hair is controlled by several genes interacting, making it a unique quality. Q: Clarkstown High School North in NY (9th grade teacher): Do you think that there is a genetic link towards being a serial killer? If so, do you think that jobs and colleges someday will be allowed to scan for those genes? Or is this considered genetic discrimination? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: No, it is unlikely that there is any serial killer gene. Personality is a very complicated mixture of genetics and social experiences. Although traits like aggressiveness and hostility are affected by genetics, they are also influenced by things like parenting, and social experiences such as teasing and ridicule. So it would be nearly impossible to based on genetics alone, identify anyone with any type of criminal motives. 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: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): How many people work there? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: When you ask "there" do you mean the genome institute or the National Institutes of Health or the entire field of genomics? I can tell you that the National Institutes of Health, which is made up of 27 institutes and centers conducting medical research in just about any field you can imagine, employs some 18,000 people, from physicians and PH.D. researchers to computer programmers to budget analysts to writers. The National Human Genome Research employs around 600 people. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Are there genes and DNA in plants and soil and stuff? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Yes, there are definitely genes in plants. Plants have DNA and genes just like humans do. There are also genes in the microscopic organisms in soil. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): are humans still evolving? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Despite occasional evidence to the contrary, yes. As in all other species, evolution never stops occurring in humans. Evolution occurs slowly, of course, so it is hard to actually "see" it happening, but we are continuing to evolve. One can imagine, for instance, that if global warming persists for a sufficient number of human generations, we might evolve in ways that would allow us to survive more effectively in the new environment of the earth. Of course, evolution, does happen slowly, so it is a much better idea to combat global warming itself, rather than counting on our adopting to it somehow... Q: Clarkstown High School North in NY (9th grade teacher): Besides insulin, what other hormones or proteins do we use Recombinant DNA to synthesize? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Lots! Here are some examples: human growth hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, some blood factors (Factor 8), erythropoietin (famous for sports doping), tissue plasminogen activator (used as a clot-buster for some strokes and heart attacks), interferon and many others! Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_recombinant_proteins for more examples (although I don't vouch for the accuracy of the entire page, there are some nice comments) Q: Abbeville High School in SC (10th grade student): Do you watch CSI? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: CSI is fun to watch and has done a great deal to make the general public aware of the power of DNA. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): como es el ADN de las vacas A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: el DNA de las vacas es muy similar al DNA de las personas, como un 85% identico mas o menos. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): In the Human Genome Project, didn't countries around the world work on specific chromosomes? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Yes. The HGP divided up the chromosomes among different DNA sequencing centers around the world. There are centers in Britain, France Germany, China, Japan and the US. Q: Miguel in International (10th grade student): Que estudio tu en la universidad? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Yo estudie Biologia en la Universidad de Oviedo en Espana (Spain). Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): If a child is born with health problems, yet the parents do not, then how do you come up with a solution when the heritable traits don't run in the family? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Some children have health problems that are genetic due to autosomal recessive genetic inheritance. Recessive inheritance results from each of the parents carrying one copy of a gene mutation while the other copy has the normal version of the gene. When the child has two copies of the changed gene (one from each parent) they may have health issues. Cystic fibrosis is an example. Sometimes a mutation or gene change may arise spontaneously in a child and cause health problems. This is called a sporadic gene mutation. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): I am in a 2 year Biotechnology program at my school. Would i have to go to college to get a job or are there any that i can get straight out of high school? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: In my opinion, in order to get the best jobs in biotechnology, it would be better to get additional schooling after high school. There are many great biotechnology programs offered by community colleges and four-year colleges. For a better sense of the types of jobs that one can do with various degrees, visit the National Institutes of Health Office of Science Education LifeWorks website at http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks.nsf/feature/index.htm. Q: Newton Falls High School in OH (10th grade student): Can you explain epigenetics and how this relates to the new study about identical twins DNA not being 100% identiacl after all? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Epigenetics includes all the modifications made to the DNA molecule, so pretty much everything other than the ACTG sequence. These chemical modifications can include methylation, acetylation and many others, we're learning about now. Identical twins inherit the same DNA sequence as each other, but chemical modifications once they begin to develop as individuals happen independently and result in twins with identical DNA SEQUENCE but not identical DNA. Q: Jason in OH (Higher Education grade student): Have you thought about glow in the dark christmas trees? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: I don't think anyone is currently working on developing a glow in the dark Christmas tree but it probably could be done if someone were interested in trying. Molecular biologists often use a protein called GFP or green fluorescent protein to trace expression of other proteins in cells or organisms. This protein glows under ultra-violet lighting. A gene similar to that could be introduced into a pine tree genome and, if it could be expressed in the leaves, it might produce a glowing tree. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): I understand that it takes many years of education in medical school to become a doctor, but I don't understand what a residence is? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: While it varies, the usual series of steps in becoming a doctor are: 1) high school 2) four years of college 3) four years of medical school 4) three to six years of residency 5) (only some medical specialists do this one) tow to four years of fellowship Residency is the period right after medical school when newly minted doctors work, mostly in hospitals, to perfect their craft and to specialize in a certain area, such as pediatrics, surgery, family medicine, dermatology, or in internal medicine. Yes, it is a long road but it is immensely satisfying, in that you are always learning and, most importantly, doing work every day that help other people. Plus, despite the debts that you may take to pay for college and med school, the pay is good... Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): What is a histone? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Histones are a class of proteins that that bind to DNA and help it to fold up to fit in the cell, and then to unfold so that it can be made into proteins. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Why is the Human Genome Project considered such a big thing in comparison to other research projects? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: In the field of biology, the HGP was a very large project. It required a lot of money, resources and people working on it. Because the scientific approaches were "new", significant money was needed. The technical challenges of doing the DNA sequencing at that level had to be worked out. Many labs had to split up the work to get it done. For these reasons, a great deal of coordination and working together was required. It really opened biology up to high-throughput, large-scale approaches. Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade student): what is the differance between pharmacogenomics and pharmacogenetics ? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: The definitions for these terms are not precise but generally in the field, studying genetics is the study of a single gene and the study of genomics is looking at all the genes in a genome. So, by extension, pharmacogenomics would be the development or use of applications effecting the entire genome, perhaps through networks of genes or even effecting epigenetics. But that's generally not how the pharmaceutical industry talks about it. The dominant term is pharmacogenomcis and it is the kind of research that uses the tools of genomic research to develop new, highly targeted treatments. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): If both of your parents are tall, how is it possible that their child could have dwarfism? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: There are two possible causes of dwarfism. In some families, each parent carries an autosomal recessive gene for dwarfism. The carrier parents each have a normal version of the gene so they do not have dwarfism. When they have children they have a 1 in 4 chance to each pass on the gene mutation to their child who then will have dwarfism. Dwarfism is also caused by a spontaneous mutation in a child. The mutation is present in either the egg or sperm that is donated to a pregnancy. So the parents do not have dwarfism, but their child does. That child who has dwarfism, has a 1 in 2 chance with each pregnancy, to have a child with dwarfism. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): ok solo diga como es el ADN de los animales A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: El ADN de los animales y el de las plantas es como el de las personas. Esta escrito utilizando las mismas bases A, C, G, T y la misma estructura de doble helice. Los animales tambien tienen chromosomas como nosotros. Lo que varia es el porcentaje de similitud con el DNA humano. Por ejemplo, un chimpanze es 98% identico a un humano y un perro es solo un 85%. Q: Clarkstown High School North in NY (9th grade teacher): I know that Alzheimer's is too a certain degree genetic; however, what environmental factors have been linked to this disease? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: We know that Alzheimer's Disease is caused by changes in both genes and environmental factors; this is known as a "multifactorial disorder". There are several genes that have been associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer's Disease. However, there are environmental factors contributing as well. These studies are still preliminary. Specifically there are ongoing studies looking at how statins, cholesterol lowering drugs, and nicotine may decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease. These results are not yet in. It is known that a "heart healthy" diet and exercise also lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, probably by lowering cholesterol. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Do you get any days of the week off? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Most of the time, I get Saturday and Sunday off. Sometimes I have been known to work on the weekends and on holidays. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): que tu trata de decir con estudiaste en espana A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Pues que soy espanola! pero vivo y trabajo en los Estados Unidos desde hace casi 10 anos. Muchos cientificos de todos los paises y continentes vienen a hacer investigacion a los Estados Unidos. Q: Zachary High School in LA (10th grade student): Will we be able to choose the sex of our children? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: Yes, we already have the ability to increase the chance of having a boy or girl at the time of conception. We can also influence the chances of having a boy or girl after conception. However, as a society we are not as comfortable with some of the methods to achieve that end such as abortion. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Are you forced to write lab notebooks? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: Keeping very careful records of all of your experiments is an important part of doing science. When an experiment fails or when it works perfectly you will need to know exactly what was done so that you can repeat it or change it appropriately. You also need to have very precise records of what was done when you go to publish your findings. Q: Academy of the Sacred Heart Bloomfield Hills in MI (12th grade student): Do you think that there will be a future in the field of epigenetics? If so, how do you think it will be used? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The future of epigenetics is quite bright. One of the applications will be the research that explores the contributions of epigenetics to disease. Q: Winton Woods High School in OH (12th grade student): How much of what you see on programs like CSI is realistic? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: A lot of the technology that you see on shows like CSI is completely factual. Extraction for samples, equipment, techniques etc. What is usually quite exaggerated the time it takes to do these procedures, most lab tests take much more time and usually, samples have to get in line and wait for their turn. Also, the fancy computer displays are usually "enhanced" to look a lot more cool. Q: Norma Torres and Hannah in NC (7th grade teacher): que tipo de DNA tine las vacas? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Un DNA esencialmente como el tuyo: Las mismas letras , la misma estructura de doble helice, y empaquetado en cromosomas muy similares a los tuyos.Casi todos los genes que los humanos tienen , las vacas tambien los tienen. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Can the west nile virus be passed on to the next generation? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: West nile virus is not hereditary. It is an infection that is carried by mosquitoes. The west nile virus cannot be passed from generation to generation as an inherited disease. For more information about west nile virus go to www.mayoclinic.com/health/west.nile.virus Q: Preeti Govindas, M.Sc, SMV Center for Biotechnology in n/a (Higher Education grade student): As we know, thermophiles can survive at high temperatures above 100 degrees.How do they protect their DNA from getting denatured? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: While I am no expert on DNA at high temperatures, I believe that thermophiles use specialized proteins to protect the DNA degradation. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What is a codon? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: A codon is set of three nucleotides on a strand of DNA or RNA that codes for a single amino acid. This is the way DNA code is translated into a protein. Q: Lexington High School in SC (10th grade student): Is there any relationship between DNA and autism? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: That is a good question and is the topic of active research. The short answer is that nobody knows whether or not there is a genetic (DNA related) cause to autism. Twin studies and sibling studies are used get at that question. For instance say there are two brothers Tom and Joe. Tom has autism. Is Joe more likely to have autism than someone who is unrelated to Tom? If he is, then you could guess that either genetics has a role, or, if they were brought up the same way, something about their environment put them both at risk. In fact, we observe that for autism there is an increased that a child will have autism if they have a sibling that has autism. The next task is to find out whether this is because of genetics/DNA or something else that is common between them. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Si uno de mis padres tenia diabetis sera posible que yo tenga diabetes en mi ADN? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Es posible pero no es seguro. La diabetes es un problema complejo influido por tus genes y por tu estilo de vida. Las personas con historia familiar de diabetes tienen que ser muy cuidadosas con lo que comen y beben y hacer ejercicio regularment para minimizar las posibilidades de desarrollar problemas. Q: Jason in OH (Higher Education grade student): What interests you most about DNA? Why? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I love how genomes have evolved to produce a vast array of life on our planet. When you think about what the genome is - a series of molecules - it is astounding to think about how it does all that it does, how it creates the incredible variety of organisms on earth and how it got here. Q: East Forest High School in PA (8th grade student): Are there many donations for genetic research? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are many people who are donating their tissue for the study of genetic disorders. In addition, there are many people who donate money to help fund genetic research. I am not sure what type of donations you were referring to. 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: Harry Potter in RI (10th grade student): What reality is there to Spiderman? ie could a spider bite induce a genetic mutation? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: As a scientist, I have to answer based on the peer reviewed data, and as far as we know, no cases of Spider Bite Induced Superpowers have been published. External factors such as UV light and chemical agents have been knows for a long time to cause mutations (think about skin cancer and sun exposure). It's possible that a natural venom could cause a mutation, but unlikely that it would have the widespread effects that Peter Parker experienced. Batman, however, whose "powers" are developed and invented could easily be real. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): My sister has Fragile X. Is there ever going to be a cure? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: Fragile X is due to expansions or changes in a specific area of the X chromosome. These expansions are carried by all of the cells of the body. You can imagine that it would be very hard to change the DNA/chromosomes in each and every cell. Because of this there is likely not going to be a cure for Fragile X. What is very important for your sister and your family is that she is in a great learning environment and has the opportunity to adapt and grow to be the best that she can be. Your question is a good one and it might be useful to you and your family to talk to a geneticist who is has special knowledge Fragile X. You can find a geneticist near you using the link at the National Society of Genetic Counselors http://www.nsgc.org/resourcelink.cfm. Keep asking these very thoughtful questions. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): How does DNA influence your personality? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: Personality is a very complicated mixture of genetics and social experiences. Although genetics has been found to determine about half of one's personality traits like extraversion, creativity and hostility, they are also affected by things like parenting, and social experiences and opportunities. 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: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (11th grade student): What does cDNA stand for and what does it do? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: The c in cDNA stands for complementary. It is created by reverse transcribing the messenger RNA turning it back into DNA which is often stored in libraries. This allows the researcher to see which parts of the DNA strand is used in coding different proteins and can show which genes are being expressed in the tissue that was used to create the cDNA. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): What would you suggest for someone who wanted to get into the field of genetics and biotechnology? (Chelsea) A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Hi Chelsea, I would recommend studying hard in your biology classes in high school. You can look for summer programs in genetic research to get an idea of the lab environment. If you pursue the subject in college, get a position in a lab early on, so you can really get a feel for research and maybe try out a few different projects. You will also want to do an independent research project in your junior/senior years. Ask questions and stay curious! Q: Kent Denver High School in CO (11th grade student): What is your favorite Starbucks drink? Does it perk you up after a long day of research? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Well, it depends what I'm going to be doing. If I'm working in the lab and moving around, half-caf grande drip coffee is plenty. If I'm at my desk reading DNA research papers a grande soy latte is ideal and if I'm answering questions in a chatroom with engaged and interested students asking relevent questions about DNA, then I don't need Starbucks, I already have all the natural energy I need. Q: East Forest High School in PA (11th grade student): Why did you decide to study DNA? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I knew that I liked Biology in general since I was a small child, but it was only in high school that I found my passion for DNA, due to a very cool Biology teacher. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Where you apart original human genome team? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Yes, I was. I came late to the project (in late summer of 1999). I worked with the team from 1999 until April 2003, when the human genome was finished. Although, I am still "on the team" we are just working on other genome projects! Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): What is cancer? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Cancer is a disease caused by cells that have lost control of their growth and/or their identity. The growth of cells is strongly controlled by factors within the cell and by the cell's environment. For instance, since you are constantly shedding skin cells (dry skin, dandruff), you need to make skin cells constantly. Other types of cells, such as those in the joint, grow much more slowly. If a cell gets damaged, it may lose the ability to control its growth. Such cells grow and grow even when more of them are not needed. Cells can lose other types of control as well, most cells are supposed to stay put and not move to other parts of the body. For instance, a bone cell does not need to move to the heart to do its job. Again, if a cell is damaged it may gain the ability to move to other parts of the body. If the cells start growing in a place they shouldn't be, they can cause illness. Examples of things that can cause cell damage include too much sun exposure to skin cells and radiation. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): What type of scientist are you? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: I am a behavioral epidemiologist. I study behavioral epidemics like cigarette smoking, obesity and physical activity. These are considered epidemics because a relatively large group of Americans smoke cigarettes, are overweight and do not get enough exercise. I test different methods for helping people make positive changes in these behaviors. Q: Carri Wilson in MI (n/a grade other): What types of careers involve biological science and engineeering? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The field of biomedical engineering is one such field. In addition, many laboratories are now using robots to do some of the work. Design of these robots can require an engineering background along with some knowledge of biological processes and assays. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): do you prefer family guy or south park? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Difficult question. Clearly both families have some interesting genetic mutations, the kids from South Park are flat, for example, suggesting some sort of inflammatory disfunction. In the end, it depends on the episode and my mood. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): What is the y gene? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I think you mean the Y chromosome. It determines gender in humans. Men have Y chromosomes. The Y chromosome contains a number of genes. Q: Princeton High School in NJ (12th grade student): How close are scientists to finding an effective gene therapy for any hereditary disease? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Scientists have attempted to use gene therapy for some rare hereditary diseases, but results have been unsuccessful. Research is continuing to make this potential therapy be effective in the future. Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): What is your favorite part of what you do? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: When you decide on a career in science you want to enjoy all parts of the job because you will spend alot of time at work. As a molecular biologists I spend time at the bench performing experiments, at the computer analyzing data, writing papers and giving lectures. I think the time analyzing is my favorite because, for me, that is where I get the big 'Aha' moment and that is what keeps me going. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Do you have any books regarding Genetics? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are more than 100,000 books published on genetics. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): Did you always know that you wanted to work in the field of genetics? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: No, it was a field that I did not know much about until 5 years ago. I became interested in genetics because leaders in the field were predicting that genetic information might be used to encourage people to be healthier. I was testing different methods to help people live healthier lives and wanted to learn about how I might include genetic information to improve those methods. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): Here's one for you: how does RNA exit the nucleus, but DNA cannot? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: The answer lies in the power of the Nuclear Pore Complex, a channel made of more than 100 proteins that sits in the nuclear envelope. RNA has a signal that allows it to be transported through the channel and out of the nucleus, like a metro passenger through a turnstile with a metro pass. As well, DNA is much much bigger than RNA, again making it a lot more likely to stay in the nucleus where it belongs. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): When you are researching, do you have to work with a partner? If so, how well do you work with him/her? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: Collaboration is a big part of science. When you work with others you can get more done. There are always some people that are easier to work with than others but if everyone takes a role that plays to their individual strength, in the end the whole study is improved by working together. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): What was your best experience working in genetics and biotechnology? (Chelsea) A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: My best experience was working with the Human Genome Project. It was a great collaboration among very dedicated and creative people. I am also extremely excited for the future of DNA sequencing. DNA sequencing technology is about the revolutionize the speed and cost of sequencing. It will be much faster and cheaper. In not too many years, sequencing your genome might be a part of your regular health care. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How long did it take you to finish the human genome project? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: It officially started in 1990. It officially ended in 2003. So, 13 great years. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Is strength is related to any gene? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: We do not yet know the answer to that question. However, scientists are finding groups of genes that affect how a person develops muscle mass, a key factor in strength. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Are the base pairs in human DNA the same pairs of that in plant DNA? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Yes. The units are the same A (adenine), G (guanine), C (cytosine) and T (thymine). The order of those units is different to make different genes and regulatory elements. Q: Genesee School District in MI (10th grade teacher): What makes the DNA molecule turn into a spiral? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Watson and Crick published a paper that answers this very question on this day more than 50 years ago. The chemical structure of the DNA molecule itself causes it to spiral, it has to do with the way sugar and phosphate molecules in the backbone fit together. What's really amazing about the spiral is that the structure and shape are essential for DNA to function. Q: St. Lawrence Seminary High School in WI (10th grade student): Is a frameshift always bad? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: In principle a frameshift spells a molecular disaster. From the point of the frameshift on, all the codons are read wrongly and this normally creates a premature stop codon almost immediately. What does this mean? It means a protein that is too short, possibly missing important domains. If the frameshift is towards the very end of the gene, it is possible that the protein may be almost complete and still work OK. I can only think of a single good scenario: If you have two CONSECUTIVE frameshifts in the same gene, the second one may rescue the problem created by the first one. In this case the protein may have a weird scrambled segment but be still functional. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Is it possible to manipulate myostatin in humans to increase perfomance potential? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: So far, the mutations in myostatin that have been found developed naturally in the individuals that carry them. One such mutation was found in a human child. There are studies looking at ways to use myostatin to treat degenerative muscle disorders. If these are successful it is possible that they could also be used for enhancement as well. We will all have to wait and see. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): In "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley he discusses the idea of humans being made by scientists alone. I realize this is an extreme of genetic engineering and probably never happen but do you think genetic engineering will become prominent between couples so that they could engineer their "ideal child" A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Certainly people have envisioned designing their children in many works of fiction. There was a more modern , and fairly dark view, of this idea in the the 1997 movie Gattaca, but reseachers widely considered it to be unlikely. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): How rewarding is your job? A: Saskia Sanderson, Ph.D.: I love my job! It's very exciting working at the National Human Genome Research Institute, because we get to hear the best scientists in the world give talks, and because we get to feel like we're making a contribution to improving public health through our research. It's a very rewarding and stimulating environment to work in. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): What do you know about rare diseases? Tell me! A: William Gahl, M.D.: Hi, There are over 6000 rare diseases, and these affect millions of Americans. I would guess that someone l close to you is affected by a rare disease. It often takes a long time to diagnose such disorders, on average about 5 years. This is a real problem, and what the country needs is more experts in this area. Often, the things we learn about rare diseases are applicable to common diseases that affect us all. We study rare diseases for many reasons, but two of the major reasons are that they teach us about the chemical pathways that operate normally, and because patients with these disorders are often quite alone, and have a difficult time obtaining medical assistance. For more information, you might Google the Office of Rare Diseases at the NIH. Keep learning! Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Will it be possible for doctors to be able to tell how long your life span will be, what diseases you may get and other things like that, before you're born? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: No, not with any certainty. Things like general health and life span are highly affected by how one lives their life, their health habits and the risks they take. What scientists may be able to do is to tell an individual about the chance they have of getting different kinds of health conditions if they take certain risks. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (10th grade student): What causes spinabifida? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Spina bifida is a defect in the lower spinal cord. One of the most common causes of spina bifida is insufficient folic acid in the mother's diet, both before she became pregnant and during the first few weeks of pregnancy. Several other factors may contribute to the development of spina bifida as well, including poor nutrition, certain drugs, and exposure to chemicals or radiation. In a few families, there also appears to be a genetic predisposition.
Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade other): Was the human genome project directed out of the Salk Institute? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: No, it was not. It started with the US Department of Energy. Then later was led by the US National Institutes of Health and the Wellcome Trust in Britain. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade teacher): Scientific American says there is evidence of foreign populations of maternal cells residing in us and, in the case of mothers, their children's cells integrated in their bodies. What new research is being done on this? What possible applications are there to understand autoimmune disorders? A: Donna Krasnewich, M.D., Ph.D.: That is a great question. Fetal blood cells can be found in pregnant women's circulation (as an example). One particularly active area of research involves using fetal DNA present in the mother's blood to diagnose illnesses that may be present in the fetus. This technique is being explored as a means of detecting Down Syndrome and other conditions. Autoimmunity is a general term used to describe illnesses caused when a person's immune system starts to recognize and attack things that it should not--specifically parts of a person's own body. Your question probably refers to the fact that while fetal cells in a mothers blood (for example) contain DNA from the mother herself, they also contain DNA from the father. The father's DNA is "foreign" to the mother's body and might be the basis of an immune reaction. To be honest, the underpinnings of autoimmune disease are still a very active area of research and not completely understood. I will look forward, with you, to see if populations of "foreign cells" contribute to the development of autoimmune illnesses. Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): Is it human cloning is possible? If it is, is it legal? A: : No it is not possible currently. And, no it is not legal currently. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): What are some possible purposes for junk DNA? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Junk DNA has not a purpose per se. The DNA with no obvious function still contributes to the plasticity of the genome. Sometimes it is shuffled around and becomes part of another gene. Sometimes triggers chromosomal rearrangements that cause disease. Some of what we consider junk may actually have a function, we just don't know it yet. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade teacher): Scientific American says there is evidence of foreign populations of maternal cells residing in us and, in the case of mothers, their children's cells integrated in their bodies. What new research is being done on this? What possible applications are there to understand autoimmune disorders? A: William Gahl, M.D.: Hello, I do understand that some maternal cells pass through the placenta and become part of us, but there are probably very few. Experts in maternal-fetal health are studying this, as well as the age-old issue of why a fetus, which is foreign tissue, is not rejected. The solution to this difficult issue would, indeed, have implications for autoimmune disorders, in which that process of tolerance is abrogated. Q: Academy of the Sacred Heart Bloomfield Hills in MI (12th grade student): Considering some recent studies show that epigenetic traits can be inherited, is there any interest in starting an epigenome project? It seems like an incredibly daunting task. A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Actually, you are exactly right that it's a good idea to study the epigenome. The NIH Roadmap for Medical Research, which is an initiative that coordinates research that no one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up NIH would be able to do alone, launched an epigenomics program just last year. You can read all about it at http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/epigenomics/. Q: Francis Howell North in MO (11th grade student): What causes chimeras? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Human chimeras are generally caused when the embryo develops from more than a single cell - both cells having different DNA. As the embryo develops, both cells divide as the embryo develops, so the DNA of the two different original cells are both distributed (frequently by cell type) throughout the person;s body. In many cases, chimeras are caused by the fusion of twin embryos at a very very early stage. Q: East China University of Science and Technology in International (n/a grade other): I want to get a job in R&D, but I was puzzled about whether I should specialize in one area of biology or study many areas to be comprehensive. Which approch would be more helpful for finding a R&D job A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Overall, having a strong foundation in genetics, computer science, and biostatistics will certainly be useful. And if you can acquire specialized skills in hot areas, you will add to your marketability. With regard to a position in R&D, the decision of what to study is really dependent on the institution and position you are looking for. Some companies are very specialized and may be looking for someone who has very specific knowledge in a specific field. Other companies may be quite diversified and having a diverse background would facilitate one's ability to be involved in a variety projects. Q: The Academy of the Sacred Heart in MI (12th grade student): Is there a gene in DNA that causes obesity? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Researchers are discovering many genes that contribute to the the cause of common diseases and conditions such as obesity. Recently, researchers in the United Kingdom have discovered a commonly occuring gene variant that may explain why some people become overweight while others do not. However, they point out that it is unlikely to be the cause of the global obesity epidemic. The findings are published in Science, the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. There could be additional genes that can cause a person to become obese, and additional research could discover them. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade teacher): Cool question about RNA exiting the nucleus, so is the signal an enzyme? Is the signal coded for by a particular DNA sequence? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: There's a signal in the RNA sequence that is bound (as RNA is transcribed) by a particular transport protein. This protein binds other proteins and molecules and shepherd the RNA through the pore. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): Do you travel out of the country a lot for your line of work? (Katie) A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Currently, the majority of my professional activities require national travel and not international travel. Every now and then, I do get to attend meetings that are held outside the country. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): I know someone with multiple sclerosis. Is this disease passed down through family genes? A: William Gahl, M.D.: HI, Multiple sclerosis does have a genetic basis. In fact, a couple of different genes have been discovered to cause this disease. However, not all the people who inherit those genetic mutations get symptoms. Furthermore, the signs and symptoms are extremely variable. MS is a tough disease, and I admire your friend for his/her courage in dealing with this disorder. There is a great deal of hope, however, since clinical treatment trials for this malady are underway. Q: Winton Woods High School in OH (12th grade student): How many genes still have unknown functions? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: A lot of them! But we don't know exactly how many for sure. We currently think there are about 20,000 genes in the human genome, and we're discovering more every day through bioinformatics and experiments in the lab. While we know what a lot of genes do, there's still a lot of genes whose functions we don't yet know or fully understand. That's why we need you to become a scientist to help figure this out! Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): Do muscular people have more RNA than normal people? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Well that is an interesting question! Muscles are made of cells. Increase in muscle size occurs when there are more and/or larger muscle cells. So, since every cells contains RNA, more muscular people would be expected to have more RNA overall. There is likely also an increase in the RNA inside of each cell if a person works out. Working out damages muscle cells (not in a bad way, it is just part of the process). Cellular damage repair often requires special cellular processes that use RNA to carry information. Finally, making the muscle protein themselves uses mRNA. So, in short, yes! Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): is there really a gene that can determine your personality? A: Saskia Sanderson, Ph.D.: No, there is no one single gene that determines your personality. However, there are lots of genes that probably each have a small influence on your personality. For example, some people may have a combination of genes that makes them a bit more likely to feel depressed sometimes. The important thing to be aware of is that there are many, many things that influence how your personality develops, and we don't know what all of those things are yet. Genetics, environments, life experiences, and lots of other things may all play a part. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): To Kris Wetterstrand: I don't know about you, but a frog is definitely simpler than I am? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I'll give it to you that frogs can't talk and do math like we can. But they are a very diverse set of animals that inhabit many different environments. They can do a lot of things that we can't. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): What are your views on the ethics of human reproductive cloning? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: Human cloning is a very broad issue. If you are asking about cloning human cells for understanding the biology of disease, that I might regard as acceptable. If you are referring to cloning a full human being, then I can not see any benefits to society that would justify this ethically. Q: Rosa L. Parks High School in NJ (n/a grade teacher): I've read about the Canine Genome Project and most recently the Papaya Genome Project. How and who decides what organism's genome will be decoded? What is the benefit to humans of such research on these two very different organisms? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: If a group wants to get their organism sequenced, they write a proposal called a white paper describing the benefits of having a full genome sequence done. A committee reads the papers and decides which ones should be done. Once they are approved for funding they are parsed out to the various genome sequencing centers. Because genome sequencing technologies are improving rapidly, the cost and time involved in sequencing a genome is dropping, too. Soon complete genome sequences will be available for any organism that a researcher can imagine. By sequencing many diverse genomes we get more information about what the roles of individual genes are and how they are controlled in different organisms. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): How many types of DNA are there? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: It all depends on what you mean by type. In the cells of our bodies we have nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA. We also have bacterial DNA in our digestive system ( from the essential bacteria who reside there). As well, the human body can contain viral DNA from viruses that are circulating or infecting our bodies. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Phenylalanine is essential to human body, but why is it poisonous to human body? A: William Gahl, M.D.: Hello, Phenylalanine itself is not toxic, but if it can't be converted to its natural product, tyrosine, then it gets broken down to another product that IS toxic. That product is phenylpyruvic acid, which has harmful effects upon brain development. The disease is called phenylketonuria, and it is the first disorder that was screened for among newborns on a state-wide basis. Many affected children have been helped by this program. The treatment is to avoid phenylalanine, but not completely because, as you said, it is essential for the human body. Good question! Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): Can DNA be used to make better matches between organ donors and organ recipients? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes, in fact there are specific DNA sequences that are checked for almost all transplantation. The HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) genes contribute to what the body's immune system sees as self and not self. The DNA sequence of those genes are checked to make a better guess at whether the transplanted organ will be accepted by its new body. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is being a good singer linked to genetics? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: Yes, it is likely that singing ability is affected by genetics. Like any physical ability, musical capability, artistic interest, and other personality traits are partly affected by genetics. However, in order to be really good at anything, one has to do the proper training and put effort into it, in order to be really good. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): How intense was the race to complete the Human Genome Project? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: It was pretty intense. There were two groups of dedicated and hard-working scientists working to accomplish a worthy goal. In addition, the public Human Genome Project was very committed to generating the sequence information and making it available to everyone. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): In the video game called Assasin's Creed, they use DNA memory from ancestors to travel to the past. Does DNA really hold memories? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Doesn't anyone play Frogger anymore? What, no working Ataris out there? No, unfortunately DNA doesn't hold memories. If anything, DNA might code for proteins that signal processes in the brain to remember experiences. Q: Rosa L. Parks High School in NJ (n/a grade teacher): I've read about evidence supporting hyperevolution in "lower organisms" (bacteria). How readily do you think larger,more complex organisms will be able to do this? A: Gary Temple, Ph.D.: Bacteria and other "lower" organisms have fewer genes and apparently much simpler systems for controlling gene regulation. In addition, because these organisms are either unicellular or have a much lower level of tissue diversity, compared to vertebrates, for example, their systems for gene control presumably need to be less diversified. The combined simpler genetic and tissue organization of the lower organisms could allow more flexibility and opportunity for evolutionary changes, compared with more complex organisms, which are therefore constrained to evolve much more gradually over time. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Kris, what university did you attend? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I attended University of Miami in Florida for my Bachelor's degree in biology. I went to Cornell University in New York for my Master's degree in genetics. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Are genes related to nose bleeds? A: William Gahl, M.D.: Hi, In a way, yes. Some people have nosebleeds because their platelets are defective, and that can occur because of genetic defects. Platelets help us clot our blood, and low or defective platelets lead to nosebleeds, bruising, and prolonged bleeding when you get a cut. By the way, the medical term for nosebleed is epistaxis. For advanced credit, look up Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome! I guess if you have genes that cause aggression, this could get you into fights, which can be related to nosebleed! Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): Why do you think jobs in the genetic field are a part of one of the fastest growing industries?(Katelyn) A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: In my opinion, genetics and genomics are becoming much more utilized in all aspects of biological research, especially with regard to medicine. More and more, even people in other fields besides the biological sciences are utilizing genetics and genomics. The more we discover about how genomes function, the more we can apply the information. The future is bright for people who want to think about using genetics in their career. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Can exposure to toxic waste alter your genetic coding? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: There are many toxic chemicals that could damage your DNA. The damage may or may not produce an obvious health problem on the person that was exposed. But the damaged DNA may be passed on to the offspring and cause a serious health problem to THEM. So please keep your gloves and mask on when handling any toxic waste. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Is handling genetic power the greatest responsibility in the world? A: Colleen McBride, Ph.D.: I would say no. "Genetic power" makes me think of genetic knowledge and the products that come out that knowledge. I think issues of war and handling nuclear weapons demands far more responsibility from us as a society. Q: Selandia in Slagelse, Denmark in n/a (11th grade student): Why are centrioles in animal cells, but not in plant cells?What do plants have instead ? Lilly A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Centrioles organize microtubules (long, structural molecule chains that can function as freeways inside the cell), since both types of cells have microtubules it is very interesting that plant cells lack centrioles. We know that in animal cells, microtubules assemble from the centrioles, while in plants, mictotubules assemble at several places (centrosomes without centrioles) in the cell. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): We always see the DNA model. What does DNA actually look like for real? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Actually, the typical model shows one of the most common forms of DNA, called the B form. There are actually forms of the DNA that turn back on itself in the opposite direction called the Z form. But the question I bet you really asking is what does DNA look like when you purify it out of a pile of cells in a test tube. I remember the first time I isolated DNA; I stirred a class rode in the ethanol precipitate and I pulled out a tangle of white, mucous-like stuff that very much looked like snot. Q: Francis Howell North in MO (11th grade student): What causes hermaphodites? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: The term hermaphrodite is used to describe persons or animals that have both male and female reproductive organs. There is a range of hermaphrodism in that a person can have mostly female genitals, mostly male genitals or anywhere in between. As an example, some hermaphrodism is caused by genetic (DNA related) changes in the regulation or production of testosterone. Testosterone is a natural hormone that is normally present in much larger amounts in males than females. For instance if a baby is genetically a female (she has two X sex chromosomes) but her body makes more testosterone than it should, she will be born with genitalia that have some male characteristics. This is a complicated area as there are many genes that regulate the development of the genitals and other male and female characteristics. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): What causes polyembryony? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Our understanding of the exact causes of polyembryony, or identical twinning, are poor at best. It does seem that having twins runs in some families. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica "polyembryony occurs regularly in the nine-banded armadillo, which usually gives birth to four identical young." Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (Higher Education grade teacher): What would you recommend to a teacher on how to stay current on the new developments and research in the field of genetics and biotechnology? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I would recommend visiting the websites of the National Human Genome Research Institute (several links to genetic/genomic education sites); becoming a member of the Community of Genetic Educators (www.nih.coge.gov); and attending the conferences or subscribing to the publications of the National Science Teachers Association and the National Association of Biology Teachers. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): If your mother had breast cancer and you are a girl, do you have a high chance of getting cancer also? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: There are many factors that play a role in a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. One factor that increases a woman's risk is if her mother or other relatives also had breast cancer. Anyone with a family history of breast cancer should discuss this with their primary care physician. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Do you have a favorite show that you enjoy because it involves genetics? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: I cannot think of any TV shows, but the movie GATTACA has some interesting issues regarding genetics. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): I am very into animal rights and wonder if there is any way to research DNA and still consider the animals? What are your opinions on animal rights in the science field? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: There are many areas of biology and genetics that do not deal with animal subjects but when they do it is because there is no better way to get the answers that are needed. Scientists are also very concerned about animal welfare and never put an animal at risk if there is any other way to arrive at an answer. We have entire branches devoted to reviewing study designs and making sure that animals subjects are always treated humanely. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): Is there any kind of genetic research going on to try and create cures for cancer? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: All cancers are genetic, and there is large amounts of research going on in this field all over the world. If you want to learn more go to www.nih.gov or www.cancer.gov. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): Does DNA effect how well you hear and see? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Yes, there are many genetic disorders that cause blindness or hearing loss. An example of a disorder that leads to both problems is Usher Syndrome. More information about this syndrome and others can be found at http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What has been the most difficult part of your studies? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: The most difficult part of science is time management. I always have lots of experiments going and everyone of them is exciting in its own right so choosing what to do first is the biggest problem I have. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Does DNA affect social personality? A: Saskia Sanderson, Ph.D.: DNA probably has some influence on social personality. There are lots and lots of variations in DNA that in combination may influence aspects of social behavior and personality. For example, some people's genes may make them a bit more likely to feel depressed more easily than some other people. However, it is important to remember that there are lots and lots of factors that influence personality, including life experiences and all sorts of other things. DNA is just one of those. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (11th grade student): Jumping genes alter genes randomly. Does this represent an infinite variability of the genome that we don't yet see? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: That is a smart question. Lately scientists are paying more and more attention to the STRUCTURAL variability of genomes. For instance, at the sequence level any two humans are 0.01% different: this only accounts for spelling differences. But when you take in consideration the structural differences the number goes up to at least 0.05%. These structural variations include among others segments of DNA or genes deleted or duplicated; and genes that have moved location. Q: McDowell High School in PA (10th grade student): What is methemoglobinemia? Are there really blue people? A: William Gahl, M.D.: Hemoglobin is the protein in our blood that carries oxygen to the tissues of our body. Methemoglobin is hemoglobin that has bound a different molecule, like a drug, rather than oxygen. This can occur due to a genetic defect in the metabolism of hemoglobin. Indeed, methemoglobin is blue colored, and humans with this genetic defect can appear slightly blue. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (11th grade student): Is there reason to believe the Y chromosome could "disappear"? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: It's possible that the Y chromosome could disappear, but the pace of evolution is very slow and the Y chromosome has a lot of important genes on it. Scientists estimate that it would take on the order of 10 million years for a big genomic change like that to occur. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): What are some colleges that have great genetics programs? (Leah) A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are 100s of colleges that have genetics programs. In addition, universities with life science departments will include genetics in their curriculums. In order to get sense of what the programs are like, you can always look at the various research that the faculty are involved. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): Do you think that we can ever know too much about DNA for our own good? A: Saskia Sanderson, Ph.D.: It is this kind of question that makes it so important that there are people researching and thinking about the ethical, social, legal, and psychological implications of genetics research. On a broad level, we need to ensure that there are people working on this kind of question at the same time as the scientists are working on the genetics research. On an individual level, it is up to each person to decide how much they do or do not wish to know about their own DNA. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How do biologists know the sun's UV light casues cancer? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Firstly, cancer is caused by damage to DNA. The DNA causes the cells to lose control of their growth and/or identity. That being the case, you would expect that things that damage DNA would cause cancer. One experiment that shows how UV radiation damages DNA is as follows. If you coat the DNA with fluorescent (glowing) molecules, you can actually see them under the microscope. If you shine strong enough UV light on the DNA you can watch it break in front of your eyes! More evidence is provided by the fact that skin cancers associated with UV skin damage occur most often in places not covered by the sun. Finally, there are some diseases caused by dysfunction of the cellular machinery that repairs DNA damage. Individuals with those conditions will often have dramatically increased rates of skin cancer in sun exposed areas of the body. Wear sunscreen!! Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is Barry Bonds Geneticlly altered or is he just totally juiced? A: Gary Temple, Ph.D.: Barry Bonds is clearly a gifted athlete, and despite all the controversy around why he has done so well, it's safe to say his exceptional skills are mostly the result of "good genes" and tireless practice and years of experience. Even if we could identify which genes help to contribute to such unusual ability -- which we currently cannot do -- a large part of outstanding athletes' success certainly results from how hard and long they have worked at perfecting these skills and at what age they begin that effort. Q: Fairmont State University in WV (Higher Education grade teacher): The human genome project was a huge endeavor that involved many contributors. Is there anything in the works for another project on this same scale? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: The Haplotype Map (HapMap) was a large-scale project. Other projects of this size that are underway right now are: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), the Human Microbiome Project (HMP), the 1000 Genomes Project and the ENCODE Project. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): If you hadn't ended up in research, what would your "back-up" job have been? Are you happy with where you are? (Alexandra) A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: I would have been a rockstar, of course! Seriously, when I was first in college, I wanted to be a doctor. But after an internship in a lab one summer, I found that I really liked research and working in the lab. After spending a number of years working in the lab, I actually moved to a new job where I help people who are training to be scientists work on developing other aspects of their career besides just their lab skills. This is an interesting job I did not even know about when I was in college. It allows me to combine my love of working with people with my interest in helping people figure out how to be the best they can be at what they do. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Can you describe the gene mutation that causes Noonan Syndrome? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: There are four genes associated with Noonan Syndrome. They are PTPN11, SOS1, KRAS and RAF1. Mutations, or changes in the DNA sequence, in each of these genes have been shown to cause Noonan Syndrome. More information about Noonan Syndrome can be found at the following web site: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/ Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Is it true that sickle cell anemia prevents malaria? A: William Gahl, M.D.: It's close to true. Sickle cell anemia itself is a bad disease that can be fatal, but you need two abnormal genes to have actual sickle cell disease. However, if you have one of those mutated genes, you are a carrier (or heterozygote, in genetic terms). Sickle cell disease occurs in areas of the world where malaria is prevalent, and researchers believe that this may be because CARRIERS for sickle cell disease were able to resist malaria better than other people. This "advantage" with respect to malaria (an often fatal infectious disease) would keep the sickle cell gene in the population, allowing carriers to marry and have children with sickle cell disease. Make sense? Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Is it illegal to analyze a person's DNA without his or her consent? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: It depends, this is an important policy question that states across this country are addressing regarding whether individuals who have been arrested and charged with a crime are required to give their DNA to law enforcement. Individuals who have been convicted of a felony are required to provide their DNA. It is illegal without a court order to analyze a person's DNA in many situations. Q: Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in FL (11th grade student): Im a soccer player. If I marry a soccer player, will our kids be amazing soccer players? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Probably only if they practice really hard. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): Would you say DNA or environmental triggers are the leading cause of cancer? [mason] A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: DNA is definitely the leading cause of cancer, when something goes wrong in the DNA it can cause the cells to grow out of control and a tumor is formed. Some of these problems are inherited while others happen spontaneously during cell division. There are environmental factors that can increase the possibility of getting one of these spontaneous mutations by interfering in the DNA strand. Q: Meridian High School in WA (10th grade student): Is there a chance that our DNA can be mutated so that we turn into zombies like in the movie "I am Legend"? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Of course, anything is possible. The scientific literature, however, contains no evidence of human to zombie transitions. Not even in animal models (zombie mice, ew). Zombieism would involve a lot of complex physical and mental changes, and a process as complex as this is unlikely to happen to you, but it's still best to keep your distance if you see one. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): Is there something that could distort the shape of DNA? What would happen to the person if their DNA wasn't the right shape? (Kelsie) A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Sure! Mutations can distort the shape of DNA and keep the base pairs from matching up the way they normally would (A's with T's, and G's with C's). This can alter the shape of DNA and then it often won't work the way it should. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Who was head of the human genome project? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Francis Collins of NHGRI is the most prominent leader of the project. The US Department of Energy started the project. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and the Wellcome Trust in Britain led it to completion. Many other scientific leaders were involved. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Is Lou Gherig's disease a genetic mutation? A: William Gahl, M.D.: Yes, the Iron Horse had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which is indeed a genetic disease. There is even a gene known to be associated with ALS now. Unfortunately, there is still no treatment, but there are many scientists and physicians working on finding a treatment for this devastating disease. Lou had his share of luck, good and bad. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Why are strawberries used for the DNA seperation experiment? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: A single strawberry will produce a lot of DNA that can be seen in a test tube. Q: Mound Westonka High School in MN (9th grade student): Do you like DNA day? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: I do. It's a special day (like a birthday) to celebrate our DNA, the focus of my work. The nice people who organize the chatroom make it fun for all of us (and provide coffee!). Answering questions about DNA is different from what I do on most days, and when I talk to high school students about DNA, it's always been a great experience. Q: Westchester Country Day School in NC (9th grade student): How accurately can a doctor predict how tall a child will become? (I know it is also related to diet.) A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Assuming that there are absolutely no medical conditions, dietary restrictions, etc, probably within about +/- 2 inches 95% of the time. As you suggest, there are other factors, including diet, that make a difference. If such factors are present, the height prediction gets much worse. The best methods are not all that scientific and rely on things like parental height. Even with 95%, remember, there is still a 1 in 20 chance to be way off the mark! Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): What happens when something goes wrong with chromosome 21 A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Many problems can occur if something goes wrong with chromosome 21. A common problem occurs when someone is born with three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the normal two. This is called Down Syndrome or Trisomy 21. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Can you do the same strawberry DNA extraction process on other items? If so, please list them? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Onions are also good for a DNA extraction demonstration (the conditions and materials are easy to come by). DNA can be extracted from many things. Sometimes conditions and materials are a more difficulty. When I was a graduate student, I extracted DNA from single fruit flies in a few minutes. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): What causes Lesch-Nyhan Syndrome? A: William Gahl, M.D.: Lesch-Nyhan syndrome results from deficiency of a certain enzyme, hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase. As a result, uric acid accumulates and causes poor mental development, joint problems, and other issues. The classic behavioral characteristic is self-mutilation; children and adults with L-N syndrome bite their fingers and lips. There is no treatment for this devastating disorder. Lesch-Nyhan syndrome was named after Bill Nyhan (an MD at the time) and Lesch, a medical student at the time. Bill is still practicing metabolic diseases in California. Q: Winton Woods High School in OH (12th grade teacher): How well can American students compete for biotechnology jobs compared to students from other countries? Why do we seem to be behind? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Your questions are good ones and there are at least two major science curriculum reform efforts that are addressing this, nationally. The overarching goals of these programs are to ensure that students have a solid background in math, science, and technology. Having strong backgrounds in these areas will help students compete for jobs in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields. Q: William Mynhier in CA (7th grade student): is it possible to clone rocks? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Sadly, rocks lacking DNA are unclonable. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): If your mother had Huntington's disease would you want to get tested to see if you have it also? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Wow, what a question! I would like to say first that this is a question that needs to be answered by each individual for themselves. Everyone has their own set of values and their own understanding of the world. For me, I think I would. However, I have also worked with families who changed their minds when such a question became real instead of hypothetical. Therefore, it is hard to know unless you are there yourself. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Do you need the DNA in your mitochondria? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: We absolutely do, there are many human diseases that result from even small mutations in mitochondrial DNA. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Why is the actual life span of a fruit fly, from a zygote to death? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Drosophila melanogaster stays eight days in the egg and larval stages, and six days in the pupal stage. The life span of a fruit fly may be several weeks. Q: Taylor Road Middle School in GA (6th grade student): How does the genetic material differ in humans and cats? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: All mammals share a majority of their DNA sequence. The complete genome sequence of the cat has not been done yet but from what we have seen, about 65%, they are no exception. They appear to share about 90% of their genes with humans. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): What is Karyotyping A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Karyotyping is a test to examine chromosomes in a sample of cells, which can help identify genetic problems as the cause of a disorder or disease. Q: Dept. of Biotech SMVCBT, NAGPUR, INDIA in International (n/a grade student): What is molecular geneology ? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Utilizing molecular biology techniques to trace and assess an individuals ancestry. It sssists with identifying populations and their migration patterns as well as more specific information about family history. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Do you consider Dolly the clone to be a success? I know she died early; is this a result of her being a clone? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: Yes, I think we have to consider her a success because she was the first large mammal cloned and information learned from even her short life has improved cloning efforts in other organisms. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How long did it take you to become a true experts in your field? A: William Gahl, M.D.: I was an expert in one disease by my late thirties, and an expert in several diseases by my late forties. In order to become such an expert, I had to see many patients with each of these disorders. The National Institutes of Health allowed me to do that. I am eternally grateful to the NIH and to my patients! Q: Sharon High School in PA (12th grade student): Do your genes vary as you get older? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Yes, our genes can get mutations as we age. Indeed some changes in genes that occur as we age are the cause of cancer. Q: Northern High School in MI (10th grade student): Can drugs affect your genes? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes, without question, some can. Many chemotherapy drugs (drugs used to treat cancer) are useful specifically because they affect the DNA your genes are made of. Some people who are successfully treated for cancer with such drugs are at increased risk for other types of cancer later on in life. Now, you may be asking about illegal drugs such as marijuana, heroin, etc. Although we don't know for absolute sure, they probably don't have a large effect on your genes. I'd like to emphasize that drug use, including nicotine, can damage a growing fetus if they are used by a pregnant woman. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Did you guys ever have any major problems while trying to map the human genome? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: There were barriers to overcome in order to figure out what to do. Researchers had to decide between multiple approaches to handling the genome - piece by piece or the whole genome at once. Information storage (i.e. computers) had to be sorted out. Analytical methods had to be developed. And many, many people had to be coordinated. Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): They say that the purpose of introns is not known. I wonder if it could be that the genetic information of that organism would not be in its phenotype, but be passed down to their children? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Interestingly enough, scientists are now discovering that a lot of the DNA they thought was "junk DNA", ie the DNA that does not codes for genes, is actually really important, and not junk at all! But I think that what you're referring to, the genetic information each of us inherits from our parents, but that may not present itself physically (ie we don't have the phenotype for a gene that we may carry)- those genes may be recessive, or just not "turned on", or may not even have been carried down to us at all! Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is the difference between the amount of genes in a human and a small dog? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: First I have to tell you that big dogs and little dogs all have the same genes. They may have a couple of mutations that alter their size potential but other than that they are very much alike. At this time approximately 20,000 genes have been identified in the dog and 24,000 in humans. There are groups actively looking for the 4000 missing genes in dogs to see if they are really missing or just mis-placed. Q: Dixie High School in SC (12th grade student): Is it true that scientist have proven that professional scientist are not as smart as the average high school student? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: That's a common urban legend. As it turns out, the average high school student is nowhere near as smart as the average professional scientist, in large part based on data collected from the types of questions they ask. An interesting area of research if you have what it takes to become a professional scientist someday. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): Does Lupis have anything to do with DNA? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Some cases of Lupus are caused by changes in our genes. However, the cause of most cases of Lupus are poorly understood. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Could there be a mutation in cells that would make a man mix with a woman? A: William Gahl, M.D.: Hello, It's not really a mutation that makes a man mix with a woman; it's nature itself! Some are better than others at this. You might be referring to a man who has characteristics of a woman. There are some genetic disorders in which a male (XY) can appear like a woman (XX) even though the person's cells are still XY. That can be due to a single genetic mutation. Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade student): is there any institute in other country belongs to NHGRI? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: On occasion, NHGRI will funds research institutes outside of the US. Espececially when they provide something unique or special to the science. Q: Medgar Evers College in NY (Higher Education grade student): Will there be any bias when it comes to providing insurance and treament to certain groups of people now that the Human Genome has been sequenced? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: Yesterday April 24, 2008 the U.S. Senate passed GINA a bill to prohibit the use of genetic information in the provision of health insurance. It is expected that the House will pass the bill and President Bush will sign it into law, when that happens it will reduce the chance of misuse of genetic information to discriminate against an individual. Q: IASE OFF CAMPUS CENTRE in International (Higher Education grade student): How many genes are there in a human genome? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Currently, we think there are about 20,000 genes in the human genome. Interestingly enough, that number continues to go down as we do more and more research. Not too long ago, we thought that number was closer to 100,000! Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Is creativity genetic? A: Saskia Sanderson, Ph.D.: Genetics almost certainly influence aspects of how people think, feel and behave - some of which will influence how creative somebody is. However, creativity, personality, artistic ability, logical thinking and almost all aspects of human thought and behavior are all very, very complicated. We are only just starting to understand how genetics into the whole picture. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): How does the environment turn on and off a gene? (Maria) A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: Some genes can be controlled by temperature. There is a gene that controls coat color in some cats and rabbits that is turned on at low temperature and off at higher temperature. That is where the Siamese "points" come from. We do not know the exact mechanism for turning these genes on and off but it is thought to be caused by protein folding changes. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): Will you guys do this again next year? Like answering all these questions? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: Yes! We look forward to answering questions from students across the country. Q: Clarkstown High School North in NY (9th grade teacher): Why does non-disjunction occur in meiosis? What type of bond keeps the tetrad together? How common are diseases linked to this? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: Non-disjunction occurs when the chromosomes fail to segregate during meiosis. This can cause a decrease or increase of genetic material in the resulting cells. There are a number of genetic disease that result from this. Q: Caston High School in CT (9th grade student): Hey, you all are really smart. How old are you? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Thanks! We're all different ages. Some of us are in our 20s and 30s, and some of us are in our 40s, 50s, 60s. And we all have a really good time working together. Science is fun! Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Why do people get mutations? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: So, what is a mutation? A scientist who studies genetics thinks of mutations as changes in DNA that have some effect on the health of the organism (person, animal, plant, whatever). The change in health, however, may only happen under certain circumstances or may be very slight. Alright, now to your question. DNA can be changed (mutated) by lots of things including drugs, sunlight, and even rare errors that happen when cells divide. Most of those changes are actually repaired by the cell before they can cause problems. Occasionally, however, they can cause disease. Q: Athens High School in AL (11th grade student): What foods have been or are going to be enhanced by DNA alterations? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Currently, there are many vegetable and animal crops ( for example, rice, beef, soybeans, tomatoes, and corn) that have been found to be safe food sources. As more and more genetically modified crops are deemed safe and economical, more will be modified and developed for consumption. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): Do you like being an scientist? A: Heidi Parker, Ph.D.: Yes, there are not many jobs where you learn something new everyday. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Do you have to know human genetics to become a crime scene investigater? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: It certainly helps! Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Why do people get mutations? A: William Gahl, M.D.: When our DNA makes new DNA, it sometimes makes mistakes. The process is not perfect!. Any mistake can be a mutation. If there is no effect of a mistake in making the new DNA, it is not called a mutation. It would be a "polymorphism." We all carry about 6 or 7 mutations, but they usually don't show up to cause us problems! Q: Clarkstown High School North in NY (9th grade teacher): Why do some people have different colored eyes? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: We have genes that are affect our eye color. Brown is dominant over green, and both are dominant over blue. Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): What is Philadelphia Chromosome? (BCR/abl) A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: The Philadelphia chromosome is a rearrangement (translocation) of genetic material between chromosomes 9 and 22 is associated with several types of blood cancer known as leukemias. This chromosomal abnormality is found only in cancer cells. It fuses part of a specific gene from chromosome 22 (the BCR gene) with part of another gene from chromosome 9 (the ABL gene). The protein produced from this fused gene abnormally signals tumor cells to continue dividing and prevents them from adequately repairing DNA damage. The Philadelphia chromosome has been identified in most cases of a slowly progressing form of blood cancer called chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). It also has been found in some cases of more rapidly progressing blood cancers known as acute leukemias. The presence of the Philadelphia chromosome can help predict how a cancer will progress and provides a target for molecular therapies. Q: Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in FL (11th grade student): Why did you decide to study DNA? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Because as a physician I wanted to help people affected by genetic syndromes. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Has DNA been found from Mars or aliens A: William Gahl, M.D.: No DNA has been found from Mars, but we haven't looked very much! That's a project for your generation! Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (11th grade student): Will the neanderthal genome provide new clues on evolution? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: The scientific community is very excited about the Neanderthal genome project. Neanderthals are the closest relative to humans that we will ever have an opportunity to study. We know based on the fossil record that Neanderthals had significant anatomical differences with us. We may be able to trace the roots of some of those by studying their DNA. We could also focus on genes that are known to have an important function in brain development in humans and study their Neanderthal counterparts to assess how their brain capabilities compared to ours. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Will there ever be an answer to the west nile virus? A: Gary Temple, Ph.D.: West Nile Virus causes apparent disease in less than 1% of the people who show evidence of infection. Immunity to the virus appears to be a protective factor affecting whether an initial exposure to WNV will cause symptoms and apparent disease, as well as whether that person will develop a second later infection, if exposed again to the virus at a later time. Since immunity can play a significant role in severity and prevention of WNV infections, it is possible that scientists in the future will find ways to exploit the human immune reaction to develop effective vaccines, even though none currently is available.
Q: Fairmont State University in WV (Higher Education grade student): What other eukaryotic genomes have been completely sequenced? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: The NHGRI alone has supported the completion of over 75 eukaryotic genomes and has many more in process, see http://genome.gov/10002154. This does not include many other genomes supported by other funding agencies (like the US Department of Energy) and other countries. Q: Atholton High School in MD (11th grade student): What's the deal with the traits for eyes? Why are my eyes a mix of brown and blue, and why do they have specks of different colors, like green and dark brown? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: While brown eyes are the dominant eye color, sometimes we have different color eyes, like green or blue, and sometimes we even have a mix of different colors within the same eye, like brown eyes speckled with green. Often genetics involve a mix of multiple things taking place behind the scenes to generate the phenotype we actually see.
Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): Do you like answering all of these scientific questions? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Yes. I wait for DNA Day all year long! I'll see you next year too, right? Q: Sharon High School in PA (12th grade student): If my mothers aunt has Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, is there a chance that i could develop the disease A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: Approximately 10% of people with ALS have another affected family member. These are referred to as familial or inherited ALS. In this situation a gene mutation can potentially be passed on to other family members. However, most cases of ALS are not inherited. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): How was the human genome project accomplished? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: The HGP was accomplished through the work of 20 research institutions in six countries, over the course of 13 years. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (10th grade student): Do you love doing your job? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Yes, I love doing my job. I work on genetic diseases very broadly. For example, I was involved in educating the public and the congress about Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act - a bill that passed in the Senate yesterday after a great deal of work! I also help genetic disease support groups figure out ways to work together and help to get research going on their diseases. And, I work with many experts in policy, law, sociology and psychology on what we need to understand about genetics in society. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): What are the pros and cons of getting genetic tests? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Deciding to have genetic testing is a personal decision. Genetic testing is offered for many reasons. Genetic testing can be used to diagnose a disorder such as Down syndrome. Genetic testing can help you learn if you are a carrier of a recessive gene mutation, such as cystic fibrosis. Genetic testing is offered during pregnancy to screen for disorders such as spina bifida and Down syndrome. Genetic testing is increasingly being used to find out if a certain medication and dose of medication is right for a patient. The pros of genetic testing include having information to make health and reproductive decisions. The cons of genetic testing include concerns about privacy of genetic information, and the potential for discrimination. Genetic professionals such as genetic counselors are available to talk with individuals and families in detail about the pros and cons of genetic testing so that they can decide if they want to pursue it. Q: Charlie in RI (Higher Education grade student): Can you double major and hold a career as a molecular biologist and chemist? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Certainly! Molecular biology and chemistry often go hand in hand. In fact, you can even double major in something that is not science-related, like art history and biochemistry or Spanish and genetics, and still go on to be a very successful scientist. I actually recommend studying something outside of the sciences in addition to science. It doesn't have to be a double major, but at least take a course or two in some other interesting subjects so you know things about our world other than just science. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (12th grade student): Is all DNA hereditary? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Changes that happen in somatic cells are not inherited. Only the changes to the DNA in the germ cells and in the mitochondrial DNA found in the oocyte the precursor to the egg (inherited from the mother) are heritable. Q: Rosa L. Parks High School in NJ (10th grade student): How does bioethics affect how you perform your job? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: My office, which deals with the funding of research projects at many institutions, has a specific program to fund research in ethics, law and sociology. So, it is very important. In addition, bioethics plays a significant role in all the other research that we fund. We take bioethics into account when setting research policies about data release and the use of humans in research. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): If one was to take steriods, does it alter the person's genes? How do steriods function? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: In answer to your first question, probably not. Steroid abuse can cause lots of other health problems, some of them life threatening. Steroids function by exerting powerful effects on how and when DNA is read in some cells. Cells that respond to steroids may work harder or work less when steroids are present. Anabolic steroids, the type abused in an attempt to build muscle bulk, affect many body systems including the muscles. The can cause changes in the nervous system (the brain), the cardiovascular system (blood pressure and heart function, skin (acne) and other organs besides muscles. Q: Philly in n/a (n/a grade other): Is it true that we are genetically more like our grandparents than our parents? I think I learned about recombination in my 8th grade bio class. Have I remembered correctly? A: Clesson Turner, M.D.: On average, we inherit 50% of our genes from our parents and 25% from our grandparents. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Does bacteria have a little or a lot of DNA? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: The answer is actually both! Some bacteria have relatively small genomes (around 1 million bases) Some have hundreds of millions of bases of DNA. It depends on the needs and complexities of each individual species. Q: Sharon High School in PA (12th grade student): How is Parkinson's disease inherited? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Parkinson's disease is considered a common complex condition that is caused by genetics and environment. This means that there are many causes. There are several different genes that contribute to the risk for PD, but we do not think about it as inherited as a Mendelian disorder (such as dominant or recessive). In families where multiple people are affected with PD and there is an earlier age of onset, there are likely higher genetic risks to relatives. If someone in your family is affected and you are concerned about the risk, a genetic counselor can help to answer your questions. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Where did you graduate from? A: Gary Temple, Ph.D.: I graduated with a BA in Chemistry from Willamette University, attended medical school and graduated from the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland,OR; I then did an internship in internal medicine at Boston University Hospital and a post-doctoral fellowship in molecular biology at MIT, in Boston, MA. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): Would majoring in something like biomedical science be helpful when pursuing a career in biotech? [kortney] A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Yes biomedical science degrees would be helpful. Other areas that could be equally or even more valuable (because fewer individuals come with these skills) are chemistry or computer training. Q: Reagon Elementary School in AR (5th grade student): Would we clone ourselves sometime in the near future? We can already clone sheep and other small animals. Would we be able to clone to animals together, i.e a bear and a sheep? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: It may be scientifically possible, but there are many things society would have to consider before we every even really considered cloning a human. In general, cloning two different species together would not work any more than cross-breeding them by natural methods. But various genes could be shared across species since there are common genes that are shared among all species. Q: Northern High School in MI (10th grade student): Should everyone get genetic counseling? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Genetic counseling is appropriate for people who have a family history of a genetic condition; who have an infant or child who may have a genetic disorder, and for couples considering pregnancy who have concerns about their family histories. To find out more about genetic counseling you can go to the National Society of Genetic Counselors website at www.nsgc.org Q: East Forest High School in PA (8th grade student): Question for Larry Thompson, M.S, M.F.A. : is you job hard ? do u enjoy doing what you do ? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: This is awesome. This is the first time anyone ever sent a question directly to me. Cool. Anyway, yes, I love my job because it is so crazy and changing all the time. I work in that space between the researchers who are trying to create the future of medicine and the rest of us who are trying to understand what that future will look like -- so it's always different. I also get to work with a tremendous team of professionals with a wide range of skills, from writing and editing to producing websites to creating video documentaries. It's really lots and lots of fun, and just one of the kinds of jobs you could consider if you were interested in getting into the genomics field. Not everyone has to be a scientists; some of us have to describe what is going on. Q: Francis Howell North in MO (11th grade student): Why do some experimental vaccines work in mice, but not in humans? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Mice are a really good model for biomedical research, but they are not perfect. There are things that make a mouse a mouse and a human a human. Models organisms, while really important, are always only an approximation of what is happening in humans. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is your job, Sharon? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: My job is not typical! I am the leader of two organizations. One organization, PXE International, is a disease support group for a disease my children have called pseudoxanthoma elasticum. The other organization is called Genetic Alliance, and it is a network of many many organization and companies. Our work is to transform health through genetics, specifically by helping maintain a focus on what really matters, mainly the health of individuals, families and communities.
Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): How did you all come up with having a DNA day? Why is it scheduled only on the 25th of April? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: DNA Day celebrates the initial completion of the Human Genome Project which was announced on April 25, 2003 and the fifty year anniversary of the publication of the Watson and Crick paper on the characterizing DNA which also occurred in April (1953)----50 years apart. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): What is the diffence between the DNA in a plant and the DNA of an animal? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: The main difference is in the amount and order of DNA. The basic units are the same (adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine). The differences are in the genes that are encoded and how they are regulated.
Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): Why is it that when you have a baby, you and your husband or boyfriend's DNA doesn't get passed on to your child's body but their grandparents do? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Both parents, the biological mother and father, contribute DNA to a baby. The mother contributes half and the father contributes half. A baby shares one quarter of his or her DNA in common with each grandparent. If you are asking whether a baby looks like both parents, sometimes the baby resembles one parent more than the other because of the arbitrary way that the genetic information is passed on. All my children resemble their father much more than they resemble me but they share half their DNA in common with me and half with him.
Q: Cody Hoover in PA (9th grade student): How many gametes can be in a punnet square at one time? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: In theory, there is no limit to the number of gametes that can be put in the square. Very quickly however, the chart becomes too cumbersome to be of particular use. A 10X10 grid has 100 entries, a 20X20, 400!
Q: Murph in n/a (n/a grade other): Q: What conclusions can you draw for me if I have the gene that says I have zero ability to flush alcohol. From what I've read, I shouldn't be having my occasional glass of wine. Am I overreacting? As of right now, I simply haven't had any alcohol since learning of this from my genetic code. A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: This is a very interesting and complex question. We may not have enough information at this point in time to completely answer your question. The ability to "flush" alcohol may involve other genetic factors, as well as environmental influences. The information you received may be accurate, however, there are likely other factors that influence alcohol metabolism. The option to completely avoid alcohol is the safest approach, but it may not be absolutely necessary since the information we know about alcohol metabolism is still in it's earliest form. Thanks for writing.
Q: Fairmont State University in WV (Higher Education grade student): What is your favorite genetics joke? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Here is one: What do you get when you cross a potato with a sponge? I don't know, but it sure holds a lot of gravy.
Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): What is Biotechnology? A: Gary Temple, Ph.D.: Biotechnology refers to research and practical applications of biological research, such as ways to improve crops and food production, to improve human and animal health (through new diagnostics tests and medical therapies), and other uses of biological materials. Biotechnology companies typically pursue research in these areas to generate products they hope to sell for a profit. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Are there any special clothing that you have to wear when you work with the DNA- like masks, gloves, etc. A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: For day to day work, I show up in jeans and a T-shirt. I do handle hazardous chemicals where I have to wear gloves and a lab coat. We visualize DNA using a UV lightbox that requires a face shield to prevent "sunburn", and some of the viral work I do needs to be done in a contained room. There are all kinds of special clothing, most of it for protection. Q: Creek View Elementary School in GA (5th grade student): proque ustedes son lentas con conestando mis preguntas!!?? AHhhhh A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Hey Ya hemos recibido casi 2000 preguntas! es dificil responderlas todas. A veces las preguntas son repetitivas y solo las contestamos una vez. Ademas yo soy la unica de momento que contesta en espanol. Un poquito de paciencia, gracias. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Can we speed up our own evolution? A: Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I'll answer with questions to think about. Could the genetic information we pass on to our children change? What if our environment changes so that we pass on different genes? Are we changing our environment? What if we directly manipulated our genes though genetic engineering and passed them on to our children? what if we selected the genes of our children? Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): How much information is on a strand of DNA?? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The amount of information is dependent on the region of the DNA you are looking at. Less than than 3% of the genome appears to encode proteins, but researchers are discovering that significant parts of the remainder of the DNA sequences are actively expressed and may be playing a role in regulation or possibly some unknown role. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): What is Biotechnology? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Biotechnology is a relatively new field that covers a lot of areas. Think of it as Technology based on Biology. So for example, DNA sequencing and microarray technology are technologies that have been developed to help us solve questions in biology. Q: Charlie in RI (Higher Education grade student): Cuantos anos fue a la escuela para saca tu trabajo, Clesson? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Hola Yo estudie en Espana. Alli son 5 anos de universidad (college) y 5 anos de programa de doctorado (graduate program). Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): When someone has a disorder is it possible for it to be found on more than one chromosome A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Some disorders can be caused by mutations in different genes located on different chromosomes. One example is a disorder called Hereditary Nonpolypsis Colorectal Cancer (HNPCC) THere are 5 genes that have been associated with this cancer syndrome. So a person who has HNPCC may have a mutation in any one of genes and can cause this disease. Q: Zachary High School in LA (10th grade student): Is it possible to inherit a trait from an ancestor 10 generations in the past? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Yes you can. Q: Charlie in RI (Higher Education grade student): Sharon, are there headquarters for your organization in Rhode Island? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Hi! Genetic Alliance is international and has virtual nodes in the network all over the world, since it is a network of networks. So yes, organizations in Rhode Island are part of Genetic Alliance. PXE International has an office in Providence, RI! Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): What makes up our DNA? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Our DNA is composed of nitrogenous bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and adenine) and sugar. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): does the smallest animal, like an ant, have as long a DNA as humans do? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Actually, there are animals smaller than ants! But yes, ant DNA has fewer base pairs, or As, Cs, Gs, and Ts, than humans do. So yes, their DNA would not be as long as human DNA. Q: Clara Montes de Oca in FL (n/a grade other): Is Acute Myelogenous Leukemia hereditary? Are there any studies indicating that it is? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: AML is not strictly hereditary. It does not commonly recur in families. Gene mutations may contribute to the cause but most often cancer results from the contribution of many factors, including environmental triggers. Chromosome changes can be seen in cancer cells but they are limited to affected cells and are not seen throughout the body (they are somatic rather than inherited). If you have someone with AML in your family and have concerns about it affecting you or your relatives, you can talk with a genetic counselor about your concerns. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Would you have liked doing something else besides what you do? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: I really like what I do and have been interested in science since a very young age. I think there are a few other careers that I might enjoy, but being a scientist is a pretty special job and allows for a level of creativity and discovery not available in too many other careers. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is protein synthesis? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: Protein synthesis is the process of how proteins are made. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Though the general consensus is that the ?Out of Africa? models in the correct interpretation of the evolution of modern man, what evidence does supporters of the Multiregional model cite to support their highly contested theory? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: Some would argue that there is fossil evidence that supports separate human origins in Asia (maybe including the very small "hobbit" skeletons recently found in New Guinea). But the DNA evidence is very strongly against this. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): How many amino acids do i have in my body? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: We have only 20 amino acids that are shuffled in many, many combinations according to the specifications of the genes to create all the proteins. An average protein would have about 300 amino acids. The lower limit to perform a particular biochemical function is 40-50 amino acids. Q: Jonathan C. Allen, Bose Corp. Engineer in MA (Higher Education grade student): Does anyone remember the first image taken of the double helix that actually proved the reality of Watson & Crick's Structure? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It is believed that Rosalind Franklin was the first to take an x-ray diffraction image of DNA that provided evidence that DNA was in the form of a double helix. Q: Liberty Jr.Sr. High School in PA (10th grade student): Is Tourettes Syndrome a genetic disease? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Tourette syndrome is named for Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who first described this disorder in 1885. There is strong evidence that Tourette syndrome is passed down through families, although the gene has not yet been found. The syndrome may be linked to problems in certain areas of the brain, and the chemical substances (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) that help nerve cells talk to one another. Tourette syndrome can be either severe or mild. About 10% of Americans have a mild form. Many people with very mild tics may not be aware of them and never seek medical help. Tourette syndrome is four times as likely to occur in boys as in girls. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): What is the best part of being a geneticist? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Genetics is my favorite approach in biology because it is an approach where you let the organism inform you what is important, often in very surprising ways. You have to be ready for anything, because once you identify the gene causing a certain phenotype, you could suddenly be studying cell biology, chromatin, transcription, or a hundred other different options. You really have to be a Jack-of-all-trades. Q: Meridian High School in WA (10th grade student): Are we messing with God's will by changing our DNA? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: So far, we haven't really changed human DNA to any significant extent -- in fact, any experiments that would alter the part of DNA that gets passed from generation to generation would be considered unethical. Some would argue that we should aim for that in the future, especially if it means the elimination of terrible diseases. But we should only undertake that with the greatest caution and public scrutiny -- since the risks might be unknown, and many would justifiable wonder if we have crossed a line that humans should not undertake. Q: Camden High School in NJ (10th grade student): como las enfermedades que son hereditarias son pueden detecta a tiempo A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: En los Estados Unidos y muchos otros paises, todos los recien nacidos reciben un test de sangre el primer dia de vida para detectar hasta 26 tipos diferentes de enfermedades hereditarias. En algunos casos, un simple cambio de dieta puede evitar que la enfermedad genetica produzca problemas tan graves como retraso mental. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (11th grade student): How did they find out what DNA looks like? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It is believed that Rosalind Franklin was the first to take an x-ray diffraction image of DNA that provided evidence that DNA was in the shape of a double helix. Q: Northern High School in MI (10th grade student): If one of your parents has Huntington disease, what is the chance that you will get it? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: Huntington disease is a dominant condition. That means that each child of an affected person has a 50% chance of inheriting the condition. Q: Liberty Jr.Sr. High School in PA (12th grade student): Is there a smart gene and why don't I have one? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Ah, great question. There is no one gene associated with intelligence, but your genetic make-up certainly influences your intelligence. However, many other things influence it too - like your environment and what you do to stimulate your mind. So, you do have 'smart' genes! After all, you were smart enough to answer this great question. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): Is it beneficial to know your gene history? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: It is hard to know your gene history unless family members have had specific genetic testing. However, you may mean to ask about your FAMILY history. This is how genetic counselors and physicians discern genetic risks in families. If you know your family history, you can take that information to your health care provider who can estimate any inherited risks you may face and what can be done about them. Yes, it can be very useful and important to know your family history. To find a tool to map your family history go to www.familyhistory.hhs.gov. You can print it out and take it to your doctor. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): Are there certain places in the world where progeria is more common? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: As far as we know (and progeria is so rare that it's hard to be 100% sure) this disease occurs at the same rate everywhere. Q: Waterville High School in WA (11th grade student): What's a good DNA joke? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: 1. Do these genes make me look fat? 2. What did one helix say to the other: You're so twisted! 3. All that she wants is another base pair... (reference to Ace of Base song from the mid-nineties- ask your teacher) Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): What are chromosomes? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Chromosomes are the largest pieces of DNA in the organism. Depending on the organism, there can be 1 or >50. They can be linear or circular. Within those large pieces is where all the genes resides. We humans have 24 different chromosomes (1-22, X,Y). Q: Rosa L. Parks High School in NJ (10th grade student): Can a man made clone (i.e. Dolly the Sheep), have their own children? Can they reproduce normally? A: Gary Temple, Ph.D.: Cloned animals, like Dolly the sheep, can reproduce normally. In fact, they are used primarily for sexual reproduction, to generate progeny/children that have desirable characteristics. Some of the cloned animals themselves have had unexpected problems that presumably result from being cloned, but their sexually produced progeny are generally healthy. Cloned animals are being used more commonly now in animal husbandry. Q: Waterville High School in WA (11th grade student): What is the difference between RNA and DNA?? A: Pnina Laric, M.S.: RNA is transcribed from DNA by enzymes called RNA polymerases and is generally further processed by other enzymes. Q: Winton Woods High School in OH (12th grade student): How do you become director of Human Genome Institute? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: I certainly never planned to get that job offer! I was doing research on human genetic diseases like cystic fibrosis, and dreaming of the day when we would have the whole human genome sequence in hand, when I was asked to apply. I wasn't sure I wanted to do this -- it meant leaving my job at the University of Michigan and moving to Bethesda, Maryland. I'm glad I did, it's been a wonderful adventure. If you'd like to be the next Director, you'll need an MD, PhD, or both, and lots of experience in genomics. But it's a great job! Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (11th grade student): Where is DNA in the human body? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Every cell in your body has (or had) an entire copy of your genome (the DNA). If you look closely at the cell, there is a small round structure called the nucleus that holds all that DNA). Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): Can a person with Werner syndrome not show any of the symptoms or get older? A: David Adams, M.D., Ph.D.: Werner syndrome is an inherited condition in which affected individuals have symptoms that appear similar to normal aging but that appear earlier in life. There is also a predisposition to some cancers. Persons with Werner syndrome typically develop normally during the first decade of life, so during that time they may not show any symptoms as you suggest. For more information about Werner syndrome, I recommend the Genetics Home Reference. This link worked for me: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=wernersyndrome. I have not seen any reports in the literature of a person who has the genetic changes associated with Werner syndrome, but does not have any of the symptoms. That being said, symptoms may appear at variable ages. I recommend that you find a geneticist in your area if you have additional questions. Q: Waterville High School in WA (11th grade student): Are we trying to find a cure for Diabetes? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: Absolutely! And the recent discoveries of genetic risk factors for both type 1 and type 2 diabetes provides some of the best clues we've had in a long time for new treatment ideas. Those won't happen overnight, but there is better hope now for a cure than ever before. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How hard is your job? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: The greatest difficulty of my job is trying to interpret the science of genetics and communicate it in a meaningful way to people for whom science is not something they know a great deal about. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (9th grade student): why are some people born hearing and become deaf over time with no major cause? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Deafness is a very complex disorder. Age-related hearing loss, or presbycusis, is the gradual loss of hearing that occurs as people age. This a quite common process although some people may have more genetic susceptibility than others. On the other hand, several hundred genes are known to cause hereditary hearing loss and deafness. Some people have a genetic disorder that is prelingual (before language develops), for some is postlingual (after language develops). Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (n/a grade teacher): Could you suggest a genetics/evolution related novel fit for a good summer read? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: Try "Spelling Love with an X", a powerful story by a mother of a boy with the fragile X syndrome. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Is resurrecting extinct animals impossible? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I would say with the current technology, yes it is impossible. We can still learn a lot about their biology by studying DNA extracted from their fossils. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): what does dna stand for? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid. RNA stands for Ribonucleic acid. Q: Francis Collins School of Music in AL (Higher Education grade student): Hi Folks! I miss not being there today, but I am doing damage control in Huntsville, Alabama from Francis singing here last night. In all seriousness, lots of excitement down here in Alabama about DNA Day. Have a great and productive chat room! Eric Green A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: We miss you too, Eric! And thanks for your warm comments about my singing talents! Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): en otro paises ellos tambiem pueden detecta enfermedades a temprana edad? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Realmente depende del sistema de salud del pais. La technologia para detectar muchas enfermedades existe, pero en un pais pobre o con dificultades para servir a toda la poblacion, puede ocurrir que los ninos recien nacidos no se beneficien de los tests que son rutinarios para los ninos de paises con mas medios. Q: Sindhu Mahavidyalaya Centre For Biotechnology NAGPUR, INDIA in International (n/a grade teacher): There are many people working across the globe in the fields of Genomics. But, many of them are deprived of quality work just because of financial and social support. Can genomes.gov lend a helping hand to such people so that they can contribute to the genomic biology. A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: Genomics is indeed a science that can be done by people all over the world. In fact, I am about to meet with a high ranking official from the Indian government, to talk about how India can join the effort to apply genomic science to cancer. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): What does Tay-sachs disease do to a human? Can it effect animals? Is there a cure? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Tay-sachs disease is a devastating disorder caused by an enzymatic disorder that leads to neurodegereration. Children lose their skills early in life and end up deaf, cognitively impaired and completely physically dependent. They live until approximately ten years of age but there is variation. The symptoms result from a build-up of gangliosides. Unfortunately there is no cure. Tay-sachs is inherited as a recessive condition meaning that both parents are carriers. It occurs more often in families of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry and so adults can be screened before having children to learn their carrier status. Animals do not seem to be affected but there is a laboratory mouse model used to study more about the condition. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): is it necessary to learn about D.N.A. A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: This is the first time in history that we are able to apply our knowledge of DNA for the benefit of human health and provide clues about our ancestry. In addition, understanding one's genetics is becoming more and more important in making decisions about your personal health as well as making ethical and legal decisions regarding how society uses this information. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): what species of ape are you? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: Homo sapiens sapiens -- at least on a good day Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): How many years of college did you go through and why did you want this job? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: For a biologist, my amount of time in school is pretty typical: 4 years of undergraduate, 5 1/2 years in graduate school, and 5 years in what is called a "postdoc" before I obtained my current position. I like being a scientist because of the creative freedom, the chance to discover something that no one else knows, and individuality that the profession provides. I also hate wearing ties. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): What is the best part of being a geneticist? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I love giving presentations and providing people with the information about genetics. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Do children get mutations before they are born? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Yes, children do get mutations before they are born. When a gene mutation in either the egg or sperm - or a gene mutation in both the egg and sperm - that come together to form a baby, the baby will have the gene mutation (or mutations) at the time of conception. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is there works in DNA to possibly alter what language we speak or possibly allo us to speak snother language? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: The human genome provides an amazing instruction set that results in a complex brain with the ability to learn and speak languages -- but not any specific language. That part is up to us. Q: Waterville High School in WA (8th grade student): How old does a child have to be to get DNA tested?? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Wow, you have asked a very hard question. There are several answers. 1) All newborns in the US are tested at birth for a number of diseases, and some of those involve having DNA tested. Our society, including researchers, clinicians, lay people and policy makers, decided that newborns need testing for some diseases when they are born, so they can be treated, or the parents can plan better. 2) If the family is considering testing a child for a disease that they might get when they are older, then many things must be considered. The family's culture, their need to plan, and their ability to manage the information they learn are important. Also, the child's autonomy must be considered: Will they wish they did not know? Will they be able to handle the information? Do they want to know? Of course, as a child gets older they should have more say in the decision. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): I know that there are short sequences of specific code that make us different from any other person, but do some people have more nucleotides than others? [mason] A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes! You're asking a question that is very "hot" right now. A paper that is being published next week (!) shows that different individuals do in fact have slight differences (as much as 0.5%) in their total amount of DNA -- because of large regions of the genome that can be duplicated or deleted. Q: Peter Scalise in CA (7th grade other): Do all living organisms have genes? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Yes, all living organisms have genes! Q: Eternity High School in International (9th grade student): What is DNA built of? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: DNA is a very, very, very long molecule made up of repeating units called nucleotides. The backbone of the nucleotides is the same, but the "bases" attached to the backbone can change. There are 4 different bases, (A,C,G,T) and that is where all the genetic information for making an organism resides. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): What Is Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum? [For Sharon] A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Pseudoxanthoma elasticum, PXE, is an inherited disorder that causes select elastic tissue in the body to become mineralized, that is, calcium and other minerals are deposited in the tissue. This can result in changes in the skin, eyes, cardiovascular system and gastrointestinal system. PXE was recognized over a hundred years ago. A number of significant advances have been made in the past few years. In plain English, that means that people with PXE get wrinkly skin, lose their vision and might have cramping in their legs when they walk. You can go to http://www.pxe.org for more information. Q: Waterville High School in WA (12th grade student): Should I be concerned if my grandmother had breast cancer and died from it? Should I be worried about myself? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Breast cancer is a common condition meaning that it is caused by genes and environment. It results from multiple causes. It is more likely to be inherited in families where multiple members are affected. If your grandmother developed breast cancer later in her life (not an uncommon occurrence), it does not increase your risk substantially. Your chances would be higher if you had multiple affected family members and/or if they got cancer early (before 50 years of age). If you are at all concerned, contact a genetic counselor about your risks. You can find one on the NSGC website: www.NSGC.org.
Q: Rosa L. Parks High School in NJ (n/a grade teacher): There are conflicting studies that either support or refute a genetic factor which predisposes someone to being overweight. Knowing that there are environmental factors (and willpower) that influence one's weight, how do you feel about the manipulation or misrepresentation of this data? (It often seems that these are being used as excuses!) A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: For many health conditions there are genetic, environmental, behavioral and even social factors that can influence whether an individual is affected by a condition. As we continue to understand the genetic basis of disease it will be important for us to develop appropriate messages to the lay public so that the data is useful for people in making decisions that affect their health. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): cuanto tiempo se lleva para detecta una enfermedad mysteriosa? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I will give you an example: Progeria is an extremely rare condition in which physical aspects of aging are greatly accelerated, and few affected children live past age 13. About 1 in 8 million babies are born with this condition. It is a genetic condition, but occurs sporadically and is usually not inherited in families. Well, the disease was clinically described in 1886 and the gene responsible for it was cloned in 2003. So it took 117 to discover the gene! Fortunately not always it takes so long. Te voy a dar un ejemplo: la progeria es una enfermedad muy, muy rara (1 caso entre 8 millones) en la que los ninos envejecen aceleradamente. Muy pocos ninos viven mas de 13 anos. La enfermedad se describio geneticamente en 1886 , pero el gen responsable no se clono hasta 2003. Asi que llevo 117 anos descubrir el gen! Menos mal que los genes defectuosos en muchas otras enfermedades se descubren mucho mas rapido. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): How many cells are in the body? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Right now, there is no real answer to that question (can you imagine counting them all?). There are a variety of estimates that range from 10 trillion to 100 trillion. I can safely say there are an amazingly large number of cells in our body. Q: Eternity High School in International (9th grade student): Will it ever be possible for someone to live forever? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Hum, I suppose anything is possible, but although there are improvements that extend life, such as better diet, better hygiene, and even treatments for disease that let people live longer, probably no one will live forever. Longevity most certainly has a genetic component, and there are research studies considering how to extend lifespan. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): What is Huntington disease? What does it do to your body? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Huntington disease is a progressive brain disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, mental and emotional problems, and loss of thinking ability (cognition). Adult-onset Huntington disease, the most common form of this disorder, usually appears in a person's thirties or forties. Early signs and symptoms can include irritability, depression, small involuntary movements, poor coordination, and trouble learning new information or making decisions. As the disease progresses, involuntary jerking movements (chorea) become more pronounced. Affected individuals may have trouble walking, speaking, and swallowing. People with this disorder typically also experience changes in personality and a decline in thinking and reasoning abilities. Individuals with the adult-onset form of Huntington disease generally survive about 15 to 25 years after signs and symptoms begin. For more information about Huntington disease you can go tohttp://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition=huntingtondisease Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Question for Larry Thompson, M.S, M.F.A. : I got to witness how excited you got when you got a direct question so I have a legitimate question for you. What about biology interests you so much/ A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: So, OK, maybe I got carried away being so excited. I'll try to tone it down. :-) But as for what's cool about biology -- and DNA -- is that it's all about life, and in some ways, the meaning of life. We can see the history of all life on the planet -- and how it has evolved -- written in the DNA, and while that is cool, it is life itself, the plants and animals in all their beauty and complexity, that is ultimately the study of biology, and that, in so many ways, is profound. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): What do you think of the theory that homosexuality is genetically similar to an addiction, where if exposed to certain environmental factors, they will become homosexual? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Human behaviors are some of the most complex traits a geneticist could try to tackle. All traits are a complex mix of genes and environment and behavior is no exception. Sexual preference, addiction, depression, risk taking, etc. will all take a while to work out. I think it is highly likely that both genes and environment have an important role. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Due to the significant discoveries being made at the current time, when do you believe your research topics may be hindered from growing moral concerns? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: I think it is possible for research to be hindered by more concerns. It does happen and sometimes should happen. In some instances, a whole society has moral concerns, and the society decides to stop research. A good example is cloning humans. In other instances, there might be moral concerns which are only important to a subset of the society, and instead a discussion should occur to determine whether or not to hinder research. Some examples might be genetic testing in children, testing in certain populations, gene therapy and stem cell research. These are not all cut and dry. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Why is the human genome so important? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: The human genome project has resulted in a remarkable number of discoveries, both anticipated and unexpected. The completion of the project has given us insights into human genetic disease, evolutionary biology, gene regulation, retroviral infection, and on and on and on. It is truly a monumental human achievement on par with landing on the moon. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Why do people get mutations? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Genetic changes can be caused by exposure to chemicals or radiation, or even by mistakes being made when DNA copies are made (replication). Keep in mind that while some mutations contribute to disease, most genetic changes have no effect. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): What was the coolest research you ever got to be a part of? Why did you like it so much? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: I don't know about "cool", but "exciting and rewarding" I can answer. Because of my role in the genome project, I was invited to work on the project to help identify the victims of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack using DNA technology. This is a great example of the wonderful work that scientists can do to help their fellow humankind. For more information see: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/310/5751/1122 Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Is there a reasonable limit for research into genetics? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: Yes, as with all research there are limits. In the case of genetics there are many scientists who specifically study the ethical, legal and social implications surrounding genetics research to make sure that genetic findings can be used to improve the health of all people. Q: Genesee School District in MI (10th grade student): If my dad and grandfather both have diabetes, what are my chances of also having this disease? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Diabetes is a common disease of adulthood (this assumes that they got it later in life and not as children). It is caused by multiple factors, some genetic. Your risk can be estimated by looking at how many people in your family are affected and their age when they were diagnosed. If you are concerned about your risks, you can complete a family history tool and take it to your physician to get your questions answered about your risks. You can find one at www.familyhistory.hhs.gov that you can complete, print out and take to your doctor. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): What is the worst thing that can happen to you to alter your DNA that you can prevent from happening? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: We know that lung cancer is serious and often fatal disease. Researchers are sure that cigarette smoking can alter your DNA, so not smoking or quitting smoking is a means of prevention. We also know that skin can be caused by too much sun exposure. Excessive sun exposure can also cause gene changes, so avoiding too much sun or protecting your skin with sun block can help to prevent gene changes from happening. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Do you like Lost? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: It is one of my favorite TV shows. I am currently actively trying to crack the code (4 8 15 16 23 42). I am also trying to get our institute name changed from NHGRI to DHARMA... Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Larry, it is okay excessive excitement gets the best of us. :=) A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: You are right. It is OK to be excited about this stuff and I appreciate your support. Q: Genesee School District in MI (10th grade teacher): How many times could the DNA from all your cells wrap around the world? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I estimate that the DNA in our cells would wrap around the world about 350 times. Q: Sharon High School in PA (12th grade student): What are your feelings on genetic alteration? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: I think it is important to think about both feelings and thoughts when answering a question like this. It depends on what you mean by genetic alteration. If you mean to alleviate a disease, then I think it is good - and I look forward to genetics and genomics integrated into medicine for better health. If you mean genetic altering non-disease things, such as athletic prowess, intelligence, and behavior, then I think we have to do more than consider our feelings and look deeply as a society into the ramifications of the alteration. Q: Miyuki in NC (11th grade student): What is Acute Myelogenous Leukemia? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: Thanks for your question. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia is a common type of leukemia or cancer of the blood. You can find out more information at the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society webpage http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Why arent babies born with pigmentation? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: All babies are born with pigmentation in their skin. There is tremendous variation in skin color caused by multiple genes. Babies inherit the genes that determine skin color from their parents. Babies with less pigmentation have a condition called albinism. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Does the smoke monster from the Lost TV show have DNA? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: It would be very exciting if it was the first lifeform ever discovered that did not use DNA or RNA. This is a mystery that we need to commit more resources to studying. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Where does the word deoxyribonucleic acid moce from? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It is derived from the names of the chemicals involved in the molecules make up. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): What are some examples in genetics of things that are done, but shouldn't be done? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: I don't think I know of anything that is done that shouldn't be done - but that, of course, is a personal opinion. But certainly, some people think that stem cell research, animal cloning and gene therapy is wrong. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade other): What do you like about your job? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: I am a nurse by training and I have a degree in public health. I work at the National Human Genome Research Institute as a Health Educator. My job is to oversee projects and create educational materials that help to translate genetic and genomic discoveries and what they mean for individual, family and public health. There are so many wonderful genetic and genomic discoveries that are leading to better ways to screen for, diagnose and treat common and rare diseases. I really like being on the cutting edge of bringing this information to people. Q: Zachary High School in CA (10th grade other): Does every part of your body have cells? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: All the "living" parts of your body does consist of cells, but there are parts of the body that are not composed of cells. The most obvious example is that much of your bone mass consists of extracellular mineral deposits (this is the part that sticks around long after you are dead). Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): What was your favorite subject in school? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: My favorite subject in school was chemistry. It allowed me to learn more about science and to sharpen my mathematical skills at the same time. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Is it possible that, for people who have had limbs removed as a result of accidents, that genes could be turned on to grow new limbs? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Unlike people, some species (like salamanders or newts) are able to regenerate limbs. Research into how they do this may help us figure out whether it's possible to encourage this process in people. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Are there any drugs or medications that can alter your DNA structure? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Very few drugs or medications actually alter DNA. Agents that are capable of doing so are called mutagens. The most well known mutagens are chemotherapeutic agents. They target cancer cells and in their action to destroy them, they alter DNA. Ultraviolet light exposure can alter DNA as well. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): is there anything else that you guys are trying to accomplish in the HGP other than what you have accomplished A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Absolutely. Completing the Human Genome Project was just the beginning. Since the project was declared completed in April 2003, genome researchers around the world are racing to apply the sequence information to may different problems, especially understanding the genetic differences between individuals and how that may contribute to health or the risk of getting sick. We are also learning fascinating things about how humans have evolved and how we have moved across the face of the planet. The really cool stuff is just getting started, so come on and join the fun. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): What is dna day? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: DNA Day is the day we celebrate the initial completion of the Human Genome Project and the anniversary of the publishing of the Watson and Crick paper characterizing DNA. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How much does DNA have to do with eugenics? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: DNA and genetics could be used in eugenics - someone could decide that society needs to eradicate a certain disease, population, type of person, or all people who send questions into the DNA Day Chat Room. :-) Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (10th grade student): Which chromosomes contain the most important genes to our development as a fetus? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: Great question! All of our chromosomes contain genes that are important in fetal development. Humans have 46 chromosomes total. Children born with parts of chromosomes missing often have birth defects. Q: Therizino in International (6th grade student): How long is the average human DNA strand? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: 6 feet! Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): What is it like to do research on DNA? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It is very exciting to be involved in research on genetics. Everyday there are new discoveries. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): I realize how touchy this question could be, but do any of you believe that this whole genetic structure is actually random? Or is there something and/or someone that made it this way? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: No one thinks the structure of DNA is random - it is highly organized on many levels. The question is whether the process whereby it acquired its organization was random or directed. I am completely comfortable with the notion that the evolution of life occurred by selective pressure exerted on random genome (and pregenome) changes. I think the preponderance of the evidence strongly favors this explanation. Q: Oak Hill Elementary in KS (5th grade student): Is the original DNA structure created by Watson and Crick still around? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Unfortunately, I do not believe that it is. Watson and Crick made the original model out of parts normally found in the lab, like poles and holders for flasks, and brackets and braces. The metal shop at Cambridge made accurate representations of the bases so Watson and Crick could build a model that exactly matched the x-ray images created by Rosalind Franklin and her colleagues at Kings College. I believe the model is no logner intact because a few years ago, I met a Smithsonian curator and he had a couple of pieces of metal plates made by the Cambridge machine shop for the Watson Crick model in his desk drawer. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): can a gene that can cause harm, be eliminated or "shut off" A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Scientists are hard at work at this - there is hope for some diseases where the mutant gene product (protein) can be reduced in level or shut off by siRNA, short interfering RNA molecules. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (9th grade student): Do you enjoy your Job? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: I love my job! I am fortunate enough to work with many exciting and brilliant people. I get to work for people with genetic diseases. I am thrilled by thinking about how to change and better the systems that contribute to health. I think that in this age of the dawn of personalized medicine, we are going to see exciting breakthroughs!! Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): how old were you when you decided you were intrested in the human genome? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I was about 25 when I decided that I wanted to do genetic research. At that time, the Human Genome Project was just beginning. When I was about 35, I became very interested in the human genome and began working for a sequencing center. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): What is a gene? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Surprisingly, this is not such an easy answer. Traditionally it is defined as a the basic unit of heredity or a segment of DNA needed to contribute to a function. We normally view that to mean pieces of DNA that code for proteins, but more and more discoveries have shown that there are many other kinds of "genes" in the genome and there will probably be more discovered in the future. Q: Bronx HS of Science in NY (12th grade student): Scientists think that stopping the shortening of telomeres would end aging in humans. Is this too simplistic to become reality? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Although it's been seen that the shortening of telomeres are associated with aging, it hasn't been shown that it causes aging. So even if we could figure out the considerable challenge of how to stop telomere shortening, there's no guarantee it would stop aging. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): could you clone extinct animals? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Certainly, the National Human Genome Research Institute is not working on cloning extinct animals; we primarily focus on medical research. Moreover, I am unaware of any research teams actively trying to clone an extinct animal. Some researchers have speculated about the possiblity of doing cloning an extinct animals, but I don't know anyone actually trying to do it. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): what is penotype? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The observable traits or characteristics of an organism, for example hair color, weight, or the presence or absence of a disease. Phenotypic traits are not necessarily genetic. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Why are diseases most of the time hereditary? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Because genes encode proteins and proteins are the main machinery of the cell that allows it to carry out its functions. The cell's inability to carry out its functions (which is what a disease is) is often the result of a malfunctioning protein, which is encoded by a gene with a mutation. Since we inherit our genes, then diseases are inherited too! Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): Yesterday the senate passed a bill prohibiting Insurence and businesses from discriminating against people with genetic diseases so how do you think this will benefit society? (Andrew) A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: I worked on getting that bill passed for the last 13 years! I worked hard on it, along with thousands of other people, because I believe that the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) paves the way for the responsible use of genetic information while protecting against discrimination with respect to health insurance and employment. People will feel less afraid to be tests, and to participate in clinical trials, and so personal health and our understanding of health and disease will be advanced. I am so thrilled by this and look forward to the bill becoming law! Q: UCD in CA (Higher Education grade student): Why isn't my project working?!?!?!?!?! A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: In scientific research, failure is more common than success. The key is not to give up. Try to figure out all the possible places where the failure occurs, then systematically try to fix them. There is a Thomas Edison quote: "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Why are some diseases hereditary? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: We know that genes are handed down or inherited from generation to generation. Some genes that are handed down cause genetic disorders such as Huntington Disease or hereditary cancers. Other genes that are handed down contribute to a person's height or eye color. Most genes that are handed down in families create a healthy human being. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): Are illnesses such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and ADHD genetically inherited through DNA? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Psychiatric conditions do have a genetic component but are caused by a combination of factors, environmental and genetic. Rarely they may be inherited in families where many people are affected. Genes that contribute to the risk of these conditions are being uncovered regularly but each of them contribute to only a small degree. The best ways to predict risks of psychiatric conditions in families today is to obtain a careful family history. The number of affected individuals and the age of onset of the conditions predict the risk in a family. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): How many cells do we have in our body A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Estimates put the number anywhere from 10 trillion to 100 trillion. In other words, a whole bunch. Q: St. Bernard Catholic High School in CA (10th grade student): What made you decide to enter this field of study? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: The first time I asked a teacher a question that she couldn't answer, it was about genetics. I thought it was pretty cool to stump my high school biology teacher! Genetics has continued to challenge and fascinate me ever since. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Do you think we will ever find a cure for cancer? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Researchers are working very hard to find cures for cancer. As a result of human genome discoveries, there are now more treatments that are specific to a person's type of cancer and the mutations that are present. To learn more about cancer research that is leading to cures for cancer go to www.cancer.gov. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): If you smoke how, long can it take to get lung cancer? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: The time from onset of smoking to the onset of cancer is years to decades. But smoking causes many other shorter term problems. First is the addiction - some feel it is more addictive than narcotics. Then there is the heart disease and lung disease. There are few diseases more awful than end stage lung disease - worse in some ways than is cancer. Then there are the dental and gum effects - nasty. Finally, as the old ad campaign said "Kissing a smoker is like licking out a used ashtray" Yuck. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Could cloning food be the answer to ending world hunger? A: Sharon Terry, M.A.: Interesting question - yes, I suppose it could help in some ways. Since cloning technically includes swapping genes in and out of organisms, research that inserted pest-resistant genes in grain is a kind of genetic cloning. If you mean cloning animals, then I think that would be more costly overall, at least where the science of cloning organisms stands at this time. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): What are some cool facts about DNA? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Here is a link that has 100 facts about DNA: http://www.eyeondna.com/2007/08/20/100-facts-about-dna/ Q: West Perry High School in PA (12th grade student): We are learning about traits like dry/wet ear wax. Where exactly are those genes located and how are they important? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: In 2006, scientists in Japan discovered that differences in the ATP-binding cassette C11 (ABCC11) gene were responsible for dry/wet ear wax. This gene is located on chromosome 16q12.1 and is not only important for ear wax. The gene encodes a transporter important for other physiological processes involving bile acids, steroids, and nucleotides. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): how much money did it take for you to finish the human genome project? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: The Human Genome Project officially began in October 1990 and it was projected to take 15 years and cost about $3 billion. The project did something few government programs accomplish: it was completed ahead of time and under budget. The project's goals were accomplished by April 2003, the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix by Watson and Crick, and the total cost of the program was $2.7 million. The actual sequencing of human DNA that went into the reference genome sequence is estimated to have cost about $450 million. The rest of the money was spent creating genetic maps; building libraries of DNA for use in the project; investing in the technology development that produced the high-speed sequencing machines now revolutionizing the field; sequencing model organisms and investing 5% of the budget in studies of the ethical, legal and social implications of genomic research, what's called the ELSI program. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): How long did you go to school for? Also, what school? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: I went to Wesleyan University (Connecticut) for 4 years of undergraduate research, 6 years of graduate school at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and 5 years of postdoctoral studies at MIT. Q: Waterville High School in WA (5th grade student): How many years of school do you have to go through to become a doctor, scientist or genetic counselor? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: To become a doctor it takes about 12 years including residency. Most scientists have doctoral degrees (PhD) and this may take 4 or more years past college. To become a genetic counselor, you need a 4 year college degree, and a 2 year masters degree in genetic counseling. Q: Arleta High School in CA (n/a grade teacher): Could you explain, based on the future for our society, why it is important for young people to study genetics and pursue genetics/genomics as a profession. A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: This is the first time in history that we are able to apply our knowledge of DNA for the benefit of human health and provide clues about our ancestry. In addition, understanding one's genetics is becoming more and more important in making decisions about your personal health as well as making ethical and legal decisions regarding how society uses this information. With all these advances, there will be a need for more genetic and genomic professionals. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Can your DNA make a super-human? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: There is research being done to understand the implications of genetic enhancements. These enhancements could potentially be done to alter individual physical capabilities. However, there have been concerns raised about the ethical uses of genetics for this purpose. Whether we could become "super-human" remains to be seen. Q: SD Citra Kasih in International (6th grade student): Is it illegal to do human cloning? (If it is possible) A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: Some states have passed laws to ban human cloning. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): What type of stem cell research is being done? What do you believe the pros and cons are? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: There is a lot going on. Some researchers are working on understanding the basic functions and physiology of the stem cell and others are working on applications. Most of the applications are to use the stem cell to replace missing or cells that have lost critical functions. A really important example is diabetes - the pancreatic beta cell makes insulin and it would be phenomenal if we could figure out how to treat this disease with stem cells. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How long is the average DNA strand? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The average DNA strand from a human call is about six feet in length. Q: Joliet Central High School in IL (9th grade student): Can we genetically engineer dinosaurs? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: I wish! Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Eres un mono? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: soy una primate y tu tambien Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): If you smoke how long can it take to get cancer? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: If a person is a heavy smoker (a pack of cigarettes per day or more) when you are young, you may develop lung cancer in your later years even if you quit. The news reporter, Peter Jennings, was a heavy smoker when he was young. Even though he quit, he died of lung cancer recently at the age of 67. Some people have a gene or genes that predispose them to lung cancer. Smoking and even second hand smoke exposure can increase this risk dramatically. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): How does genetic counseling work? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Genetic counseling can address risks of disease based on family medical history information. A genetic counselor typically takes a family history in the form of a pedigree. In the prenatal setting, genetic counselors help clients to decide about prenatal screening and testing options. In the pediatric setting, genetic counselors help parents to adapt to their child's condition. This involves psychological counseling as well as genetics expertise. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): how far can cloning go and will it ever be successful and what would be the benefits of cloning A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: There are many concerns among scientists and the public about the appropriate use of cloning. Most will agree that genetic advances should aim to improve health and delivery of health care for all people. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): How do you discover new diseases and viruses? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: I do this by studying patients in the National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center. In this amazing place, we have the ability to bring in patients with unusual diseases and study them in great detail - both clinically and molecularly. It is the largest clinical research center in the world! You can check it out at: http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/ Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): Are you free to research anything you want, or do you get told what to research? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: At some level, I have remarkable freedom to choose my topics of research, but I do not have 100% freedom. Working at the National Human Genome Research Institute, it would be hard to justify my studying plant photosynthesis. But what tends to happen is that you end up working in a place that has interests in line with your research program. Win-win! Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): How expensive is it to have my genome sequenced? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Genomic researchers and many private companies are working very, very hard to make it afforable for all of us to have our genome's sequenced and the information made available for analysis as part of our medical record. Estimates now suggest that the cost of sequencing a human-sized genome at fairly good detail the the current generation of technology is now around $300,000 or a little less. There is a contest currently underway for the first group to sequence 100 humans for less than $10,000 each and the genome institute has two research programs to help drive the technological advances to get the cost down to $100,000 and then ultimately down to $1,000 to sequence a single genome. Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): is it possible to combine an animal and a human. A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It is possible to combine human and animal DNA. Transgenic organisms are experimentally produced organism in which DNA has been artificially introduced and incorporated into the organism's germ line, usually by injecting the foreign DNA into the nucleus of a fertilized embryo. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): what does it takes to be a scientist A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Basically curiosity, passion and patience. Some computer skills are really recommended. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): I want two be a doctor? How long would it take me? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: It would take four years of college, four years of medical school, and three years of residency. Some physicians go on to do fellowships as well and it takes additional training. Good luck to you in your studies!!! Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): I know there is a single strand of DNA, then a double helix, but is there such thing as a triple helix in any animal? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: The DNA in our chromosomes is double-stranded, and when copies of genes are made to code for proteins, it's in a single-stranded form (RNA). However, the triple helix would be a very unusual form for DNA to take. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Are you able to fix major diseases? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: At present, scientists have not yet figured out ways to change mutated genes that can cause major diseases like breast cancer, colon cancer or diabetes. Genetic and genomic research is leading to more genetic tests that can be used to choose the best medication and treatment for a disease based on the person's genetic make-up. This is called personalized medicine. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): with genetic engineering becoming more and more advanced, do you think there will be a day where there can be a "perfect" baby? What do you believe will be ethical issues relating to it? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: I don't know that we will ever be able to create a "perfect" being. While there are genetic factors for disease, there are also behavioral, environmental, and social factors that can influence whether an individual gets a disease or not. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): If you could combine your genes with anyone's in the world who would it be? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Actually, I have already done this - three times! That might not be the intent of your question, but in fact, human reproduction is evolved for the purpose of combining and mixing genes from individuals. My three "experiments" are 17, 14, and 10 years old and really cool people. My genes were combined with my wife Barbara, a genetic counselor who is also on the chat room right now! Q: Kettering Fairmont High School in OH (10th grade student): Can DNA be synthetically made in the laboratory? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Yes, short stretches of DNA can be chemically synthesized. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (9th grade student): Is there a genatic link to deafness? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: Definitely! There are many, many genes known to be involved in deafness. For a sense of how many, you can go to the Online Mendilian Inheritance in Man website which catalogs human genetic diseases: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=omim and search for deafness (there are over 700 entries). Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student): how does dna help everyone in the world scientificly A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: This is the first time in history that we are able to apply our knowledge of DNA for the benefit of human health and provide clues about our ancestry. In addition, understanding one's genetics is becoming more and more important in making decisions about your personal health as well as making ethical and legal decisions regarding how society uses this information. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What does DNA coil around? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: There are two answers to this excellent question. The DNA double helix coils around istelf simply because it is the most stable way for the atoms to interact. In other words, the DNA molecule naturally is coiled because the chemical bonds are most stable in a helix. This is the primary structure of DNA. DNA in eukaryotic cells (not bacteria) is wound around a cluster of proteins called histones. The DNA double helix wraps around a histone core twice and this is about 200 base pairs of DNA per histone. This is secondary structure. Tertiary structures and beyond are formed when histones are coiled around themselves. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Do smarter people have enhanced smartness genes? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: There are many factors that should be considered when thinking about how "smart" an individual is. Home and school environments contribute significantly to how well a student performs on a day-to-day basis. Genetic contributions to any aspect of our lives must be understood within the larger context of the society in which we live. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Can a person get rid of diabetes? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: Thanks for your question. It depends on what type of diabetes someone has. If a person has type 2 diabetes, diet, exercise and losing weight may help someone "get rid" of diabetes. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): Are there genes in soda pop? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The acidity of soda pop is around pH is about 3 making it very acidic. Very little could survive in soda pop. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Are they using stem cell research to try and find a cure for Progeria? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: I don't know if anyone is using stem cells, but there are some very exciting preliminary results for Progeria using a drug that can stabilize the nuclear membrane, one of the key abnormalities caused by the mutations in Lamin A, which cause this disorder. Q: West Perry High School in PA (11th grade student): How many chromosomes does a human being have? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: This answer is from the NHGRI website (http://www.genome.gov/11508982). The typical number of chromosomes in a human cell is 46 - two pairs of 23 - holding an estimated 25,000 genes. One set of 23 chromosomes is inherited from the biological mother (from the egg), and the other set is inherited from the biological father (from the sperm). Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Is it possible to have cancer at birth? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Yes, unfortunately it is possible for a baby to have cancer at birth, although this is rare. One example is Wilm's tumor - a tumor of the kidney. Another type of cancer that can be present at birth is retinoblastoma - a tumor of the eye. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): How complicated is your job? What do you have to do? A: Barbara Biesecker, M.S.: Thanks for your question! I am a genetic counselor. My job is complicated but in a good way. It's complicated because I work with families who have questions and concerns about how conditions are inherited in their family. I have to know about genetics, medicine and how people feel in response to a genetic risk or when managing an affected child. I also have to have skills to teach. I choose to do research as well because I love it. Complicated means that you get a lot of variety in your work and that can lead to high levels of job satisfaction. Q: Carvin School Inc. Puerto Rico in International (12th grade student): Why does the process of replication, transcription, and translation occur in a 5' to 3' orientation? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: If you look at the nucleotides the 5' end is different from the 3' end. All the enzymes that synthesize DNA and RNA can grab DNA at the 3' end and attach the new 5' end, but there are no enzymes to recognize a 5' end and attach a new 3' end to it. So the progressiveness of all the polymerizing enzymes moves from 5' to 3'. It makes sense to have all enzymes move in the same direction so there are no "collisions" on the DNA or RNA... Q: Waterville High School in WA (11th grade student): Do you think stem cells will be available for nerve damage? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Great question. A number of groups are hard at work at this. One of the key questions is not whether stem cells can become nerve cells (they can). The key question is whether the stem cells can make the proper connections with other nerve cells. Remember that most of these connections are made early in development, so it is no small challenge to make a bunch of connections much later in the life of the person. There is good reason for hope - and a great reason why neuroscience is a cool field - you should look into it! Q: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (n/a grade teacher): What is the impact of hgp on personalized medicine ? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The Human Genome Project has helped us apply our knowledge of DNA for the benefit of human health. Understanding one's genetics is becoming more and more important in helping us make decisions about our personal health--personalized medicine--as well as making ethical and legal decisions regarding how society uses this information. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): What part of your job do you find to be most enjoyable? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: I am a nurse by training, so I am committed to taking care of people when they are ill or have health issues. I have a masters in public health so I am also committed to improving the health of the general public too. What I really like about my work as a health educator at the National Human Genome Research Institute is that I am overseeing or creating educational programs and materials for the general public that will help them understand what genetics and genomics means for their health and the health of their families. I am excited about the emerging medicines and treatments that are based on a person's genome that are more personalized and effective. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Have you guys studied anything about cloning organisms? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: We use mouse embryonic stem cells every day in our work. These cells are used to create mice that have human diseases so that we can understand these diseases and study them in the laboratory. It is unethical or impossible to do some kinds of research in humans and studying animals is the only way to make progress. This process really is powerful - many diseases have been solved using mouse models of human disease. Q: Morningside High School in CA (12th grade student): Why do courts throw out DNA evidence in certain trials? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: There are "rules of evidence" that are used to determine all evidence that is accepted at trials. Potential problems include "chain of custody" of the DNA sample. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (11th grade student): who was the first person to extract their own DNA? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: Craig Venter appears to have been the first person to sequence his own DNA. His genome sequence was published earlier this year in a scientific journal. The genomic sequence of James Watson, half of the team that discovered the double helical shape of DNA was also recently published. Their actual genetic code is, or soon will be, in an online database called Genbank. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): i know scientists are getting DNA out of fossils of dinosaurs is it possible to get DNA from animals that have died long before the dinosaurs even existed? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: in 1995, a bacterial spore was revived, cultured, and identified from the abdominal contents of extinct bees preserved for 25 to 40 million years in buried Dominican amber. This may be one of the oldest DNAs studied yet. Dinosaurs date as far back as 135 million years. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): If Robert Mendel was still alive today, what do you think he would say about the advancements in DNA? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Gregor Mendel is often called the father of genetics for his work in the 1800's on the inheritance of physical traits in pea plants. He did this without even knowing DNA existed, so I'm sure everything we've learned about the structure of DNA and how it functions would fascinate him. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (9th grade student): Is personality aquired through heredity? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: We may inherit certain aspects of our personality. However, when thinking about our individual personalities we must consider the environments from which we come and the environments in which we currently exist. Unfortunately we do not live in bubbles; thus, life experiences can affect the way our personalities are expressed and interpreted by others. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade teacher): Hola. Que tal? Por que estudias genetics y no estudias la arte? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Me encanta el arte! Si te gusta el arte y la ciencia, puedes considerar una profesion de ilustrador medico. Ellos hacen las ilustraciones de los libros y panfletos cientificos. Tambien las animaciones cientificas de computador de los anuncios y las peliculas. Es una profesion fascinante. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): que es una gucamaya? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Una guAcamaya es un pajaro tropical Q: Westview High School in CA (10th grade student): How do little mutations in DNA cause such big defects? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Great question - I have many patients who have severe birth defects that were caused by the change of but a single nucleotide of their DNA - 1 out of 3,000,000,000! This is because certain parts of genes are absolutely critical for the function of the protein they encode and some of those proteins are essential for the function of the organism. When one of these goes awry, there can be severe consequences. On the other hand, some fairly major changes in the DNA cause no trouble whatsoever. Not all DNA is essential or has an immediate effect if mutated. This is one of the main parts of my job - differentiating the trivial changes from the severe. Q: John Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): Do you know what mitosis is? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Yes. Mitosis is the stage of cell division when the a complete set of chromosomes is delivered to each cell. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is the most interesting aspect of your job? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: I am a genetic counselor here at the NIH and we see patients with genetic conditions as part of our research studies. One of the most interesting and rewarding aspects of my job is to be a part of the research team and work towards treatment for these conditions. Also, it is very interesting to meet people from all over the country and from different backgrounds. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): What is the main difference between mitosis and meiosis? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Mitosis occurs in most cells of the body, skin, blood, brain. Mitosis duplicates all the DNA in the cell, each chromosome is duplicated into two copies. Then the cell divides taking 1 set of chromosomes to each daughter cell. In humans the 46 chromosomes (23 pairs) are duplicated and each daughter cell gets 46 chromosomes after division. Meiosis takes place only in the ovary (making eggs) and testis (Making sperm). In meiosis, the first step is the same, the chromosomes duplicate themselves. Remember that chromosomes come in pairs. Instead of all the duplicated chromosomes lining up along the mid line of the cells, in meiosis, the chromosomes pair with each other and THEN line up on the mid line. The first meiotoic division takes one set of paired, duplicated chromosomes to each daughter cell making 23 duplicated chromosomes per cell. The second meiotic division divides the duplicated chromosomes into 23 chromosomes per egg or sperm. That way when an egg and a sperm combine, the new zygote has 46 chromosomes - the right number. If eggs and sperm were made by mitosis, every generation would have twice as many chromosomes as the one before and that is lethal. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Do dogs have DNA? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: They certainly do!! In fact some of my NHGRI colleagues have recently finished sequencing teh whole dog genome. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): When and how did they decide today is National DNA Day? A: Judith Beckendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: On April 25, 1953 Watson and Crick published their landmark scientific report on structure of DNA; they had discovered that the "molecule of life" was a double helix. Fifty years later, on that day, the final human genome sequence was published and the annual celebration of DNA Day began. DNA Day is a wonderful opportunity to educate the public about genetics and their health. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): How long have scientists known about DNA? A: Shawn Burgess, Ph.D.: This is actually a somewhat complicated question to answer. Gregor Mendel was the first person to demonstrate that there had to be something that conveyed genetic information from parent to offspring in predictable ways. The person that first purified DNA from cells was Friedrich Miescher in 1871. McCarty, Avery and MacLeod, showed that DNA carried genetic information in 1944, and Watson and Crick published the DNA structure April 25th, 1953 (we are celebrating the anniversary of the discovery of the DNA structure with this chatroom today). Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How many DNA molecules are in your body? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: If you mean how many DNA base pairs are within the nucleus, then there are 3 billion base pairs within the nucleus of each of your cells and you have trillions of cells in your body. Q: North Brunswick Township High School in NJ (10th grade student): My teacher told us about how similar the DNA is among all humans. I know that in today's society it is important to celebrate diversity, but doesn't this fact indicate that maybe we should also celebrate how much we are the same? A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: Yes, we are very similar. With diversity we can celebrate our cultural differences but you are right in saying we should not forget to embrace our "sameness." Q: Liberty Jr.Sr. High School in PA (12th grade student): What is the role of telomeres on the end of the DNA. A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Telomeres protect the ends of chromosomes from being lost when they're copied during cell division. Q: Goliad High School in TX (10th grade student): When i was born my mother had toxemia. I was born 2 months premature and barely survived. Is it possible that if i have children some day, the same thing could happen to them? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: Women who have a family history of toxemia (for example, if your mother or sister had toxemia with a pregnancy), your risk also increases. African-American women and women who are financially challenged, underprivileged, under twenty, or over thirty-five are also at increased risk. Medical conditions such as lupus, diabetes, or high blood pressure (chronic hypertension) put you at risk for developing toxemia. If you are pregnant with more than one baby, such as twins or triplets, the risk increases. If there is something wrong with either your baby or your placenta, such as the presence of a chromosomal abnormality or an abnormal maternal serum alpha feto protein (MSAFP), you also are at an increased risk for toxemia. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): do you have a sense of humor as a scientist? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: You have to! The truth is that most experiments DON'T work - one has to have a sense of optimism and humor to get through the many days when things don't go so well. What you read about science in textbooks and even in scientific journals is a tiny fraction of the work that goes on - most doesn't work, we learn from that, rethink our assumptions, change the methods or approach, and try again. Remember, the definition of a successful scientist: "A person who proceeds from failure to failure with undiminished optimism" Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): What is the leading research being done with adult stem cells? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Mostly basic experiments. There was a lot of interesting data about adult stem cells in the newspapers a few years ago, but a lot of that turned out to be wrong. Recently we have learned to make normal cells act like stem cells, and then they may begin to become different kinds of cells. this is very promising. Right now the only adult stem cells used to cure disease in people is the bone marrow stem cell. Bone marrow transplants have been used to cure a lot of blood diseases including Sickle Cell Disease and leukemia. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Whats the best part about your job? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: We get to discover new things nearly every day. Often these are just small bits knowledge but know one new them before. Q: Makoto in NC (n/a grade student): Is everyone around the world the same....by DNA i mean or is DNA always the same? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Your DNA is made of the same 4 building blocks (bases) as everyone elses, but reading yours from end to end would be slightly different than mine. The average amount of difference is 1 base per thousand between any two people. Understanding how these differences lead to health or disease is one of the most exciting aspects of human genetics and the genome project. As a medical geneticist, I am immersed in this every day. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): How does cloning create new organs? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: It does not. However, if you can create a new organism by cloning, the organs from the new organism, when it grows up, may be able to be transplanted. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Are all mammals 99.9% the same in DNA, or only humans? Also, could there ever be a human with less than 99.9% the same DNA as everyone else? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: 99.9% is an average difference between any two given humans. If you take any two chimpanzees they would be ten times more DIFFERENT that any two given humans. But if you take any two dogs, of any breed, they would be 10 times more SIMILAR than any two humans. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): quieren que les pregunte en espanol? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: claro, pregunta lo que quieras Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): gracias a la senorita Belen Hurle por contestar mi pregunta de la guacamaya. A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: De nada :) ! Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How did you make up the full name for DNA? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is the chemical name for this molecule. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): At what speed do strands of DNA replicate? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Replication in eukaryotic cells proceeds at about 50 nucleotides per second. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Can twins have the same, identical DNA strand? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: They do. Most identical twins are from a single egg. That egg divides into two cells with identical DNA. The two-cell embryo is then separated into two single cells, each of which becomes a baby with identical DNA. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): If I were to insert my own cloned brain cells into my noggin would I be smarter? If the above were true would it be possible to do the same with animals? If you could enhance species through cloning could there be an advancement in the evolutionary process (Corey) A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Almost certainly not! Your brain is an extremely intricately and sophisticated organ and is obviously in very good shape - otherwise, you would not be able to ask such a sophisticated question. The early steps of cell based therapy are being tested on people with terribly severe abnormalities of the brain. Although there is optimism that these will work, it may be a way off. No cause to even begin to think about messing with a normal brain! Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (12th grade student): Do you believe that curing genetic diseases is beneficial to mankind or will it weaken us as a species? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Treating and one day being able to cure diseases with a genetic basis will improve the lives of the individuals and families that are affected in so many ways--from being able to attend school, work, participate in sports, spend time with people who are important to them and it will save money spent on health care. But, a hallmark of genetics is our human variability and the fact that there will always be mutations occurring. Therefore, diseases with a genetic basis will never be wiped out. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Is it possible to clone anything thats alive, even insects? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Do you mean make carbon copies of an animal? The real answer is that we don't know. One could plan out how to do it but cloning animals requires doing a tremendous number of experiments. If someone was intent on cloning a grasshopper, they could give it a try. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is being a extremely talented athelete linked to genetics? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: It is linked to hard work! Most athletes are talented because of their commitment to their sport (practice, practice practice). Genetics has a role in endurance and can therefore have an impact on athletism. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What is the most complicated part of your job? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: As a genetic counselor involved in clinical research, my actual job responsibilities and interactions with families with genetic condition vary widely. For me, though, one of the most challenging things about being a genetic counselor is that we are called upon to talk with families about emotionally difficult topics, such as making decisions about genetic testing, the prognosis of a genetic condition, or the impact that illness can have on a family. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How do tumors form? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Lots of different ways, probably one unique way for each tumor. Most tumors we really don't know how the get started, but for the minority we do understand, it is clear that mutations (small or large changes to the DNA sequence) in the genes of a normal cell cause that cell to become a tumor. Q: Rosa L. Parks High School in NJ (10th grade student): Can homosexuality be linked to a genetic trait? Is there evidence of a "gay" gene? (Amanda Dixon) A: Della Brown White, Ph.D.: There has been some research done to indicate that there may be some genetic factors at play in terms of sexual orientation. Yet, understanding the role of genetics in sexual orientation becomes really complex when trying to consider environmental and social factors that could be at play as well. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade teacher): How do you get Leukemia and what are the symptoms? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: There are many different types of leukemia. Some of them are produced when two different chromosome being joined by mistake. These are called translocations. We do not know what causes them. Q: McDowell High School in PA (10th grade teacher): What is the degree of variation between the human DNA samples sequences used in the Human Genome Project? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: That is a very interesting question. The Human Genome project is a reference sequence. The samples used to put together the reference sequence come from a handful of humans, with the majority of the sequence from only one person. Nobody knows who these people were. There are at least two humans whose genome has been sequenced and openly published: James Watson and Craig Venter. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): What is the difference between natural selection and cultural evolution? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Natural selection is the process whereby the frequency of gene alleles are changed because the environment selectively eliminates some organisms that harbor deleterious genes. Cultural evolution is a series of behaviors that are encouraged or discouraged by relatives, friends, coworkers, and society at large. Our capacity to have cultural evolution may be genetic, by the status of it, probably has little or no genetic component. Q: Princeton High School in NJ (11th grade student): What genetic disorders would you suggest all states check for in their newborns? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: Good question. The disorders on the newborn screening panel are mandated by state law and are different in each state. Most of the conditions have some treatment which can prevent complications. One example is phenylketonuria (PKU), which can result in mental retardation if untreated. The treatment is a low phenylalanine diet. PKU is on the newborn screening panel in all states. You can review this website for more information http://genes-r-us.uthscsa.edu/ Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What is the average size of a DNA strand? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: If the DNA within a human cell were stretched out it would be about six feet in length. Q: school of biotechnology( B.H.U.) in International (Higher Education grade student): What do you think about the future of biotechnology? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Biotechnology is a rapidly growing field and a great career choice! It is because of scientists' understanding of DNA the biotechnology industry would not have grown to the size and importance it has today. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Is it possible to have very similar DNA to someone you are in no way related to? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Similar - possible, after all there are billions of people in the world. Identical - no. There are 3 billion bases in each of the cells of your body and unless you have an identical twin, the odds of getting identical DNA by random chance is too small to calculate. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Can DNA be altered by a mutation so it will produce mutated and unwanted protiens? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Yes. This happens quite often. Most times, the mutated protein causes no harm. Sometimes the mutated protein can cause a disease. Q: Princeton High School in NJ (12th grade student): What genetic diseases do you think should be automatically screened for at birth? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: The currently recommended panel for newborn screening is for 29 diseases and 90% of American babies currently get that screening. It is a wonderful thing as it allows early diagnosis of diseases that can be treated effectively before the severe symptoms arise. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): como las personas se hacen gay? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: No esta del todo claro y no soy una experta en el tema: es bastante posible que sea una combinacion de factors geneticos y ambientales. Lo importante es respetar las opciones personales de los que nos rodean. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Does DNA develop before you are born? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: Yes! DNA is present in both the egg and the sperm that come together to make an embryo. DNA is actually the plan for the embryo or fetus to grow and develop. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Is DNA similar to RNA? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Yes. They are quite similar. There are a few chemical differences. These differences mean that DNA is quite stable and RNA degrades easily. This is good because you want to keep your DNA always and being able to make RNAs from genes when you need them. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What cures for cancer are there? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: When cancer is discovered early and treated with surgery and possibly chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, and the patient survives for 5 years past the date of diagnosis, physicians will often consider that cancer cured. Those cancers include breast cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer, prostate cancer. Childhood leukemia is now being cured more frequently than in the past. A cure always depends on early detection. In the future genetic testing may be used to screen individuals for cancer risk. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): How much of adaptation is due to genetic changes as oppossed to change in behavior? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Can't really quantify an answer to your question - both are important. Also, there are different kinds of adaptation. Note that humans have dramatically increased behavioral adaptation because of our markedly increased capacities for communication. The rate of genetic adaptation has not changed much at all in millenia. Q: Peru High School in IN (9th grade student): Has gene therapy cured any genetic disorders or been benefited by the human genome project? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes and Yes. Hundreds of people with immune deficiencies, cancer, neurological diseases and blindness have all been cured by gene therapy. Because good news sells fewer papers than bad news, you really do not hear as much about these as you may have about the 4 people who were sick enough to be on a gene therapy trial, but unfortunately dies. The Genome project has been a huge help in identifying the genes that are malfunctioning - the ones that need to be put in by gene therapy Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Is there a way to predict specific traits of a baby? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: The answer to your question depends a bit on what you mean by "trait." During a pregnancy, there are a number of different testing procedures that women can choose to use. Some of these tests look at the number and structure of the fetus's chromosomes, the structures that hold our DNA. Other tests, like ultrasound, interpret sound wave to make a picture of the fetus, so that the anatomy of the fetus can be seen. These tests are not really designed to detect some of the things that we typically call "traits," such as the color of a person's eyes or hair. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What is sickle cell anemia? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Sickle cell disease is a blood disease caused by the change of a single nucleotide of DNA that codes for the hemoglobin gene. This change causes the hemoglobin to fold incorrectly when oxygen levels are low. This causes the red blood cells to back up and block blood vessels, and this causes lots of other complications. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How is human DNA similar to other organisms? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: The DNA in us is the same chemical found in almost all organisms. It is the sequence of the DNA differs that from one organism to another. Q: St. Bernard Catholic High School in CA (10th grade student): How do you keep up to date with all the new information in this field like studies, research, discoveries, etc. A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Great question! Keeping up is a challenge; we have to be life-long learners. Geneticists keep up in many ways. We read professional journals, belong to scientific list servs, attend meetings, discuss questions with our colleagues, and sometimes we look things up in genetics databases on the Internet. Like you, there are days when we learn about breaking news by reading the morning paper at breakfast. Genetics breakthroughs are happening everyday and are often of as much interest to you and the public as they are to us. Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade student): What is gene therapy? Is it an introduction of a gene into the body? How? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: Gene therapy tries to fix a genetic disease by introducing a healthy copy of the mutated gene into the body. Researchers are trying to use different types of viruses to deliver healthy genes into cells, but a really effective way of doing this has not yet been found. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): When was DNA first discovered? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: DNA was first identified as the genetic material in the 1940's. The structure of DNA was discovered in 1953 by Watson and Crick. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What is the big controversy over stem cell research? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Mostly over where they come from. There is a big debate in the country about whether life begins at conception. For those people, the use of embryos to generate stem cells is wrong. This has led to the ban on embryo derived stem cell research. The recent discoveries that allow almost any cell to be "re-programmed" into stem cells should make this a lot less controversial. Q: Mary Roberts in IL (n/a grade other): How hereditary is Marfan Syndome? A: Les Biesecker, M.D.: Marfan syndrome is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern. For an affected person, they have a 50% probability with each conception that the offspring will be affected. All persons with Marfan syndrome should see a geneticist or other genetics professional. Q: East Forest High School in PA (8th grade student): Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A. is it true that there are people working to make expecting parents be able to pick the childs gender, hair color, eye color... A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: No, I don't think anyone is seriously working on that. The biology is extremely difficult and complicated, so it is unlikely to be effective given current technologies. Moreoever, this is a complicated social and ethical, and probably even legal, issue which I don't feel that the society has sufficiently grappled with, so it would probably be premature to actually do it. Q: Michael Donnelly in DC (Higher Education grade other): Dr. Bodine, you said that most identical twins come from a single egg. Can identical twins come from two eggs? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Nope. Two eggs gives you paternal twins, born together but look different Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): what are lactic acids? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Lactic acid is a chemical that can build up in your muscles when they work too hard. This is why your legs hurt when you sprint for a long time. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Can mutations in DNA be a good thing? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Absolutely. A mutation can increase the fitness of an individual to the environment where he lives. The individual is then more likely to reproduce successfully and soon the offspring of this individual will dominate the population. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Does everthing that has DNA us the same letter as human or can they be different instead of ATCGU? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: As far as we know, all organisms use the same four DNA bases that we use, AGCT. There are a few odd exceptions but they are pretty rare. Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): a teacher at my school wnats to know if you really ride a harley A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: So, I think this question was actually directed at Francis Collins, the director of the genome institute. Unfortunately, he had to leave the chat room before he could answer this, but I am here to tell ya, yea, he rides a big red, loud, Harley-Davidson motorcycle pretty much whenever he can. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): How do the genes decide what twin to go to when a woman is pregnant? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: When a sperm and an egg combine, they make one zygote with 46 chromosomes. Those chromosomes duplicate and the zygote divides into two identical daughter cells. If these get separated, they will make two identical babies. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Do people with cystic fibrosis have a much shorter life span than people who dont? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: yes, but we all need to wear seat belts and not smoke cigarettes. How long any one person lives depends on many things. when I started medicine people diagnosed with CF only lived at most to about 6 years old, but now many are living to adulthood. A few women have had children themselves. However in 2008 a person born with CF will still be more likely to die of their condition than from other causes (if they wear their seat belt). Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade student): Is schizophrenia genetic? A: Jennifer Sloan, M.S., Ph.D., C.G.C.: Thanks for your question! Schizophrenia does have a genetic component meaning that close family members of someone with the condition are at higher risk vs. the general population to develop schizophrenia. If you are concerned about your family history you can talk to your local genetic counselor www.nsgc.org. You can also visit this website for more information about risks to family members http://www.schizophrenia.com/research/hereditygen.htm. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What are similarities between transcription and translation? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Both translation and transcription are processes involved in protein synthesis. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): How much schooling does it take to become a geneticist? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: To work in a research lab you need to finish high school and college. If you want to run your own lab you'll also need to get a Ph.D. (typically 5-6 years). It's also very common to take a post-doctoral position for several years after completing your Ph.D., which allows you to further specialize, much like doctors who do internships and residencies after completing medical school. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What is the most common cancer or disease a baby can be born with? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: Most babies are born healthy, and cancer is a very rare problem for a person to be born with. Other congenital problems, though, are more common; in fact, some estimates of the background risk for problems like birth defects or mental retardation could be as high as 3-5%. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Are there different nitrogen bases for different species? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The nitrogen bases that compose the DNA molecule are the same for every species. Q: Sandra Schleier Hernandez Puerto Rico in International (12th grade student): Why is uracil present in RNA and not in DNA? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: RNA has evolved to be a temporary carrier of information. It get used a few times and is broken down. Uracil is an less stable base than thymidine. DNA needs to be stable so it can be transmitted from one cell to another and to the next generation. You find thymidine in DNA. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Do the non-coding regions in DNA peform any functions? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: They certainly do. Many genes make RNA in only one or a few kinds of cells. For example, hemoglobin RNA is only made in red blood cells. The ability of the globin genes to be active in red cells is determined by the non-coding DNA around them. Some of the most important signals come from DNA sequences over 100,000 bases away from the globin gene! We are really only just beginning to identify the important non-coding sequences. Q: Jordan High School in CA (9th grade student): me podrias decir por que gente esta gorda como por ejemplo fat albert? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: La obesidad tiene un componente genetico y un componente ambiental. Algunas personas tienen mucha dificultad mantener un peso ideal por mucho que intenten dietas y un estilo de vida saludable, porque geneticamente estan predispuestas a la obesidad. Otras personas comen muchisimo y nunca engordan. Otras personas podrian mantenerse en forma facilmente pero tienen habitos de salud pesimos (sedentarismo, comidas grasas, sodas etc). Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Is there any way to reverse the effects of autism? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: There is currently no cure for autism. Therapies and behavioral interventions are designed to treat specific symptoms and can bring about substantial improvement. The ideal treatment plan coordinates therapies and interventions that target the core symptoms of autism: impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and obsessive or repetitive routines and interests. Most professionals agree that the earlier the intervention, the better. For many children, autism symptoms improve with treatment and with age. Some children with autism grow up to lead normal or near-normal lives. Children whose language skills regress early in life, usually before the age of 3, appear to be at risk of developing epilepsy or seizure-like brain activity. During adolescence, some children with autism may become depressed or experience behavioral problems. Parents of these children should be ready to adjust treatment for their child as needed. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Is it possible to control the sex chromosomes in a zygote(after fertilization)in order to choose the sex of a baby? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: One of the wonders of reproduction is its mystery. The sex chromosomes in the zygote are contributed by the egg and sperm. At fertilization the sex chromosome make up of the embryo is set. Experts in assisted reproductive technologies may be able to increase the likelihood that an egg will be fertilized by an X or Y bearing sperm, but after the zygote is forms, the sex chromosomes cannot be changed. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): is ADD hereditary? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: there are many ways that an observable condition like ADD can be inherited or passed on (heritable - not the same as inherited). When we look at identicle twins with ADD they are more likely to both have ADD than nonidenticle twins. So there is a heritable part to ADD. IT IS NOT LIKE THE WAY BLOOD TYPES ARE HERITABLE. So you have to think hard about this kind of inheritance. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Can you discuss the future of DNA research and its implications? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: We are continuing to learn about the human genome. Future research at the National Institutes of Health will focus on how we can use new genomic knowledge to improve human health. Q: Waterville High School in WA (10th grade student): I am planning on becoming a doctor. What was the most challenging aspect of your medical schooling? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: learning to not believe everything you are taught is perfectly correct, only approximately correct and then seeing a sick person and admitting that is the level of our knowledge. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How did DNA day start? What is the history behind it? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: DNA Day was launched in April 2003 as part of the celebration of the completion of the Human Genome Project that month and the 50th anniversary of the publication of the scientific report by James Watson and Francis Crick that described, for the first time, the double helical shape of the DNA molecule. That simple structure implied many things about how DNA encoded genetic information and copied it so it could be passed from generation to generation. After the success of the first year, the genome institute decided to continue doing it. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Approximately how long does the process of meiosis take after it has started? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Depends on the organism and the gender of the organism. In female mammals, the first meiotic division usually happens before they are born. The eggs just lie waiting for signals when the animal is older to complete the second division, and then only 1 or a few at a time for a few years. In males, sperm are made almost continuously and the process takes about a day. Q: Parker High School in WI (11th grade student): Where is the DNA genome database located? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Try http://genome.ucsc.edu. This site contains the reference sequence and working draft assemblies for a large collection of genomes including human. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): In the future will it be possible to detect abonormalities or diseases in the DNA and fix them before a baby is born? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: That is possible right now today, but the risk of losing the pregnancy is so high we are not ready to offer that on a regular basis. It also would require us to decide what an abnormality is - is it deafness, or being short? you have to be careful about starting this service. Q: Joliet Central High School in IL (9th grade student): Is it possible that someone, somewhere, has your exact DNA? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Not likely, there are 3 billion bases of DNA in a cell. The chance that 1 of even 10 billion people on earth has the same sequence is too small to measure. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Why do people's hair naturally curl or straighten? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: There are proteins in your hair that get linked together. These make the hair very tough. The pattern used to link the hair differs between people. Some cross-linking patterns produce curly hair, others straight. Your genes help to determine which pattern you have. You can use chemicals to rearrange the patterns of the linking. This is how perms can straighten curly hair and curl straight hair. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): is it possible for a white person to turn black if they had enough tyrosinase? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: No. But if you mean can anyone get darker if their tyrosinase level changes in the skin, then yes. But we all have more tyrosinase than we use, so that is not what causes one person to be darker than another. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Is it possible to clone anything thats alive, even insects? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Theoretically yes. In fact many insects like ants and bees are clones. Worker bees and ants are made only from eggs derived from the mother. They do not get a chance to get a sperm from different fathers, so they are very much like the queen. Q: Elko High School in NV (12th grade student): Is it true that police use DNA samples as much as they do in crime dramas, such as Law and Order or CSI? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Indeed, DNA samples are used widely at crime scenes and to identify victims of mass fatalities. What you see on Law and Order and CSI is a dramatization of what occurs in day-to-day detective work. It is impossible for us to say whether what you see on TV is what commonly happens in real life. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): How long will a child live if he or she has Tay-Sachs disease? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: Right now it is about two to 5 years old. But once we get better at the enzyme therapy that is given right now, and also a treatment called substrate reduction, these individuals may live much longer Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): In what way is science and math combined? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Math is an important foundation for all of the sciences. You will use it in chemistry, physics and genetics. It helps us describe what we observe. Without it, we would be forced to describe things in unclear ways. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Why can't dogs see in color? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: That is a popular misconception. The can see colors, perhaps not the way we see colors, but they see them. They have a different ration of cones and rods in the eye (the cells that are used to distinguish color) than we do, so people think think that they are color blind. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How long does it take for a DNA strand to replicate? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Bacteria can replicate about 100,000 bases per minute. Eukaryotic DNA polymerases are slower than bacterial DNA polymerases and can replicate about 500 - 5,000 bases per minute. To make up for the slower replication, eukaryotes have more origins of replication. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What is sickle cell anemia? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: This is a medical condition where the blood cells that are red (erythrocytes) have a protein inside it that can, sometimes, clump and make the cell look like a cresent moon - or an old fashion farm tool called a sickle. This is the result of two genes that are changed in the cells that make the protein. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (Higher Education grade teacher): Does gene therapy work? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: yes Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): If someone in your family has cancer, what are your chances of developing it? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: The answer to your question is actually quite complicated and depends on a number of different factors, such as the type of cancer that is in the family and the age at which the cancer was diagnosed. We do know of a few specific genes that, when changed or altered, significantly increase a person's chances to develop cancer. The increased risk that having one of these gene changes confers varies widely depending on the gene. People who are concerned about their family history of cancer can meet with a genetic counselor who specializes in cancer genetics. You can find a genetic counselor with this specialty in your area by visiting www.nsgc.org Thanks for your question! Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): What is the difference between RNA and DNA A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: DNA and RNA are very similar. There is one chemical difference that makes DNA very stable and RNA unstable. In this way, your genes can always stay the same but the product of these genes (the RNA) can change. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): How long do you think it will take to cure cancer, asthma, and other common diseases? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: I don't know, but medicine has been working at it for 425years with the scientific method and we are doing pretty well. Q: Westview High School in CA (10th grade student): How can you determine if you or your parents have a disease in your genes? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: A first step to determining whether you or your parents have a are at risk for a genetic disease is to know your family history. Certain diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and stroke can run in families. Knowing your family history will tell you whether you are at increased risk to have a particular common or rare genetic disease. Another way to find out if you have a disease in your genes is to have specific genetic testing. You can talk with your doctor about your concerns or meet with a genetic counselor to discuss your risk and steps you can take to learn more about it. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Is ADD/ADHD hereditary? Can it go away over time? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: yes, and yes Q: Manley Career Academy High School in IL (9th grade student): Did scientists ever find the DNA of Anastasia and Alexis from the Romanov family? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Nicholas II, Empress Alexandra, 13-year-old Crown Prince Alexei, and the prince's four sisters were taken prisoner in 1917. Their captors fatally shot all the prisoners on July 17, 1918. DNA testing determined skeletal remains unearthed from shallow graves in Siberia in 1991 were most likely those of the couple and three of their four daughters. New bone shards discovered last summer, burned and doused with acid, may be those of Alexei and Maria. DNA testing is underway. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): When scientists look through a microscope at a strand of DNA can they actually see the double helix? If it is replicating, can they see it replicating? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: They can come close. No microscope has the resolution to see the individual bases yet, but you can see chromosome strands. You can also see DNA ploymerase binding to the strands and other proteins (RNA polymerase, DNA binding proteins) too. However, this has never been done on DNA from living cells, so we have never seen the process of replication in something like a movie or time lapse format. Q: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (11th grade student): What is molecular medicine? Does it involve DNA studies ? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes, it involves DNA studies. Many people use the word molecular to mean genes, genetics and DNA. Chemists are sometimes upset. I think of molecular medicine as the use of DNA techniques to understand and customize medicine to each individual Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): why do genes must turn off? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: It would be very confusing if all of your genes were on all of the time. Your hair cells need to turn on "hair genes" and your eyes need to turn on eye genes. Imagine what would happen if this was mixed up. Q: MCA in MD (10th grade student): Are scientists all old white men? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: No! I happen to be an African American social scientist that studies how the public and health professionals understand human genetic variation and identity. Many of the research laboratories at the National Human Genome Research Institute are led by women and younger scientists. Many fields of science including genomics need to increase the number of scientists that are from different backgrounds. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): How do you take DNA out of a strawberry? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: DNA is in every cell of the strawberry, so a good way to start is to smash up the strawberry to separate the cells from each other. Adding a mixture of soap and salt breaks open the cells and separates the DNA from the rest of the cell and its parts. Filtering this mix through cheesecloth gives the liquid part that has DNA. When ice-cold alcohol is carefully layered on top of this, DNA becomes visible where these layers of liquid meet. As the DNA floats into the top layer, it can be spooled on a glass rod. Q: Bowie High School in MD (11th grade student): How similar is an offspring's DNA to it's parent? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Half of your DNA comes from each parent, so 50% of the DNA is identical to one of your parents and 50% to the other. think about this: Each of your parents are 50% of their parents, so 25% of your DNA should match one of your grandparents. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): Is there a gene for allergies? A: Dale Lea, R.N., M.P.H., C.G.C., F.A.A.N.: A specific allergy is not usually inherited, but the tendency to develop allergies is often passed down through families. If both parents have allergies, their child is likely to have allergies. However, your chance of develop allergies seems to be greater if your mother has allergies. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Is cancer heriditary? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: Sort of. Genes are instructions. Some genes are the instructions to make a baby grow arms and legs before birth. Those genes need to be turned off after the arms are made. If those genes are accidentally turned on later - they will cause growth that is a cancer. All of the genes are inherited from parents, but some can change during life. So some cancers are the genes from a parent, and some happens after birth when these genes change on there own. Q: Sam Johnson in NJ (n/a grade other): What are Bio-Markers? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: These are things we can measure that can help us diagnose or predict how healthy or sick you might be. They often can be tested by taking a little bit of blood. Q: Evans Middles School in IA (8th grade teacher): Is it likely that the Human Genome Project will ever result in "designer" children, and do you think it will ever become ethical? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Your question is an interesting one; what you might consider the "perfect" designer child might not be the same as what I might want for my child. So, who is to say what a "designer" child would be like? What I do think the Human Genome Project will be able to do---and is already doing---is to help those families whose children are at risk for genetic diseases live healthier lives. All agree that this is a very ethical use of this new science. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Has anyone cloned a human being yet? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Some have claimed so, but such claims were never scientifically backed up. I doubt it has happened yet. Because of ethical concerns, legislation or guidelines to ban human cloning are pending in dozens of nations, including the United States. Several countries, including Britain, Israel, Japan and Germany, already have banned it. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (Higher Education grade teacher): How has the discovery of DNA affected the medications we are prescribed? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: There are several genes that affect how fast or slow a medication works. DNA analysis is helping us know who should get more and who need less or they will be getting too much. Q: Parker High School in WI (11th grade student): Can an individual get a microarray and if so, how much would it cost? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: You can and there are companies that will do it for you. They are charging thousands of dollars. You may want to think about how much of the information will be useful to you. We certainly are a long way from understanding the effects of all the changes that have been seen in humans, much less the new ones we are discovering every day. Q: Genesee School District in MI (10th grade student): Are there genes that activate breast cancer? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: yes. We only know a few but the ones we know are called p53, BRCA1 and BRCA2 to name 3. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How many base pairs are in DNA? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are 3 billion base pairs in the human genome. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Is there a genetic link to cervical cancer? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: yes, there are genes in small particles called viruses. One kind of virus called human papalloma virus has genes that can get into cell during infection with the virus. these genes can cause the cervical cells to become cancerous. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How long did it take you to become an expert in the genetic field and do you love doing what you do? A: Faith Pangilinan, Ph.D.: I went to college to get my bachelor's degree, and then to graduate school to get my Ph.D. I am looking for genetic risk factors for birth defects, and I absolutely love what I am doing! If you enjoy solving puzzles, using hands-on skills and constantly learning new things then you may love being a scientist too. Q: ABABU Center for Biological Information Technology, RAJAHMUNDRY, INDIA in International (Higher Education grade student): is it possible to prevent adult onset diseases with gene therapy ? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: absolutely yes. In fact most gene therapy trials are being aimed at adult onset diseases called cancer - See the work of Dr. Steven Rosenberg. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Why is a codon only three sequences? Can it ever be more than three? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: To my knowledge there are no codons in nature with a number of bases different than three. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Researchers have said that it is now possible to discover if children will develop Autism by looking at their chromosomes before they are born. Is this correct? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: All our DNA is organized into structures called chromosomes, and there are prenatal tests that can look at a fetus's chromosomes. These tests can tell if the fetus has an extra or missing chromosome or if parts of two chromosomes have exchanged places or are missing or extra. Some of the results of these chromosome problems are well understood. An example of this is Down syndrome, which is caused by having an extra copy of chromosome 21. Autism is less well understood; some children with chromosome problems may develop autism, and many children with autism have normal chromosomes. This means that in most cases, looking at a fetus's chromosomes is not a good way to predict whether the baby will develop autism. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Which are the three major factors that can determine if you are going to get breast cancer or not? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Having an family member with breast cancer is the strongest risk factor. After that risk can changed by how much exercise you get (more is good), what you eat (low fat is good) and how many children (more are good) you might have. Compared to your family history, each of these others are not very strong risk factors Q: Bowie High School in MD (11th grade student): whats a biome? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: The ecological term is a habitat and everything in it. In the genomics field, we use it to describe all of the different organisms in a given environment, which can be distinguished by their DNA sequence. For example, there are trillions of bacteria and other microrganisms in your intestines. DNA sequencing of their DNA can tell us how many different kinds of each there are and how many of each species there are in the intestinal microbiome. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (Higher Education grade teacher): Do you have a particular genetic disease that you prefer to study? If so, which one, and why? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: I am currently studying the genetics of birth defects. Our hope is that if we understand how they happen, we can prevent them. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Are all hereditary diseases recessive? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: No there are many forms of inheritance, recessive, dominant , X linked, mitochondrial, holandric and even more including non mendelian such as the Sherman paradox of fragile X. But this is beyond high school. keep learning Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Are the greatest pro athletes really talented? Is it in their genes or did they just work really hard to become that good? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Wouldn't it be great if we were all born talented? It turns out that talent is only the first step in the equation for artists and musicians as well as athletes. Even those with talent have to work to become successful. Because athletic success is a combination of nature and nurture, many people without innate talent who work hard are very successful, too. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Why can't we just remove the genes that cause cancer? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: These genes are what we used as a fertilized egg to grow from a microscopic beach ball ( the egg) to a baby with eyes and hearts and limbs. We need these genes but then we have to turn it off. Q: Rosa L. Parks High School in NJ (n/a grade teacher): Given the dire situation of global warming, how heavily do you see DNA technology with regards to GMO becoming a much depended upon resource for cultivating crops? How would you suggest the general population better understand the benefits of the combined measures of this technology with our day to day responsibilities to combat climate change? A: Larry Thompson, M.S., M.F.A.: This is a very complicated question for which there is probably not very much actual data, but I can offer an opinion: I think it is likely that geneticly modifying organisms that we use for food could help with climate change by reducing the amount of fertilizers and pesticides that need to be produced and spread in the environment to maintain the current level of food production. This is, however, an emotional issue becaues many people have a negative reaction to the idea that food can be genetically modified. They just think it is a bad idea to eat genes, even though all foods contain genes. Moreover, there is no difference between the "naturally occurring genes" in say a corn plant and the genes that are added to give the food product some production advantage. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How would you get DNA out of an ant if it's so small? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: An ant is as big as an elephant in terms of extracting DNA! Technology is such these days that you can get DNA out of ONE SINGLE cell. Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): I watch crime scene investigation shows and some of the situations and crimes seen a little far fetched, do they find they find the criminals the same way? Or is Hollywood just beefing up the crimes to make their shows interesting? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: Genomics is becoming an important part of forensics. DNA provides unique information that can be used to identify a suspect. However, Hollywood glamorizes criminal investigations and typically resolves the investigation in less than one hour. Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): Can we use genetic engineering to alter a specific feature like hair color? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: yes, but doctors have decided to start with conditions that are more serious, like baldness (speaking personally) Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): What causes genetic variation? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Whenever your cells divide they have to make a copy of all their DNA. They make almost perfect copies but mistakes do happen. These can be passed on to the next generation. Most of these mistake do not cause a problem and are just carried around. Some change the way we look or may make us sick. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): What led Crick and Watson to find the structure of DNA? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: The crystal structure of nucleic acid that was done by Rosiland Franklin. Rosiland interpreted her structure as best she could, but it did not make sense. Watson was a geneticist and Crick was a physicist. By combining their different ways of looking at things, and with input from chemists whose names have been forgotten, Watson and Crick realized that Rosiland Franklin had not accounted for water in her interpretation. When the built their model (crick's strong point) they had the water in, but the bases did not match until a chemistry student told them that they were using the bases in their incorrect chemical form. When they used the right forms and the water, the model checked out. Q: Jackson High School in MO (11th grade student): Were you always interested in science? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: I have been interested in science since I was in elementary school. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (Higher Education grade teacher): What kinds of laboratory methods did you use to find the sequence of human DNA? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Me,none. The Genome Project broke the DNA up into pieces called BACS, and mapped each one to the genome. Because they overlapped, they were able to bridge across the whole genome. Then they broke up the BACS into smaller pieces and sequences each one. Because of the overlap, they were able to put together the whole sequence of the genome. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): What tools are needed to look at/study DNA? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: We use lots of machines and tools in the lab to study DNA. You can even use a chemical that binds to DNA and makes it glow so that you can see it. The most important tool you need to study DNA is a good education. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (11th grade student): Do you feel that germ-line genetic engineering is too dangerous since it can possibly lead to a revival of eugenics and asocial hierarchy? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: I think we need to be thoughtful about the potential revival of eugenics. We can learn much from history. As technology advances we need be thoughtful how it is used. Q: Westview High School in CA (10th grade student): What mutation can lead to a hyperactive pituitary gland, or what gene mutation causes a giant)? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: The easiest answer would be a growth gene. But there are also genes that cause cells to grow too much (these are the cancer genes). One gene causes a condition called Soto syndrome NSD1 is the gene name for this. Soto is called cerebral gigantism because this people have big heads (like my boss) Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Is DNA in everything? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Everything living thing has DNA. Although, some viruses have RNA and you may or may not consider them living. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): What made you research DNA, and not anyhting else? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: I'm not sure. All I know ids that when I first learned about genetics in the 4th grade, I was absolutely hooked. Every time we did genetics the rest of the way through school, I was fascinated. In fact it was the only thing about school that I really liked. If I had to do it over again, I would have tried to get excited about the rest too. because I was not a good student, it took me longer to get where I am, studying genetics every day. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): If scientists were to alter an individual's DNA, could life be prolonged? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: If life could be prolonged, what do you think that would look like? Would you stay in a "holding" pattern as a young adult? Or at the age you are the day your DNA is altered? Or maybe, you would just get older and older in your same body. And, as you got older and older you'd have to remember not to drink or smoke and to exercise, eat well and live a healthy lifestyle. Environment will always have a role in our health and aging. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can a person have mutated DNA, and not know it? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: The answer is yes. We humans acquire an average of 100 mutations per individual per generation. In other words, you carry about 100 mutations that were not present in either of your parents. I bet you did not know that you are actually a mutant! Q: Athens High School in AL (12th grade student): Can congenital heart conditions (and other congenital conditions) be genetic and inheritable or are they more likely caused by an outside teratogen? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: Congenital heart defects are actually among the most common birth defects. Sometimes, a congenital heart defect can be part of a specific genetic condition, but isolated congenital heart defects are estimated to occur in as many 3-5 in every 1000 births. First-degree relatives of individuals with a congenital heart defect are at a slightly increased risk to have a congenital heart defect themselves. One example of a teratogen that can cause congenital heart defect is thalidomide. You can learn more about congenital heart defects by visiting http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4565 Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Is there a syndrome for people who only have a Y chromosome? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: no. You need more than a y chromosome to be born. There are 22 pairs of "regular chromosomes" and there are genes on the X chromosome that are important to be born. So you need at least 22 regular chromosomes and at least one X. Rarely we see an miscarried pregnancy that has only a placenta and these cells have only a Y and no X, but also no baby. Q: LaSalle Academy in RI (9th grade student): What is the latest DNA discovery? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Discoveries are being made all the time. With the recent sequencing of the human genome, advances in disease research are coming quickly. Recently, genes possibly involved in diabetes have been isolated. Each new advance leads to more research and even more discovery. Cures for disease are further down the line as each gene discovery requires much investigation into the role that it plays in a given disease. Q: Westview High School in CA (10th grade student): Does mental retardations also occur in animals such as fish? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: yes they are the ones who take the worm when I go fishing. Q: Elko High School in NV (12th grade student): If someone was to get a blood transfusion would they inherit the donor's DNA? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: If someone was to get a blood transfusion would they inherit the donor's DNA? Q: Lourdes in FL (9th grade student): What is a lagging strand? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: DNA is synthesized from 5' to 3' or left to right if you like. The top strand can be replicated continuously, because when it opens up it opens up in a 5' to 3' direction. But remember that the bottom strand is antiparallel, or is 3' to 5'. Because of this only short stretches of DNA can be synthesized on this strand as more and more 5' template is exposed. This is a little slower, because all these short stretches have to be joined and hence this is the lagging strand. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): What are the current approaches to gene therapy in hemophilia? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: This is a great question and I wish I had more specific details to share with you. However, gene therapy is a technology that is still in the early stages of development. I hope that when someone poses a similar question during a DNA Day 10 or 15 years from now, the answer will be more specific and indicate our success! Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Why is crossing over an important part of meoiosis 1? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Crossing over is essential for two main reasons. First, it is crossing over that provides genetic diversity from generation to generation. It is why you have DNA in your genome from both your mother's parents and both of your father's parents. It is how each of us is unique. Second, crossing over appears to be important for proper chromosome segregation. The cross over stabilizes the tetrad formed when two chromosome homologs align with each other at the metaphase plate. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): What's the most number of chromosomes found in a living organism? What organism? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: A protozoa by the name Aulacantha has a staggering 1600 chromosomes! In contrast, the males ants of species Myrmecia pilosula only have one chromosome (females have two). Q: Westview High School in CA (10th grade student): How many years did you go to college? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: 4, plus 5 years of grad school and 4 years of post doc research. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): When a girl is diagnosed with Turner syndrome does it affect anything but physical characteristics? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: YES! this is a great question. Because all the genes are in every cell, we are discovering many other changes as we follow young women with Turner syndrome. Unfortunately women with turner syndrome rarely are able to have babies as adults. they can also have problems with body growth in puberty - but we know how to treat this. In the last few years we have found that older adults with turner syndrome are at risk for a bubble (aneurysm) in the abdomen that can burst and cause death. We now watch for that in adults. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): What is stem cell research? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Stems cells are cells that have not yet decided what they will be when they mature. Scientist are doing research on them because they think that they can be used to repair damaged cells. For example, when someone has an accident that damages their spine, their nerve cells do not grow back. It might be possible to use stems cells to grow new nerves. It would be great if we could use a person's own stems cells to fix their disease. We don't know how to do this yet. We do know how to produce stem cells from embryos. So people think it is okay to use embryos for research others think it is not okay. Q: Fairmont State University in WV (Higher Education grade student): How integral is the ELSI Research program to NHGRI? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: ELSI is the Ethical Legal, Social Implications Research Program was established in 1990 to foster basic and applied research on ethical legal and social implications of genetic and genomic research for individuals, families and communities. The ELSI program is extremely important to NHGRI and will become more important as genomic knowledge and technologies increasingly impact the lives of everyone. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Does a scientist have a tight schedule? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: We have a lot of deadlines, but those are mostly ones we put on ourselves. we want our answers fast and we want to get on to the next experiment, so it seems like there are a lot of deadlines, but that is because we get so excited about results. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): What do the DNA base pairs do? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: A gene is made up of a series of DNA base pairs. Each base pair joins the two strands of the DNA helix. 3 DNA base pairs encode a single amino acid when DNA is translated into protein. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Has other cloning been done besides Dolly the sheep? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes. Many different kids of cattle, dogs, cats and mice are all routinely cloned. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can more than two chromosomes cross over at once? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes. All chromosomes cross over at least once during meiosis, and there can be multiple cross overs per chromosome, particularly for the longer (bigger) ones. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Why did you decide to study DNA and other aspects of genetics? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: I enjoyed genetics in school because it combined biology, chemistry and math. Later, I realized that doing genetics research could help us figure out why people get sick. Q: Virginia Tech in VA (Higher Education grade student): What gene is responsible for children with asthma? How does it transfer from parents? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Asthma is considered a complex disease. This means that environment and genes play a role in causing asthma. At this point there isn't one gene that has been identified to cause asthma. Research is ongoing and we will probably find a number of genes in the future that predispose someone to develop this disease. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): My dad has red green color blindness, and his mom's dad has red green color blindness and nobody else does. Is it true that my son will have red green color blindness also? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: If you are a female, then you have a 50% chance of having a male child with this type of color blindness from the x chromosome you have from your father. There are some other forms of colorblindness that are not on the X chromosome, and there are different recurrence risks for those. Some women can have an eye exam and this can tell if your eyes are also grew with this genetic change in some of the cells Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How do you not kill the ant when you are extracting DNA from it? Have you ever killed any other organisms while taking out DNA? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I am sorry but you DO kill the ant. I sacrificed some mice when I was a graduate student bit I am not comfortable doing it anymore. Fortunately, all my current research is done using blood samples. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can genetic diseases ever be prevented? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: I think that the bigger question behind yours is "Will we ever fully understand the CAUSES of genetic diseases?" Although we've seen huge advances in our understanding of single gene conditions like cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia, we still have a long way to go toward understanding the different contributions that our genes, the interactions between our genes, and our environments have on both health and disease. Q: William G. Enloe High School in NC (10th grade student): Are identical twins REALLY identical in terms of their DNA? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: Pretty darn close. DNA is a chemical, but that means that when it is copied there are a few changes per hundred million copies. So there are some cells in your body that have a few changes from the rest. but other than those very small number of changes, identical twins have the same DNA sequence. It is about 99.9999% the same. In science nothing is 100% Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Have scientist ever cloned an animal, aside from sheeps and cats? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Yes, many. At www.guardian.co.uk, you can view photos of the many animals that have been cloned. They include horse, cow, pig, rabbit etc. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): When DNA is coiled up in chromosomes, how is it studied? Don't the overlapping strands make it hard for it to be seen under a microscope? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Mostly we look at DNA in interphase nuclei when the chromosomes are not tightly wound up, but are relaxed and fill the nucleus. We have new microscopes that can give us 3D pictures. We can look for places where RNA is being made and we can map individual chromosome territories in nuclei. It is interesting that the location of the active genes is not random, these genes tend to be in the center of the nucleus. That 3D stuff was a big advance. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Is natural selection considered a mutation? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: No. They are different but related. Natural selection occurs when one variant form has an advantage over another variant form. Variation is produced when mutations happen to DNA. This creates organisms that are slightly different. Without mutations, life would never have evolved. Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): Can you explain how RNAi works in gene therapy? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: Not in under 3 hours. but if I can be approximate let me try. RNAi is a way to turn off a gene that has exactly the opposite DNA sequence. We all have two copies of most genes. If one is bad and causing problems, but the other is good then if we have an RNAi molecule that is the exact opposite to the gene that is the problem, and if we can get it into the cells that are a problem, then the RNAi will turn off the bad gene but leave the good one working. It is actually not that easy. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): How much do scientists make? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Scientists' salaries vary based on the setting in which they work, the part of the USA in which they work, the responsibilities of their jobs and how long they have been a scientist. I am in genetics because I think it is one of the most exciting fields of science. In choosing a career, I recommend that you find something you are passionate about. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How big of an effect can one mutated gene have on a person? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: Pretty big or not at all, depending on the gene. Some mutations do not change the protein sequence (the genetic code sometimes has 3-5 different ways to code for an amino acid). Sometimes one deleterious mutation is not too bad if you are heterozygous, sometimes half the normal amount of protein is just fine. On the other hand, the single mutation in the globin gene that causes Sickle Cell Disease is very bad when you have two copies of it. Q: LaSalle Academy in RI (9th grade student): With is the importance of Biotechnology in 2008, do you think that we should study proteomics- the science of proteins- at high school? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Biotechnology is very important, as it translates the discovery in basic science into real life applications that benefit all of us. I think that the more science people learn in high school, the better. Q: Princeton High School in NJ (9th grade student): Why does RNA contain uracil and not thymine, like in DNA? A: David Bodine, M.D., Ph.D.: This was answered earlier by Larry Brody. Q: James Polk Middle School in IL (7th grade student): Why did Michael Jackson's skin color change? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Interesting question. We don't know. It is possible that he has a condition that led his skin to change color overtime. This condition could have a genetic component. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Is it possible for a new base be found? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Yes. In fact, there are many more "bases" then the ones found in DNA and RNA. They are used in the cell but do not end up being made into the long strings of DNA and RNA. There may be some organisms that use some of these different bases. But so far, almost every organism we have looked at uses the same bases that we use. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): If my mom is a dwarf, what are my chances of having dwarf children? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: It all depends on what kind of dwarf. We don't like to use that word. Some people are short because they didn't grow and some because one of the genes that grow your bones grow a bone that is short. This is called Skeletal dysplasia. Inheritance of the genes are different and could be almost zero, 25%, fifty percent or sometime inbetween. Never more than 50%. Q: Oxford College of Emory University in GA (Higher Education grade student): Is is still correct that the human genome is only 0.1% different between individuals? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: That is still correct. On average, any two individuals are the same at over 999 out of every 1,000 bases of their DNA sequence. Of course, that 0.1% where we differ on average is quite important, as it is these variations that help us make us who we each are - in terms of both our health and other characteristics. Q: Samar in n/a (Higher Education grade student): How to get master in genetics ? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are many universities that offer Masters degrees. A Masters degree requires classwork and sometimes, research. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Is there a genetic link to cervical cancer? A: Tom Markello, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes. there is a gene inside the virus called papilloma that can activate a cervical cell to become cancerous. That is why a vaccine to prevent these infections is so beneficial. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Why are mules unable to reproduce? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: It is not known mechanistically why they cannot reproduce. A mule is the offspring of a horse and a donkey. It is an interspecific hybrid. It is believed that speciation results when two organisms can no longer interbreed due to reproductive isolation. This can happen because the two genomes (in this case that of the horse and the donkey) cannot function together to produce proper eggs or sperm in the resulting organism. It is not know exactly why but could be that the chromosomes may be too different to accomplish meiosis or some important protein factor is absent or different in one of the species. Q: Lori Ferguson in MD (n/a grade other): My nephew has been suffering with seizures for several years. The hospital where he goes has been unable to give a diagnosis. Where can he get the help he needs? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: I'm sorry to hear about your nephew and it must be frustrating to not have an answer to why he is suffering from this problem. As I'm sure you know, seizures are a complicated problem and, like any complex medical condition, it can take doctors a long time to understand this problem in any particular patient. You could consider asking your nephew's doctors for a referral to a seizure clinic at a larger hospital or a hospital that is associated with university medical center. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): If you want to be a veterinarian do you still have to know as much about DNA as you have to know about human DNA? A: Judith Benkendorf, M.S., C.G.C.: Genetics is impacting all fields of medicine, including veterinary medicine in many wonderful ways. As a vet, you may be conducting genetic tests and using that information to prescribe treatments for sick pets and animals of all sizes. Therefore, you will have to know as about animal DNA as physicians know about human DNA. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Is there any living organism without RNA or DNA? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: I do not know of any. There is one infectious disease that is caused by a virus that is made up of only protein. Many people would not call this virus a "living organism" Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): If you have an extra chromosome can you be superstrong? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Good question. I'm afraid that is not the case. Generally speaking having too much (extra chromosome or part of a chromosome) or too little (missing a chromosome or part of a chromosome) is not a good thing. So having just the right amount of genetic material is important for our body to function properly. Q: Sharda, India in n/a (Higher Education grade student): Tell me how aging process can be controlled genetically. A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: It likely cannot ever be fully "controlled" genetically. However, there obviously are many genetic factors that play a role in aging. as we learn more about them, we will be better able to develop strategies to combat the effects of aging. For instance, if we learn that the interplay between a specific genetic factor and specific environmental factors influences aging, we may be able to modify those specific environmental exposures in a way to slow the aging process for many individuals. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How fragile is DNA? How much pressure does it take to break it? If it were a small amount, all of our DNA would be breaking and we couldn't live, could we? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Spontaneous breaks in the DNA are relatively common in all cells (free radical attacks seem to be responsible) and most are quickly repaired by normal cell processes -- generally within minutes or hours. It is possible for the cell to make mistakes when repairing single-strand breaks, but the likelihood of serious mistakes (mutations) increases substantially with double-strand breaks. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Can you alter your DNA to be "perfect?" A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: "Perfect" DNA might mean DNA that has replicated without error and there are mechanisms in place within the cell to fix any errors that occur during the normal replication process. No one really has "perfect" DNA. We don't even know what it would mean to have perfect DNA since a lot of our DNA is in place to help us respond to stresses. We all have elements within our DNA that make us more or less susceptible to disease. For some individuals with genetic disorders, gene therapy can introduce new copies of the gene and hopefully correct the disorder. But this is only used in rare situations. Q: Jackson High School in MO (11th grade student): If you know you have a negative genetic trait that is passed on in the family, can that gene be identified and destroyed? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: This is an exciting time in science we are learning more of the variations in the human genome. This information will assist development of personalized medicine. We can identify deleterious mutations, but what to do is a personal choice. In many cases, an egg or zygote fertilized outside the body can be evaluated for the presence of the deleterious gene. Then only the "healthy" embryos can be put into the mother. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Do you believe in evolution? A: M.K. Holohan, J.D.: Yes. The overwhelming majority of scientists believe that evolution, the process of natural selection, explains how multiple species evolved from a common ancestor over very long periods of time. While there are those who believe that their religious beliefs are incompatible with evolution, this position is quite uncommon within the scientific community. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): Which countries have DNA banks? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Hello, St. Ignatius. As in past years, St. Ignatius students are active and interesting participants in the Chat Room. A number of countries have collections of DNA that are used for various kinds of research - or are seriously considering starting them. among these are the United Kingdom, Japan, Estonia, and Iceland. While the United States does not have a single national DNA bank (yet), we have a number of DNA banks (well over 100) that are used in scientific research. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): How many DNA mutations need to occur in order to have a major disease? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: In some cases of single gene disorders, one tiny change in a person's DNA can result in faulty protein that does not function properly in the body. These altered or non-functional proteins can result in problems in multiple organ systems in the body. However, most cases of disease are caused by a combination of our genes and our environment, and we are just beginning to understand how each of these factors influence both health and disease. Q: Sapulpa Middle School in OK (7th grade teacher): I just a question answered by Belen Hurle, Ph.D. about the most number of chromosomes an organism has. It was answered that a certain type of ant has 1, but the female has 2 - I thought a different number of chromosomes made them different species? Can you explain? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Good follow up question. Not when we talk about sex chromosomes. In this variant of the XY system, females have two copies of the sex chromosome (XX) but males have only one (X0). The 0 denotes the absence of a second sex chromosome. This system is observed in a number of insects.
Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What causes bad vision? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: There are a number of factors that can cause a person to have poor vision. A person's genetic make-up can be one of the factors that influence our ability to see. Many genes are being identified that influence our visual abilities on different levels, development, clarity, ability to see far and near, etc. However, there are other "non-genetic" factors that can be involved in our ability to see such as environmental factors that effect the development of the eye while the baby is growing in the mother's womb or exposures to harsh chemicals that cause destruction to functioning of the eye. Great question. I encourage you to look into this further Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): How does meiosis reduce the number of chromrosomes sets from a diploid cell to hapliod cell? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: The first meiotic division is the reductive division and the second meiotic division is like mitosis and produces exact daughter cells. Before the first meiotic division, DNA replication produces two homologs that align with each other, crossover and separate from each other at anaphase. Each of these homologs contains two chromatids. There is no DNA replication prior to meiosis II so the two chromatids segregate from each other at anaphase of meiosis II producing haploid cells. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): In the future do you think a fast sample-to-answer system will be used to quickly and cheaply identify mutations, and if so, how long until that technology is available? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: For a disease caused by known mutations in one gene tests could be developed fairly rapidly to identify if a DNA sample has this DNA mutation. The difficulty in making this type of diagnosis is that more often diseases are caused by minor variations in many genes that together predispose an individual to a disorder when faced by a certain environment. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Can animals get down syndrome? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Yes. There have been several chimpanzees found with Down Syndrome. As the syndrome is caused by an extra copy of a specific chromosome (chromosome 21 in humans) only animals closely related to humans have a similar syndrome. Extra copies of other chromosomes cause even more serious syndrome and most are not compatible with life. To study Down syndrome, scientists have created mice that have extra copies of the same genes found on human chromosome 21. These mice have some of the features of Down Syndrome. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What do you do all day in the room? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Actually, most of us are not here all day. For instance, I was here answering questions for an hour or two this morning and then went to my regular work before returning. While in the room, we answer questions on line (and have an occasional bagel or other healthy snack). While I was back inn my office, I did things like catch up on email, participated in a conference call about how a large governmental healthcare system might make family history information more available to patients, talked with some folks about yesterday's passage of the Genetics Information Nondiscrimination Act by the U.S. Senate, some potential ares for new genome research, etc. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): What does protein have to do with the DNA? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The DNA that composes your genes encodes the proteins. In other words, your genes are like the blueprints for proteins. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is the most common genetic disease in the US today? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: This is an interesting and tricky question! Many conditions have a genetic component, including common diseases like heart disease and cancer. There are conditions which have a major genetic component and are caused by a mutation or variation in just one gene. These are called single-gene disorders. There are about 6,000 known single-gene disorders. Some of the most common ones are hemochromatosis and cystic fibrosis. Q: Liberty Jr.Sr. High School in PA (12th grade student): What is a telomere. A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: A telomere is a repetitive structure that serves as a cap at the each end of a chromosome. It is comprised of tandem repeats of TTAGGG and the free, single-stranded end forms a loop structure that serves to seal off the chromosome end and prevent unzipping of the DNA helix Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): How do scientists come up with all these experiments, like studying DNA? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Most scientists have training in basic principles through their study in college and graduate school. But that only teaches us what is known. From there we have to use our imagination and often discussion between two researchers working in different fields to come up with new experiments. We train our minds to notice when we get unexpected results from experiments - this is where some of the most important information is gained. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): How long is DNA? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: If you were to unpack the DNA in a human cell and stretch it out, it would be about 6 feet in length. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): What are the chances that one day chromosomal abnormalities will be fixed in the developing baby? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Since errors in chromosome numbers typically occur in every cell of the body, trying to correct (take away extra or putting another in) poses a nearly impossible task from what we can do now. Our knowledge is advancing rapidly so one day in the distant future such genetic manipulation may be possible, but it is probably still a long way off. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Is red hair a recessive trait? A: Larry Brody, Ph.D.: Hair and eye color are related. Both are influenced by more than one gene. This means that they don't behave as strict recessive and dominant traits. In general, blue eyes and red hair are recessive to brown eyes and dark hair. Q: Powell High School in TN (12th grade student): Why do cloned animals live shorter lives than the original animal A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: It is true that problems tend to arise later, during the clone's development to adulthood. it is not totally clear why. Cloned animals that do survive tend to be much bigger at birth than their natural counterparts. Scientists call this "Large Offspring Syndrome" (LOS). Clones with LOS have abnormally large organs. This can lead to breathing, blood flow and other problems. Also, the DNA sequences at both ends of a chromosome, called telomeres, shrink in length every time the DNA is copied. Dolly the sheep's chromosomes had shorter telomere lengths than normal. This means that Dolly's cells were aging faster than the cells from a normal sheep. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): What is the actual life span of a fruit fly? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: The life span of a fruit fly may be several weeks. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How was DNA discovered and who discovered it? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Like most things in science, in a way there was no single discovery of DNA, but a path of discovery that included many events and in which many people participated. However, most people refer to the publication by James Watson and Francis Crick of the description of the DNA double helix in Science magazine - 55 years ago today, as the single most important point in the path of discovery of DNA. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Whats the worst thing a mutated gene can do? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Mutations in a gene could prevent the cell from duplicating which would limit the growth of the animal. Conversely, mutations in a game could also cause uncontrolled growth which could lead to cancer. Q: Adam Theist High School in NY (Higher Education grade teacher): Why do some people believe in creationism, when all evidence points to evolution? A: M.K. Holohan, J.D.: Some people find that evolution, the theory of natural selection, is incompatible with their religious beliefs. However, many people - including those within the scientific community - do not find a conflict between evolution and their personal religious beliefs. Q: Colin Halbmier's Institution for the Mal Nutritioned in MN (9th grade student): Does DNA determine my overall body weight? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: In most cases "no". Overall body weight is determined by a number of factors. While genetics and DNA variations may play a role in predisposing people to be overweight or standard weight, factors like diet and exercise are very important! There are some very rare genetic conditions that include "being overweight" as one of the features. Again, these are rare conditions and people affected by them tend to have many other features. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): Will there be a cure for cancer anytime in the NEAR future? A: Julie Sapp, Sc.M.: Even though we have made huge strides in treating cancer in the last few decades, anyone who knows someone affected by cancer wishes for rapid advancements that can help their friend or family member now. In fact, new advances in the detection and treatment of cancer means that many cancers are considered cured if they do not recur 5 years after the initial treatment. Examples of this include early-stage breast, colon, and prostate cancers. Basic scientists and clinicians all over the world are working to solve this and other health problems every day and these advances are evidence of the progress that they are making. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (10th grade student): Have you ever said "I don't know" to a genetic question? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: YES!!!!! In both research and in medicine, it is incredibly important to know when you don't know something, and to be honest about that fact with both yourself and others. In fact, much of the fun of research is to answer questions that have never had an answer before. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What kind of degree do you have? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: I have a juris doctorate degree. I am the only researcher in the intramural research program at NHGRI that has a JD degree. I study the social and policy implications of genomics. I work with researchers that are geneticists, primary care physicians, social and behavioral scientists. Individuals with Ph.D., M.D., RN degrees are my research collaborators. Q: McAvoy Holy Family Catholic HS in MN (Higher Education grade teacher): Does higher intelligence run in families? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Not in mine! No, seriously. My father is also a scientist who opened up the world of exploration to me. A lot of intelligence is really how much you explore the world around you, for which genetics is only a small component. Q: Topeka High School in KS (10th grade student): How many DNA molecules does the average human have? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: All human cells have 2 copies each of 23 chromosomes. Except females have 2 X chromosomes and males have 1 X and 1 Y chromosome. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Do viruses have DNA? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Viruses are also nucleic acid based. Some viruses are DNA based like herpes virus. Other viruses are RNA based like HIV. If the virus is RNA based then it needs to convert the RNA to DNA to insert into human DNA. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): What research is being done on "introns" ? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Introns are excised from the messenger RNA of a gene before the resulting transcript is translated into protein. Generally, the sequence of exons is conserved over long periods of evolutionary time but introns vary. This is thought to be because exons code for protein and so are functionally constrained ie if you change them, you do away with the function of the protein. Because there has been no functional constraint known for introns, it has long been thought that they should be free to change. Recently, some intronic sequences have been shown to be conserved over very long periods of evolutionary time. It is not yet known why this is but investigations are underway. These conserved parts of introns could be protein binding sites that control expression of the gene or another gene or something of that nature. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Can animals other than humans get hemophilia? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Yes they can. Researchers use dog and mouse animal models to study the disease. Q: North Brunswick Township High School in NJ (9th grade student): My friend has Fraunbergism a extremely rare genetic disorder that causes rapid aging and extreme loss of memory. Currently there has no extensive research into this area with the ROI is very minimal. Do you think that the rare genetic diseases will be addressed in the overall genome project? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: I don't completely understand your question, in that I have never heard of "Fraunbergism." However, I do know that genomics is contributing a lot to our understanding of thousands of rare diseases. Eventually, that increased understanding will translate into new treatment and even prevention strategies. Q: Corydon Central Junior High School in IN (7th grade student): I think my friend has down syndrome? Does that have something to do with her DNA? How can I help? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Thanks for your question. It is nice of you to be thinking of your friend. Down Syndrome is caused by too much DNA material from chromosome number 21. Usually, this can be diagnosed by a simple blood test. To learn more about Down Syndrome and to find ways on how you can help your friend, you can look at the National Down Syndrome Society website -- www.ndss.org Best of luck. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What happens to a chromosome when an inversion occurs? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Most inversions in a chromosome would result in a cell that couldn't replicate and survive. Rarely, but these are the ones we see in the clinic, inversions can bring together components of two genes that result in uncontrolled growth and cancer. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): If you don't have enough chromosomes will you die? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: In most cases, a fetus will not survive the pregnancy if there is a missing chromosome. However, there is one example of a chromosomal condition in which a person has less than usual number of chromosomes. This condition is called Turner syndrome. People with Turner syndrome are women who are missing an "X' chromosome usually in each cell of their body. While we know of many bright and productive women who have Turner syndrome, most pregnancies in which the baby has Turner syndrome do not survive which confirms how important it is to have the correct number of chromosomes. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Who discovered DNA? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Throughout history, there have been many people who have played a role in understanding the structure and function of DNA. But in term of the actually seeing it, DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Do goats and humans share any genetic characteristics? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Most mammals share about 5% of their DNA that is conserved. Most of this DNA encodes proteins or the regulatory elements that determine gene expression. These regions are some of the most studied DNA segments. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): The question that everyone asks: If evolution is true then why arn't primates evolving now? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Primates probably are evolving, or at least keeping diversity in their genomes to respond to new environmental challenges. Evolution occurs over very long periods of time. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Is your job intense? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: My job is fascinating, challenging and rewarding. Some times, it is intense, but not enough to keep me from enjoying it. Q: New York University in NY (Higher Education grade student): How quickly are genomes sequenced using state-of-the-art techniques? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: We could sequence the DNA of a human in about 2 months. A lot of what makes it easier is that we can organize the sequence of a new genome off existing genomes. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Are plant's DNA different from mammal's DNA? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Fundamentally not at the molecular level. The DNA has the same A,C,T,G bases and the same double helix structure. Now, if you talk about the structure of the genome , there are some big differences. Plant genomes are generally bigger. Also plants have undergone more rounds of duplications. Where a human is diploid, meaning that it has 2 copies of each gene, a tobacco plant may have 8 or more copies of the same gene. Plant genomes are also loaded with junk DNA. Q: Michael pointer in PA (9th grade student): will learning this stuff actually help us in the future? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: I guess it depends what stuff you are learning - although almost anything I have learned has eventually proved useful sometime. If you mean this stuff about genetics, the answer is definitely "yes." In your lifetime, much of health care will rely on patients being knowledgeable enough about genetics to work with their doctors to devise personalized prevention strategies to avoid many of the common diseases that us old folks have fallen victim to... Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): How different is a dog's DNA than a human's, just by looking at it? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: If you were to isolate DNA from a dog and from a human, you would not be able to tell the difference between the two by just looking at them. You would have to sequence the DNA and do molecular analysis in order to asses the differences. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Can humans be genetically engineered for certain traits? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Not yet. These types of experiments are being done in model organisms but not in humans. This type of research is still considered unethical to perform on human beings. Even in model organisms, experiments designed to produce and animal with a specific trait are done to study disease progression or to test interventions. Gene therapy trials, where patients agree to participate in experimental trials that attempt to replace or repair genes in their genomes that are causing their disease, are considered genetic engineering but fall into a class of disease treatment and not engineering for certain "favorable" traits. Q: Christi Bird in TX (n/a grade other): What sequencing technologies currently available or under development have the greatest potential to deliver a $1000 genome? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Sequencing technologies are currently undergoing a revolution. For the last 20 years we all used Sanger based sequencing in acrylimide gels. Now we are using massively parallel sequencing technology that produces sequence at 1/10 or 1/100 of the previous price. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is the most uncommon genetic disease that has ever been seen? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: There is no clear, single answer to that question. There are thousands of genetic conditions and many of them are so rare that they appear to affect only something like one person in a million. Actually, when diseases are that rare, it is difficult to do the studies that are needed to establish their exact frequencies... Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): My former classmate's dad was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. What is it? Is it genetic? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Lou Gehrig's disease is a progressive disease that affects the neurological system. There are several symptoms associated with the condition, including for example muscle weakness. Lou Gehrig's disease can happen as part of a familial condition or can be sporadic, meaning that it only happens to one member of the family. When the condition is familial, there is a genetic component and in some cases genetic testing can be helpful. It would be important for your friend's family to speak with their doctor about their family history and to learn more about the condition. Thanks for your question. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): what is your favorite protein? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: My favorite protein is centromere protein A. It is a histone protein that is specific for centromeres. Centromeres are very important parts of chromosomes. When chromosomes segregate from each other at anaphase, it is the centromere that is bound to the spindle apparatus through a very complex group of proteins known as the kinetochore. CENP-A is the foundation of the kinetochore, creating nucleosomes at the centromere that are different from those in the rest of the chromosome. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): What is the visible difference, if any, between a dog's DNA and a human's DNA? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: The visible difference between DNA of species is the number of chromosomes that can vary from approximately 20 to 40. Q: Christi Bird in TX (n/a grade other): What are your overall impressions of peronal genomics companies like 23andMe, Navigenics and deCODEme? What are the major ethical and insurance-related issues involved? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Christi - Unfortunately, we are supposed to keep our answers brief, since we have literally thousands of questions to get to, and that question deserves a long answer. In brief: I think someday such services amy prove very useful, but we aren't there yet. Even if offered such testing free, I would take up the offer today, as we still don't understand what all this genomic information really means. The major ethical and insurance related issues are numerous, including what one would do with this sort of information, who will have access to it, who will pay for it once it really is useful in health care (which will be the case eventually - probably by the time you are in your thirties) and whether to share it with relatives. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): What causes DNA mistakes? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Mistakes happen when you are replicating 3,000,000,000 base pairs every cell cycle. Most of the mistakes are fixed when the cell realizes that the two strands of complementary DNA don't agree. Then the DNA looks to see which strand is new and fixes this one. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Why is genetic variation needed to evolve? A: M.K. Holohan, J.D.: As an environment changes, an organism needs to adapt via changes in his its genetics or it will cease to thrive. For example, a species living in an aquatic environment would need to evolve genetically to survive a prolonged drought and ultimately drier conditions. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How complex is a strand of DNA? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: DNA is very complex. It has a primary structure of which of the 4 base pairs (A,C,G,T) and then it forms the secondary structure of DNA and then it wraps around proteins to form a tertiary structure. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (Higher Education grade teacher): Is a person's personality inherited? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: To a certain degree, yes. Depression, compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, eating disorders and others run in families. But genetics alone will never account for your personality, the environmental influences are also very important. Q: Joe Nva Academy in MN (9th grade student): what is the worst possible disease to get if your genomes are messed up A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: There is no single answer to this question. It depends upon who you ask and what things they care about. If someone cares most about having a long life, then any of a number of diseases that often provide fateful very early in life would be the answer. If it was avoiding physical pain that was most important, that would dictate another list of diseases. If it was having a condition that leads to loss of intelligence and control over one's body, yet another group of conditions would come to mind. If it was diseases that lead to physical disfigurement that were most feared, that would be another group. So, it all depenfds upon who you ask, and what they care most about... Q: Jackson High School in MO (n/a grade teacher): I have a rare eye problem. The lens in my eyes are dislocated. My grandfather and several of his brothers had it also. I am the only grandchild that has it. My son also has it but not my daughter. What are his chances of passing this on and is it possible to prevent it from being passed on? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: These are exactly the kind of questions that Clinical Genetics teams addresses. A genetics team would carefully document your family medical history, meet with you in person to perform a genetics physical examination and review the previous medical records involving your eyes. Once that data is collected and assessed, your questions could be more accurately answered. You can find a genetics team by going to the web site of the American College of Medical Genetics (www.ACMG.net) Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): How did the misnomer "Junk DNA" get into our scientific lexicon? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Early in our studies of DNA, it was thought that repetitive DNA and DNA that did not code for protein was "junk DNA". It was thought to be filler or DNA that had not been selected for function by the evolutionary process. As our understanding of the genome advances with the sequencing of the human genome and now with the ability to compare our genome with those of other organisms, we are finding that many directional processes are ongoing in the genome that involve DNA that does not code for protein. Some of it codes for small RNAs that have function without being translated into protein and some of it serves structural functions or, as in the case of the centromere, the site of functional protein complex assembly. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (11th grade student): Is homosexuality linked to genetics? A: M.K. Holohan, J.D.: There has been some research into this area but none that has conclusively established genetic variants related to homosexuality. Scientists continue to study possible genetic and environmental factors that may affect human sexuality. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): What do you have to say about the subjectivity of science? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: The greatest subjectivity of science is what the individual finds interesting to explore. Some scientific experiments are also planned and implemented by large groups of people, so people can play different parts of the project. Q: Corydon Central Junior High School in IN (7th grade student): Do twins have the exact same dna? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Twins that are not identical do not have the exact DNA. They are very much like a full brother or sister, who share about 50% of their DNA. Twins that are identical share most, but not all, of their DNA. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): When was DNA discovered? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Throughout history, there have been many people who have played a role in understanding the structure and function of DNA. But in term of the actually seeing it, DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How long does it take for a DNA strand to replicate? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Bacteria, such as Eschescheri coli replicate their genomes in 20 minutes. E. coli has one chromosome that is approximately 3,000,000 base pairs. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Are there different nitrogen bases for different species? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: To our knowledge, the nitrogen bases that make up the DNA are the same for every species. Q: University of Hawaii - Hilo in HI (Higher Education grade student): Are there diseases that each ethnic group is genetically pre-disposed to? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: There are certain diseases that are more prevalent in certain ethnic groups (e.g. sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis). No disease is exclusive to a certain ethnic group. Identifying as a member of an ethnic group doesn't predispose you to the disease. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Where is DNA located in our bodies? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: DNA is located in the nucleus of every cell in our bodies. It is tightly coiled and unwinds during transcription. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): How are computers used in the human genome project? what computer company helped? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Computers were and are critical to the human genome project. There are robots that sequence the DNA, there are programs that assemble the DNA sequence and there are servers that store the data digitally. Raw DNA data stored in the databases is searched electronically, again with the help of computers. Bioinformatics is a hot research area. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (9th grade student): If you were to unwind all the DNA in your body, how long would it be? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Human DNA is 3 billion basepairs long would be about 1.02 meters (over three feet) long, which, in humans, is divided into 23 separate pieces (chromosomes) averaging 4.5 cm each Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): How is genomic data used to make better medicines? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Genomic data can provide information about variations in our genes that may determine how we process or metabolize certain compounds, like medications. In some cases, this information can be helpful to determine who may respond well to a certain medication and who may not respond well. In this way, genomic data can provide some guidance to the development and use of medications. In the future, we will know more about these gene variants and will be better at treating people in a more individualized manner. Q: Academy of the Sacred Heart Bloomfield Hills in MI (12th grade student): My question is concerning epigenetics. Lemarqe wrongly hypothesized that animals evolved because they needed to. A giraffe would develop a longer neck because it needed it for feeding. He was proved wrong by Darwin, of course. If epigenetics is about how genes can be turned on or off to enable survival, doesn't this conflict with natural selection, and prove Lemarque right? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Great question!!!! Assuming you came up with it, you have the makings of a real scientist, since the key to good science is asking important questions. In brief, epigenetics does not "conflict" with natural selection, but only affects our thinking about the various ways it occurs, and demonstrates that it is a dynamic and complicated process. It also underscores that we still have much to learn about genetics and much that we assume to be correct - or at least complete - may eventually prove wrong or incomplete. It is certainly true that epigenetics, as we now incompletely understand it, does suggest that there may be mechanisms that can modify the genes that we hand off to our descendants. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is the latest DNA information found? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Information about DNA is being found all the time. New genomes are being sequenced that can be compared with those already sequenced. Comparison of genomes allows us to learn from the things that have changed or stayed the same through evolution. We can use model organisms and their genomes to analyze disease progression and test treatments and interventions. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Why is dna Helix Shaped A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: It turns out that the helical structure of DNA allows it to be replicated and transcribed in a very elegant way. Indeed, Watson and Crick noted this in their publication revealing the structure of DNA 55 years ago today! Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Why do some people have different colored eyes from other people? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Eye color is genetically based, but there are both dominant and recessive eye colors. The child of two blue-eyed people will have blue eyes (recessive trait), but the child of two brown-eyed people can have brown eyes (dominant trait) or blue-eyes (underlying recessive trait). Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): How much do geneticists contribute to military research? A: M.K. Holohan, J.D.: Genetic research contributes in many areas to military medical research, but it's unclear to what extent genetics research relates to military defenses or biological weaponry. The research in genetics will surely advance many other areas of research, including military concerns. Q: samar,pharmacy college graduate,Egypt in n/a (Higher Education grade student): Is biotechnology related to human genome research ? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Biotechnology is intricate human genome research both in development of new techniques and implementation of research discoveries. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): genetically speaking who would win in a fight between superman and Batman A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Well, from casual observation, Superman has super-human powers, strongly suggesting several unusual causative mutations. Batman, being mortal like us, uses his intelligence, strength training and creativity to fight the powers of darkness. Your guess is as good as mine, unless Batman starts carving bats out of Kryptonite. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How close are the DNA of a human versus apes? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Overall, the DNA sequence of humans and apes is about 98% identical. We have found recently, however, that there are more types of variation found between these closely related species. When you can compare a stretch of DNA sequence between them, the identity is on the order of 98%, however, there are more insertions and deletions of small pieces and sometimes longer stretches of DNA. These types of changes can interrupt genes or the elements that control the expression of genes. It is thought that most of the characteristic differences between humans and apes is due to changes in time or place of expression of genes rather than to actual sequence changes. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Is there DNA in space? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Great question. I would guess that astronauts are very careful not to spread biological waste, including DNA when up there. I don't know if DNA exists in other planets in our solar system, or other solar systems -- but it has not been described yet. Q: Abbeville High School in SC (12th grade student): Have scientists figured out a way to pinpoint lifespan on DNA? A: Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D.: I am sorry that Francis had to go back to work, but he wanted me to answer your question for him. There is no way yet (and probably never will be) to truly "pinpoint" the lifespan of a species or of an individual in our DNA. However, we are beginning to identify specific parts of our DNA that influence lifespan. Maybe your generation will be able to figure all this out!!! Q: wake forest university in NC (Higher Education grade other): My sister has breast cancer and my father died from pancreatic cancer, so the BRCA gene may be mutated in my family. Is there a kit I can buy to check this mutation myself? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: No, this test can only be done through a physician and is best done through a cancer genetics team who understand the concerns of people considering such testing. When considering genetic testing, it most appropriate to begin with a person in the family who has had the disease like your sister or your father. If a mutation is identified in them, then a genetic test on a relative becomes mush more straight forward and meaningful. You can find a listing of cancer genetics teams in your area by going to a web site developed by the National Cancer Institute (http://www.cancer.gov/search/geneticsservices/). Since genetic tests are so complicated to understand, it is best done with the help of a specialist. Good luck and feel free to contact our Institute with more questions. Q: RadPharm Polytechnical institute in NJ (Higher Education grade student): What is a prion? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: Prions are protein that cause a neurodegenerative disease - caused scrapie in animals and Jacob-Creuzfeld disease in humans. The amazing thing about prions is that one protein can cause a change in another normal protein so the heredity is at the protein not DNA level. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Why is it believed that mental diseases in a parent means that there is a likely chance for the offspriing to experiance the same mental disease? A: David Everman, M.D.: There are many different diseases or disorders that can affect the functions of the brain. Some of these cause intellectual disabilities (like mental retardation) and others can affect emotions or behavior (like depression). Genetic factors often contribute to these conditions, but the chance for a specific condition to be passed from parent to child may depend, at least in part, on how strong the genetic factors are in that particular family. Q: St. Ignatius College Prep in IL (12th grade student): How much must DNA be magnified to be seen? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: One strand of DNA is only about 2.5 nanometers wide, and you'd need a very powerful microscope to see that. However, when we purify DNA to work with it in the lab, we get so much that you can see it by eye -- it looks like white stringy snot! Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): When cells die does their DNA die? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: Cell function and DNA stability are related, so in a way, yes. When cells die their DNA is no longer transcribed and translated into functional products and when DNA is damaged it does not create the proteins necessary to maintain healthy cells. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is it possible to create artificial DNA in order to create a human-made organism? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: We can only make short stretches of artificial DNA, so we wouldn't be able to create a human-made DNA chromosome de novo. Moreover, an organism is made up of more that DNA - it has cellular organelles such as mitochondria. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can pieces of DNA be lost during cell division? If so is that considered a mutation? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: DNA mutations often occur in the form of deletions (lost pieces of DNA). The most common cystic fibrosis causing mutation is a deletion of three DNA bases, resulting in the loss of an entire amino acid. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Are you coming up with a cure for Tay Sachs disease? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: There are some therapies being investigated. These include therapies using enzyme inhibitors to reduce the amount of the chemicals that lead to problems in people with Tay Sachs. For information on clinical studies looking at these treatments, you can log on to www.clinicaltrials.gov and search for Tay Sachs. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): About how many questions do you guys recieve in a day? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: We receive about 3,500 questions on DNA Day! That's a lot of questions and we're doing our best to answer them all. Q: University of California - Santa Barbara in CA (Higher Education grade student): Do NHGRI scientists frequently travel to other parts of the world? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: Many research initiatives in the field of genomics are international (e.g. International Sequencing Consortium, International HapMap Project). This requires collaboration with researchers across the world so researchers at NHGRI do travel to participate in these collaborations and to present at meetings. I would not say the travel is frequent. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): How much DNA does a zygote have? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: A zygote, which results from the union of two haploid cells (a sperm and an egg) is a dilpoid cell with as much DNA as the somatic cells in your body. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Can a paternity test be performed before the baby is born? A: Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Yes, but only if one has access to the DNA of the fetus before it is born - as well as the DNA of the mother and the potential father. Getting DNA from the fetus is not easy, and poses some risk to the pregnancy, so one would almost always wait until after birth to do paternity testing.
Q: Shaker High School in NY (9th grade student): In the Human Genome Project, did researchers sequence one chromosome at a time? If so, what was the first and last chromosome that was sequenced? A: Julie Segre, Ph.D.: I was part of that project and we found it more efficient to develop the resources and sequence all the chromosomes concurrently. But some chromosomes were sequenced first because they are so small - like chromosome 21 and Y. Then we released the draft human genome all together. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): How does DNA change during evolution? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: There are a number of ways that DNA can change during evolution. DNA can change at the single base pair level, meaning just one base changes. New DNA can insert into a stretch of DNA and DNA can also be deleted. Inversion of a stretch of DNA or displacement of a stretch of DNA from one location to another can also occur. The genome is a very dynamic place. These changes take place due to several different mechanisms. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Does DNA determine how short you are?! A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: DNA can play a significant role in determining our height, as we know of many genes and genetic conditions that affect a person's height. However, it is not the only factor that influences height. Other factors can play a role such as our nutritional status, hormone levels or having another medical problem such as having heart or kidney problems. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Which section of DNA codes for arms and legs? Have we found it yet? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: There are a set of very fundamental, core genes named homeobox genes that control the body plan in most animals. They determine the anatomy of the body, including front and back , ventral and dorsal , head and tail and limb development. Some of those genes control the budding of the limbs, and some determine whether a limb turns into a forelimb or hindlimb. These genes are remarkably conserved across species. Q: University of Maryland - College Park in MD (Higher Education grade student): Are there a lot of career opportunities for law students in the field of genetics? If so, what are the career paths? A: M.K. Holohan, J.D.: There are many opportunities for attorneys in science and genetics related to policy research, legislative analysis, and regulation. A law student interested in these areas should consider summer jobs and/or internships focused on genetics health policy with federal agencies and Congressional committees. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (Higher Education grade teacher): Is anyone researching the function of the non-coding regions of DNA? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: yes, I am! (so are many other scientists) Only 1-2 percent of our genome codes for genes. The rest of the genome does all sorts of interesting things, like turning on and off genes at the right place and time. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Why does DNA mutation happen? How does DNA mutation help with variation? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: DNA mutation is thought to occur accidentally during the normal functioning of the cell. It can happen during DNA replication and not get repaired or it can happen during repair processes or as a result of mobile elements in the genome. It is thought that the vast majority of mutation has no effect on the health or function of the given cell or organism because it happens in a non-essential place. Some mutations are thought to result in negative or positive effects on the health or function of the cell or organism and are therefore actively done away with (through death of the cell or organism) or actively propagated because the mutation provides an advantage to the cell or organism that bears it. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How does crossing over occur and why does it just occur in meiosis? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Crossing-over is another name for recombination or physical exchange of equal pieces of adjacent non-sister chromatids. When crossing-over occurs, chromatids break and may be reattached to a different homologous chromosome. As you can see, crossing over actually causes changes in the DNA and so isn't a process that should occur in every cell! Crossing over is part of the process that leads to evolution and so is only used in this special case. Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): Do you perform DNA fingerprinting at your local job institute? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: I do not currently perform DNA fingerprinting at my job. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): With our great technology, why is it so hard to take out a defective gene to prevent diseases? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: This is a great question! In some conditions the defective gene may not produce enough protein that is needed in our body. In these cases, it is easier for us to develop gene therapy because we can add a gene that makes that protein. In some conditions the defective gene may make a partial protein or a defective protein that leads to problems. In these cases, it is much more difficult to provide gene therapy because we cannot go in and alter that defective gene. The other challenge we face is that it is difficult to test these therapies in human subjects until we are sure that they are not dangerous. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): How do proteins recognize specific sequences of DNA? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: Proteins that interact with DNA often have specific sites that have evolved to recognize the shape and charge of strands of DNA. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (Higher Education grade teacher): What can bioinformatic tools currently do? What kinds of questions do you forsee being answered by bioinformatic tools? In other words, why should I encourage students to enter this field? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I am a bioinformatician and I can tell you that it is a very hot field. Your students would be very well off if they chose this career path. Collecting data these days is easy and cheap, but analyzing data is still challenging. The data grows exponentially and only with computers can we make some sense of it. Some people write programs to analyze data, some people don't know how to write programs but know how to use other people's programs to answer biological 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: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): Is there a disorder that a person has too many chromosomes? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Yes, there are disorders that are caused by too many chromosomes. One example of such disorder is Down Syndrome, which (in most cases) is caused by an extra copy of chromosome number 21. Instead of having two copies of such chromosome, individuals with Down Syndrome have three copies of it. Q: South Gate High School in CA (9th grade student): If someone is exposed to toxic substances, can this change their DNA, causing mutations? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Yes, this happens frequently, although you may have to expand you standard list of what you think is a "toxic" substance. UV rays in sunlight, smoking and x-rays can all cause mutations. Fortunately, every cell has systems to repair most of this damage. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): How long did it take you to graduate with a Ph.D? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Five years, which is pretty average. Some disciplines may take 4 years, some longer than 5. Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): How exactly do you perform the DNA fingerprinting process? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: This is a great question, because a DNA fingerprint really doesn't "look" like a fingerprint -- but it is just as unique to each individual as a fingerprint. It turns out there are bits of DNA in your genome that change very rapidly from person to person. When you look at the DNA sequence from several of these rapidly changing places in the genome it is unique enough to match only you! Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): About how many times does a cell preform mitosis during its lifetime? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: The number of times a cell replicates is dependent on the type of cell. For example, skin cells grow rapidly and therefore go through mitosis many times, but nerve cells never replicate. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): How can Karyotypes help in genetic diagnosis? A: David Everman, M.D.: A karyotype refers to the chromosome pattern that can be seen under the microscope in cells from the body. Since many different genetic disorders are caused by having changes in the number or structure of chromosomes, certain disorders can often be diagnosed with a karyotype obtained from a sample of blood, skin, or even amniotic fluid. A good example is Down syndrome, which is usually caused by having an extra copy of chromosome 21 in every cell of the body. 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: John Fraunberger in TN (Higher Education grade teacher): Why does inbreeding cause problems? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Parents who are closely related, share more genes in common than unrelated persons. Since we all "silently" carry between 8 to 14 autosomal recessive gene mutations, having children with someone who shares a higher proportion of their genes increases the chances of passing 2 copies of a shared mutation to a child. This may result in a child of theirs having an autosomal recessive condition. This is of greatest concern between close relatives such as a brother and sister, but decreases as the relationship becomes further removed (cousins). Q: Oberlin College in OH (Higher Education grade teacher): How similar is human dna to all other organisms? More than 90% similar to every other living species? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Generally, human DNA is most similar to more closely related species like the great apes - chimp, gorilla, and orangutan. These are more closely related to us in evolutionary time. Species that have been separated from us for longer periods of time share less similarity. As you compare with species farther away from us on the evolutionary tree, we observe that DNA sequences that code for proteins are conserved while other sequence is not. This is thought to be due to the necessary function of the proteins in the life of the cell. If the sequence changes, the cell can't survive. We are less than 90% similar to most other species. Even within the primate lineage, as compared to old world monkeys, protein coding sequences can vary by as much as 15% (be 85% similar). As you move further away to mice and flies and yeast, the percentage similarity falls off quite a bit. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): If a DNA/gene is changed to say something else, say hair color, does the change happen right away or over a long period of time? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: It depends. In the case of hair and eye color, the recombined DNA that you inherit from your parents can cause you to look different from them in a single generation. If a hair pigment gene was gradually evolving to show a new color that didn't exist in nature, say blue or green, the accumulation of gradual changes would happen over a long period of time. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): While looking at crime scene evidence how do you figure out whose blood is whose? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: DNA can be extracted from samples of blood. As each individual's DNA sequence is unique, looking at the specific sequence of base pairs can identify who it belongs to. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Are genes in fish similar to genes in frogs? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: yes! There are some genes that are common to lots of species. At first glance, fish and frogs look so different you wouldn't think they have any genes in common. But, at a molecular level, they have lots in common, like the way they replicate DNA. 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: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): What part of our DNA is the same as a banana's? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: All of the genes that control how an individual cell works would be very similar, genes controlling skeletal development, size and skin pigmentation would be very very different. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): How long does an average cell live? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: There are many different types of cells that live for different amounts of time depending on their function, location and the conditions that they are subjected to. Some cells only live for a day and some may live for a year. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): Does the father of a child or the mother usually have more dominant genes? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Dominant genes are not determined by the gender of the parent. A gene is dominant or recessive based upon the DNA sequence. They are called dominant and recessive based upon how they have an effect. A dominant gene is a gene variant that has an effect even if it comes from only one of your parents. A recessive gene is a gene variant that has an effect only if you get that variant from both parents. Q: Arleta High School in CA (n/a grade other): Would a NHGRI scientist ever travel out to a place such as California to give a guest presentation at a science-themed high school? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: Yes. Scientists do travel to speak at high schools and colleges across the country including California. We also conduct video webcast with schools. Have your teacher contact the Education and Community Involvement Branch at NHGRI. Q: Jackson High School in MO (11th grade student): What is the probability of a female under 20 getting breast cancer? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: A woman in the general population has 12% chance of developing breast cancer throughout her life. This risk is more significant as a woman enter her 40s. The chance of a woman in her teens or 20s to develop breast cancer is very low. Women in the general population are told to start breast cancer screening at age 40. In some cases, breast cancer may run in families and cause women to develop breast cancer at earlier ages. Even in these families, breast cancer is rare before 20s. Women in these families are told to start breast cancer screening in their mid 20s. If you are concerned about this, you should speak with your doctor. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): How does the Genetic Code decide when it will activate and deactivate a body process? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Our genome is able to control when and where specific genes get turned on and off. For example, eye genes only get turned on only in the eye, and not your hand. The parts of the genome that control this are called "regulatory elements". Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Do you think that in the future a genetic disorder will be considered normal? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Is there really such a thing as normal? People who are blind, deaf or born with a physical difficulty are, in most ways, as normal as anyone. We all carry genes that predispose us to genetic disorders such as diabetes, asthma or cancer, in reality every single one of us unique. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): Do you think DNA will ever be entirely figured out? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: I can't imagine ever having all of the answers. The process of research is to learn small things with certainty and then for these new tidbits to direct further investigations. We are learning so much since the genome project was undertaken but it is also staggering how much we have to learn. 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: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): During meiosis, the chromosomes duplicate and exchange information (crossing over). Will half of a gene's information be exchanged with the other homologous chromosome? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: It is possible for the cross over event to sometimes occur in the middle of a gene. So, you may have some genes that are half from Mom and half from Dad! Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): How do your genes determine if you get any diseases from the environment? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: We are learning that our genes play a role in our susceptibility to certain environmental exposures and even medicines. Certain changes within our genes may increase or even decrease the chance that a certain exposure may cause disease. You might also be interested in a field called pharmacogenetics. This field is attempting to learn what genotypes respond best to certain drugs and which don't. Knowing that would reduce the number of harmful reactions that some encounter when they take a medicine that does not work well with their genetic mae-up. Great question! Check out our web-site and browse around. (http://genome.gov) Q: Kathy in CT (Higher Education grade other): Has any genetic testing been done on Fibromyalgia and if yes what have you learned? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: There is no specific known genetic cause for Fibromyalgia. Some studies suggest that genetic factors may play a role in this disease, and researchers are trying to learn what these genetic factors may be. If you want to learn about clinical trials involving this condition, you may visit www.clinicaltrials.gov and search with "Fibromyalgia" Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can living cells survive being frozen? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: Yes, some living cells can survive being frozen depending on their characteristics and the freezing process. This is sometimes done in the lab for storage purposes. 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: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Since the number of chromosomes in an organism doesn't determine its complexity what does it determine? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: That is one of the best questions I got today. Organisms are very creative at using their DNA. For instance there is this strategy named "alternative splicing". Basically, you selectively splice together a number of exons or pieces of the same gene in different ways. That creates dozens of proteins with different functions, that all come out of only one gene. Another strategy is playing with the switches that turn the genes on and off to determine how much protein is expressed and in what tissue, or at what moment in development. All this together creates enormous complexity. Q: Sapulpa Middle School in OK (7th grade teacher): I am following up to a question answered by Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: so this species of ants only has the sex chromosome, the male one copy, the female two? Wow! A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Pretty cool, ha? Q: Amanda Huginkis in NJ (10th grade student): What is James Watson doing today? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: I think one might have to ask him that question, unfortunately Dr. Watson doesn't use e-mail. Having recently had his genome sequenced, perhaps he's peering inside his own DNA. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): My aunt has Rett syndrome; does this have anything to do with dna? A: David Everman, M.D.: Yes. Rett syndrome is a genetic condition that affects the brain. It is usually caused by alterations in a specific gene (or segment of DNA) called MECP2 that is located on the X chromosome. An unusual aspect of Rett syndrome is that it typically affects females rather than males. Q: Pauling academy of integrated sciences in OR (12th grade student): Can DNA be studied by races? If so, how can the results be used? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: "Race" is a social construct that correlates with genetic population groups. In many genetic variation studies populations are often defined by race and ethnicity. We are learning about human genetic variation that will be important in understanding health and disease. Q: St. Bernard Catholic High School in CA (10th grade student): I'm really interested in becoming a scientist. But, my parents worry that I won't be able to support myself. What is the annual income of a scientist? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I recommend you go to http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks ; this site, LifeWorks, promotes awareness of the wide variety of occupations in health and medical sciences including the range of salaries. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Taq polymerase is used in PCR and can withstand the temperature of PCR, but why can't other enzymes withstand the temperature? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Taq polymerase comes from an organism that lives in hot springs (like "old faithful" at Yellowstone). Since this is a very hot place, this organism evolved to have cellular machinery that could work under these extreme conditions. Wasn't that a cool idea to use a polymerase from this organism?!? Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): How is it it possible for one person in your family to have complete opposite characterists than all the others? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Physical characteristics are generally believed to be determined by genes. The pool of genes that you and your siblings had to work with comes from your 4 grandparents. This pool of genes is carried on chromosomes that are inherited as discrete objects however each chromosome that comes through your parents contains a mixture of the DNA of their parents. This shuffling of DNA results in unique combinations of genes that existed in different combinations in your ancestor. This diversity is important and means that each person is truly unique. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): I have 3 siblings and all of us have grown up in the same environment, raised by the same parents, recieved the same parents genes, etc... So why are we so unbelievably different? Do genetics play a role in this? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Physical characteristics are generally believed to be determined by genes. The pool of genes that you and your siblings had to work with comes from your 4 grandparents. This pool of genes is carried on chromosomes that are inherited as discrete objects however each chromosome that comes through your parents contains a mixture of the DNA of their parents. This shuffling of DNA results in unique combinations of genes that existed in different combinations in your ancestor. This diversity is important and means that each person is truly unique. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Can you tell if a mutation will occur in advance? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: There are certain areas in the genome that are more prone to mutation and also certain conditions, like exposure to chemicals, that make it more likely for them to occur, but currently there is no way to predict with certainty naturally occurring mutations. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Do you need math analysis in the field of DNA? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: I think math is good to know for almost any field. We use math for all sorts of things when studying DNA, from diluting chemicals in the lab to measuring the statistical significance of a result. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): What causes dwarfism? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Dwarfism can be caused by many conditions. There are more than 200 different conditions that cause dwarfism. Some of these are genetic, some are related to metabolism or hormones. There is a condition called Achondroplasia that causes about 70% of all cases of dwarfism. If you want to learn more about this, you can go to www.nlm.nih.gov Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Is there anything that can destroy DNA? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Conditions such as intense heat, radiation, ultraviolet light and harsh chemical conditions can cause DNA degrade. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): What are cytogenetics? A: Mary Schueler, Ph.D.: Cytogenetics is the study of chromosomes using live cells. Cells are cultured to be dividing and going through mitosis. The cells can be prepared and fixed on a slide and the chromosomes viewed down a microscope. Using fluorescently labeled probes, the scientist can look down the scope and see features of the chromosome organization and content. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Is it still possible to retrieve the DNA from a fossil plant? kthx A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: It certainly is, DNA can be extracted from many ancient species. Q: George P. Butler Comprehensive High school in GA (11th grade student): Would it be possible to greatly slow down the aging process by stopping mitochondrial decay? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: That's an interesting hypothesis -- maybe you should become a scientist! Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): During mitosis, when the chromosomes break up into chromatids, go to seperate sides of the cell, and finish the other side of the DNA, where does the other half of the DNA come from? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: The cell synthesizes it using one strand of DNA as a template. It's a pretty cool process (called replication) that is incredibly accurate. Q: Waterville High School in WA (10th grade student): What classes would you have to take to enter this field of work? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: A lot, but they're fun. The class that you need to take depend on the specific field that you're interested in. As a biochemistry major I took classes in general biology, general chemistry, genetics, organic chemistry, bioinformatics, physical chemistry, and physics. Statistics are also important too! Q: St Joseph High School in MS (10th grade student): Is alcoholism hereditary? Does it pass through a family? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Alcoholism has been demonstrated to "run" in families, and some genes involved have been identified. Remember though, that many genetic and environmental factors contribute to alcoholism. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): How do you determine the odds of a child receiving a genetic disorder from his parents? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Great question. The likelihood of a genetic condition being passed from parent to child depends on the genetic basis of the disease in question. It may also depend on how frequent the disease gene occurs within the population. For example, if a parent has a autosomal dominantly inherited disease like Huntington's disease, then the child would have a 50% risk of inheriting the disease causing gene. If the parent has an autosomal recessive condition, then the chance for a child to be affected with that condition would depend on how common the disease is within the population. If you'd like to learn more, go to the Genetics Home Reference web site (http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/) for more information and examples. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): What is you opinion on people with genetic disorders reproducing? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: I believe that is a personal decision. We should learn from the eugenics movement in the United States and avoid repeating that history. Q: Pauling academy of integrated sciences in OR (10th grade teacher): If chimps are 99% genetically identical to humans, what are the genes that make us different? Can those genes be interchanged and to what effect? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Very smart question indeed. This relates to my research, actually. I study the genomes of about 20 primates and try to trace meaningful genetic differences that can explain major biological differences. Sometimes it is a mere base change that alters in a radical way the way an important protein works. Sometimes a gene has been lost selectively in a given species or on the contrary has expanded to many copies in another. Sometimes there is a karyotype difference. For instance chimps have one more chromosome than humans (in humans two chromosomes are fused). Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (9th grade student): What are some of the jobs that you can get learning about DNA? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Hey! visit Lifeworks at http://science.education.nih.gov/LifeWorks for some ideas. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): My grandfather died of a heart attack; should i be worried that i might have a heart attack myself? Do things like this tend to skip generations or do they occur more commonly? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: Good question! Heart disease is a "complex" condition, which means that both genetics and environment play a role in causing the disease. In some cases genetics may play a bigger role than in others. For example, families which have several relatives with heart disease and people with heart attacks at earlier ages. If you are concerned about your family history, you should speak with your doctor. He and she can look at your family history and decide if you and your family should be seen by a genetics' specialist. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): If there are only 23 chrosomes in each sex cell and fertilization occurs, what will happen if the pregnant female is having twins?Will the zygote divide and still have 46 chromosomes? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Absolutely. Twins can happen two different ways -- the first way is when two eggs are fertilized by two different sperm at the same time (fraternal), the other way is when the very early dividing zygote splits into two separate clumps of cells that each develop separately (identical). 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: Mary Roberts in IL (n/a grade other): My son may have Marfan Syndrome. He has never been diagnosed but it's been suggested by his heart doctor that we see a geneticist. Should he? A: David Everman, M.D.: Marfan syndrome is a genetic disorder that can affect the skeleton, cardiovascular system, eyes, and other areas of the body. Clinical geneticists play an important role in helping to diagnose Marfan syndrome, providing genetic counseling to affected persons and their families, and working with other doctors to prevent or manage the related health issues. So, I would agree with the advice of your son's heart doctor and have a talk with your son about seeing a geneticist. Q: Pauling academy of integrated sciences in OR (12th grade student): This is an ethics question. If my DNA is assayed and it says that I will, in all possibilites, have a terminal disease, can a health insurance company refuse me coverage? And, even if congress passes a law that says you can't be denied coverage of your genome, how can health insurance be guaranteed for all Americans reagardless of your DNA content? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: The Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act just passed the senate 95-0 yesterday afternoon and will go to the President to sign, likely within two weeks, and will soon protect us all from health insurance and employment discrimination. Passage of this bill has been a process of over 13 years of effort, and congress should be commended on its passage. In terms of health insurance for all Americans, this is a question that some of the most brilliant minds in the US are attempting to address. The answer is most likely some form of Nationalized Health care. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): The definition for things in science are constantly changing over the years. how does this effect the work you do? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Well, you try to keep updated by reading the literature. You keep an open mind to other people's ideas (stubbornness and science don't go together). Consider how cool it is when you get to be the one that changes the definition of something with your hard work! Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): How can the frequency of crossing over be estimated? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: This can be estimated by measuring what parts of a genome came from which parent. If there are very long parts of the genome that came from only one parent, then the frequency is low. But if a stretch of the genome is alternating back and forth from each parent, then the cross over frequency is high. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): how long is dna?u c l a students say it goes 2 to 3 time around the world,my teacher said it goes from texas to washington d.c,the 7th grade textbook says its 7 kilometers A: Arjun Prasad, B.S.: Individual nucleotides are very very small. A single base pair is about 0.00000000034 meters. However there a very large number of them in the human genome. The human genome is about 3 billion base pairs in total (separated into 23 chromosomes) and 2 copies of each. 3.5 billion base pairs * 2 copies per cell * 0.00000000034 meters = 2.38 meters. A very rough estimate of the number of cells in the body is 10^13 so multiply that by 2.38 meters and 2.38x10^13 meters which is about 133 times the distance from the earth to the sun. Q: James K. Polk HS in OH (9th grade student): My friend Rick waivers on whether he should get genetic counselling. What are the benefits to this? Should everyone do this or just those planning to have kids? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: Genetic counseling is usually considered by persons who either have a genetic or inherited disease or have a family history of of a condition that they have concerns about for themselves or their children. Genetic counseling can help provide information about the disorder in question, clarify risks to others in the family and possibly learn about ways to reduce risks or prevent the disease.
Q: Sapulpa Middle School in OK (7th grade teacher): I have a video from the 1990s about gene therapy being tried on SCIDS patients. Does gene therapy work on children born with SCIDS to develop their own immune system now? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: Gene therapy for genetic disorders has presented major challenges to scientists. In general challenges of delivering the gene to the target cells, immune system rejection of the gene therapy vectors, and difficulty in maintaining long term gene expression have limited the effectiveness of gene therapy approaches. For some rare blood disorders such as SCIDS there have been notable early success, but over time questions have arisen regarding long term health consequences of the therapies. A resource for information on gene therapy and clinical trials can be found at www.clinicaltrials.gov by searching on the disease types of interest. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is there a possiblity that intelligence can be herditary? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: Like most traits, intelligence is influenced by a complicated combination of the genes that you inherit from your parents (heredity) and the environment that you are exposed to (nutrition, education, and many other factors that we still don't know!). 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: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Can you prevent any mutations in the DNA from happening? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: The main thing you can do to prevent DNA mutations is to avoid or minimize your exposure to things that are known to mutate DNA. For example, you should NEVER smoke (which mutates the DNA in your lungs to cause lung cancer) and you should always put on sun block when you're out at the beach -- this will help minimize your chances of getting skin cancer! Q: San Fernando High School in CA (10th grade student): Are genes really the only thing that defines us? Is everything we are based on our gene? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: I think it would be a terrible mistake to believe that genes are the only things that define us. We are defined by many things our spiritual beliefs, family, community and social and physical environments. Q: Shikellamy High School in PA (9th grade student): How many components are there in a piece of DNA? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: A single basepair of DNA is made of multiple Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen molecules in addition to many others. If by components you mean chemical "modules" each basepair of DNA is made from two bases (A, C, T or G), two sugar molecules and two phosphate groups. Q: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): Have you guys discovered any new genes? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I have! I once discovered a gene involved in the development of the sense of balance. When the gene was mutated in a mouse, the mouse had problems in the inner ear and consequently resulted in no equilibrium. Q: Fairmont State University in WV (Higher Education grade student): What is your favorite assay to preform in the lab and why? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: I LOVE to sequence DNA all day long! In fact, our lab just got a new machine that can sequence over a gigabase of sequence in just 3 days! Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Can a person's intelligence be determined by their genes? A: Arjun Prasad, B.S.: All the characteristics of a person are the product of many things including their genetic code and the environment they developed in. One problem with genes determining intelligence is that we don't have a good definition of intelligence. Assuming that we could find a good definition of intelligence there may be variants of genes that affect intelligence, but most "complex" traits such as intelligence are defined by many genes and many many environmental factors together. Q: Cleveland High School in MS (Higher Education grade teacher): I read that there is a possibility of the gene for red hair becoming obselete within the next 20 yrs. Is this true? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: This is a myth. Although recessive genes can have low occurrence in the population (red hair is recessive) enough people carry the gene that red hair is not likely to disappear anytime soon. 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: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): My mother and father both have high blood pressure, but my grandparents did not. Should i be worried ? A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: High blood pressure is a "complex" condition. This means that both genetics and environment (such as diet) play a role in causing this condition. When you get older, it will be important for you to talk with your doctor about your family history and to receive regular check-ups. If you would like to look at your family history more closely, you can go to the following website and follow instructions on how to create your own family history. www.familyhistory.hhs.gov Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): what is a neurodegenerative disease? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: A neurodegenerative disease is a disease which affects the nervous system and progressively gets worse over time. Neurodegenerative diseases can be inherited or have complex causes that combine environmental and genetic causes. Some examples of inherited neurodegenerative diseases include Huntington's disease, Friedreich's Ataxia, and Spinocerebellar Ataxia. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): What are the symptoms of sickle cell disease? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: Patients with sickle cell disease can present with a variety of symptoms. One of the most common symptoms is pain in an extremity as a result of decreased blood flow as a result of the cells sickling and slowing down the flow. Patients are also more likely to develop certain types of infections which can affect a variety of different parts of the body. You can learn more about sickle cell disease by searching the term on www.genome.gov, or for more detail, by looking at www.genetests.org. 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: Waterville High School in WA (10th grade student): If a mother and a father both have blue eyes, can a child have brown eyes? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: There is tremendous variation in human eye color and all the genes that play a role have not been identified (we know three!). Parents' eye color does not predict a child's eye color, so it's possible that two people with blue eyes could have a child with brown eyes. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): Can a person have more than 46 pairs of chromosomes? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, resulting in 46 total. We can have more than 46 total chromosomes, but generally this situation caus, for example, have inherited a third copy of chromosome 21. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): Carla Easter said that nerve cells never replicate, but my one friend had his finger cut off and then surgicaly placed back on and now he still has feeling in his finger. How can that be if the nerves don't replicate? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Actually, there is a difference between reconnecting nerves and regenerating them. Q: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): Is it possible to make such invention such as an artificial mitchoondria? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: Genetics entrepreneur Craig Venter claims his team is on the verge of creating the first artificial lifeform.Venter said his company has completed an artificial chromosome that will carry all necessary genes for a viable bacterium.He has already applied for a patent for this first, dubbed Mycoplasma laboratorium. Q: Elko High School in NV (12th grade student): If you could do ANYTHING with DNA what would you do and why? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: DNA is such a beautiful molecule -- I think it would be cool to try and make some jewelry and give it to my wife! 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: Bednarcik Junior High School in IL (8th grade student): What is the smallest organism, that you know, that has DNA close to ours? A: Arjun Prasad, B.S.: It depends on what you mean by "close". We share most of our genes with fruit flys and they're pretty small :-) At a protein coding level we are 99.5% similar to chimpanzees which are a bit smaller than we are. As scientists trying to understand how the human genome works we often study model organisms such as yeast (the microscopic stuff that makes bread rise) and nematodes (very small round worms) that are much smaller than us because they're very similar to us in many important ways. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Do the non-coding regions in DNA peform any functions? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Absolutely! And we're still trying to figure out what all that non-coding DNA is doing. It turns out that 98% of our DNA is non-coding, and it plays an important role in turning genes on and off in the right place and time. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can DNA be used for other purposes besides finding identities or cloning? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Yes. Recombinant DNA technology is used to produce many of the proteins that we use as therapeutic agents, for example insulin. Q: E in IL (n/a grade other): I have a mentally retarded uncle, and my great-grandparents on that side were first cousins. Is there a hereditary risk of mental retardation for my (hypothetical) children or my sister's children? Thanks so much! A: Flavia Facio, M.S., C.G.C.: It is difficult to say if your uncle's mental retardation or developmental delay is related to the fact that your great-grandparents were first cousins. Mental retardation can be caused by many different conditions. Even when it is caused by a genetic condition, it is not always due to a recessive condition (which is the type of condition one would be concerned in individuals who are more closely related, such as first cousins). I think the best thing you and your sister can do is to be aware of this history and to consult with a genetic counselor when you each one of you are ready to have children. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Can scientists surgically change a person's DNA? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: No, if by surgically you mean that the scientists can cut out a bit of a persons DNA while it is the body, and replace it with another bit of DNA. However, in gene therapy trials scientists and doctors have been able to use special "medicines" called gene therapy vectors to add a new piece of DNA to a person's cells in order to help those cells make a protein that the cells could not make before. It turns out that this is a very difficult way to make people well and that gene therapy approaches have seen only limited success to date. See more about gene therapy at www.genome.gov by searching the term. Q: Arleta High School in CA (11th grade student): Is it possible to seperate genes for certain characteristics from DNA, such as blue eyes, and combine them together with other genes to make a "customized" baby? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: That is not possible, nor would we ever want to "customize" a baby based on eye color. 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: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Does naked DNA with sticky ends seek kanamycin-resistant plasmids or does it prefer EcoR1 sites? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Sticky ends generated by restriction enzymes will look for and adhere to complementing sticky ends. It depends on the restriction enzyme used to digest the DNA. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Do you have DNA in your eye? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Yes. All human organs contain DNA. The eye, however, contains one of the rare cell types in the human body that does not contain DNA. Cells at the exterior of the lens frequently do not contain a nucleus (although some likely still have mitochondrial DNA). Q: Lorena in CA (11th grade student): What is the most common genetic disease a baby can be born with? A: David Everman, M.D.: This is a great question, particularly because it depends where you are in the world and what you consider to be a genetic disease. The birth rates of certain genetic diseases/conditions are often different among specific populations around the world. Also, it is thought that many people are born with genetic differences that probably affect whether they develop common diseases later in life. As a group, birth defects (also called congenital malformations) could be thought of as a relatively common type of genetic problem, because they affect 1-3% of babies and are often related to genetic factors. 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: Arleta High School in CA (10th grade student): How close are we related to chimpanzees? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Humans and chimpanzees are greater than 95% identical, genetically. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What is the most common type of cell in the human body? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: The cells that make up connective tissue. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Is being a scientist fun to do? if not why? does it pay well? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Not only is it fun, but it's way cool too! When I come to work, I get to "play" with fancy new equipment, analyze data that nobody has ever looked at before, use powerful computers, and work with great people! What more could you ask for? Q: Prairie High School in WA (10th grade student): In your opinion, could nanotechnology be used to affect the DNA Code? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Probably, yes. It will likely be possible to develop nanotechnologies that can physically or chemically change the structure of DNA molecules. But remember that we already have molecular biology methods to do the same thing. It's only worth developing a nano method to change DNA if it will do a better job than methods we already have. Nano will probably also be used to deliver gene therapy -- to replace genes that have mistakes and cause diseases, with genes that have the correct sequence. If we can do this with nanoparticles we might avoid some of the problems that occur with current methods that use viruses as the delivery vehicle. (Credit to Dr. Jeff Schloss for this answer) Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Before the development of microscopes that were able to zoom up to the DNA, was there a guess or an estimation on what DNA might look like? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: DNA was first isolated in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher. Watson and Crick used the x-ray diffraction images of Rosiland Franklin to elucidate the shape of DNA in the 1950s. 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: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): Will politicians legalize cloning humans/animals? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: The term cloning describes a number of different processes that can be used to produce genetically identical copies of a biological entity. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original is referred to as a clone. It is legal to clone animals. Therapeutic cloning is going on in some research laboratories. Cloning humans raises many ethical questions. More information is available on our Cloning fact sheet. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): If a mom has a mutated cell/DNA can she pass it to her offspring? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Absolutely. 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: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Are chromosomal abnormalities common in newborns? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: Chromosomal abnormalities are fairly common in newborns, and birth defects are a leading reason why newborns die in countries where there is a highly developed health care system. One of the more common chromosomal abnormalities that occurs is trisomy 21 or Downs syndrome. In this condition the newborn inherits 3 rather than 2 copies of chromosome 21. These individuals have similar physical characteristics, lower than average intelligence on average, and are susceptible to certain cancers. For more on chromosomal abnormalities, see the March of Dimes website. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Can parents choose the sex of their children? A: Don Hadley, M.S., C.G.C.: There are ways that have been suggested to increase the chances of having a boy or girl, however, they are NOT fully reliable. This is an issue that raises many ethical and social issues of concern. Should we, as a society, be picking our children's characteristics and traits? There's no easy answer to this and it will require a lot of careful consideration. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): How far along are scientists in identifying all of the genes within the sequence? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: You would think that's a simple answer, but it all depends on how you define a gene. In fact, several years ago scientists organized a contest to "guess" how many genes are in the human genome. See http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2003/603/3 for the results. We used to think there were 100,000 genes, now we think it's closer to 20,000. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Why do people have red hair? A: Arjun Prasad, B.S.: The genetics of hair color in humans is not very well understood, but a lot of work has been done in the hair color of horses because breeders have been very interested in breeding certain hair colors of horses. Horse hair color is controlled by a large number of genes, only some of which have been worked out. Some of the genes that control horse coat color are genes that code for the actual colored proteins behind horse coat color, and some of them are differences in when/where those genes are turned on or off to make white legs, or spots for example. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): How can some people smoke their whole life and not get cancer? A: Belen Hurle, Ph.D.: I personally know a woman who drinks and smokes, is 100 years old and perfectly healthy. Her grandparents, parents and siblings all died in their late 80' and early 90'. Obviously there is some kind of super-healthy genetic background in this family. This is very intriguing. As the matter of fact, genetic profiling of the unusually healthy is becoming the topic of research of some investigators in recent times. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is the dna sequence in say for example liver cells different than those of the skin cells due to the different functions needed from those cells? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: All the cells in your body (with a few rare exceptions) contain the same DNA, a whole genome. What makes a liver cell function differently from a skin cell, is the regulation of the expression of genes (DNA) in each cell. Q: Parker High School in WI (11th grade student): How is metabolism genetically influenced? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: There are several genes that are involved in metabolism. They encode proteins that can regulate metabolism. There are metabolic enzymes, encoded by the genes, that have variants in the populations. Some people can carry mutations that cause an enzyme to be nonfunctioning and cause the person to have metabolic problems. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): Is it possible for a mutation caused by the environment to become a part of your DNA and be able to be passed down? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes. In fact this how evolution occurs. Recall that not all mutations - which really only means a change in the DNA sequence- are bad. Some mutations might actually improve how a gene and its gene product function. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): What happens if DNA is too mutated to function? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: In a single cell, that cell dies. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (11th grade student): Are viruses really alive? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: It all depends on your definition of alive. Viruses require a host in order propagate and so one could argue whether they are living or not. Q: Booth Middle School in GA (7th grade teacher): How is DNA being used in the field of evolutionary biology? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Since DNA is found in every living organism, we can compare DNA from different species to see which bits are similar and which bits are different. When sequences remain similar throughout millions of years of evolution, we can deduce that the sequence is likely functional. In fact, "comparative genomics" is a major way we can determine the functions encoded genomic sequences. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Are identical twins genetically identical? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Identical twins share the same DNA sequence but can have differences in epigenetics, slight chemical modifications of the bases. This is part of what constitutes differences between identical twins. Q: Pauling academy of integrated sciences in OR (n/a grade teacher): Which human genes in the human genome carry the most health problems? Can they be remediated? Would that be ethical? A: Sarah Knerr, B.A.: Most diseases are caused by multiple genes--most of which we don't even know! Mutations in genes can sometimes cause disease and sometime prevent it. When people find out that they have specific mutations known to cause disease they can talk to a doctor and take precautions like eating a healthy diet and exercising. People who know that they have mutations that put them at an increased risk of having a child with a disease have more difficult ethical decision that depend on their personal beliefs. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (9th grade student): What is cytokenisis? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Cytokinesis is the process whereby the cytoplasm of a single cell is divided to spawn two daughter cells. It usually initiates during the late stages of mitosis, and sometimes meiosis, splitting a binucleate cell in two, to ensure that chromosome number is maintained from one generation to the next. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): What hours do you work and how much do you get paid? A: Arjun Prasad, B.S.: I am a graduate student working on a PhD in Genetics right now. I work 45-55 hours a week, and most grad students make 20-35 thousand dollars a year while in grad school. Grad students can work significantly more than I do, and a few work significantly less. One of my classmates and friends had a baby while in graduate school, and she works very efficiently only 30 or so hours a week. Q: Oak Hill Elementary in KS (5th grade student): Would you have to know a lot about DNA to be a pediatrician? A: David Everman, M.D.: This is a great question for me, because I first trained as a pediatrician and then decided to become a clinical geneticist! Having a good understanding of genetics has become increasingly important in all fields of medicine. This is certainly true in pediatrics, because there are many genetic conditions that can have an impact on the health of children. So, it is important for pediatricians to know about DNA as it relates to the health of children. 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: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Have you ever wanted to be anything else besides a scientist, if so what? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Before I went to college, I thought I wanted to be a dentist (can you believe that?!?). But when I was in college, I had an awesome teacher that taught me how to do research in a lab. From that day on, I was hooked. I still remember my very first experiment with DNA! Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can you make DNA glow in the dark? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: DNA can be modified so that is attached to a fluorescent molecule such as Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) or a fluorescent small molecule. This technology underlies many DNA sequencing methods. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): What does the DNA strand of a Giraffe look like? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Physically, the DNA strand of a giraffe looks just like the DNA of any other organism. In order to assess the differences between a giraffe's DNA and another organism's DNA, one would have to sequence the DNA and use other molecular techniques. Q: Kittanning Senior High School in PA (10th grade student): Is is fun doing what you do? Would I like it? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: Absolutely -- if you like playing with new toys and doing things nobody has ever done before, then this is the field for you! Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): How many different countries worked on the human genome project? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: From its inception, the HGP has been an international effort. The United States has made the largest investment, but important contributions have come from many countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Japan, China, and Canada. Q: Maple Shade High School in NJ (10th grade student): Can DNA help find a cure or solution to birth defects and deformities? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes, some birth defects result from changes in DNA, and the more that is understood about how those changes occur, the more likely it is that scientists will be able to find a way to prevent them from happening. Some birth defects result for environmental factors that don't change DNA, but at least in some cases understanding how those factors affect the way baby's DNA works will be important as well. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): How is DNA packaged? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: very neatly :) Seriously, this is a great question. DNA is packaged at several different levels, and each level compresses the DNA even further so that it all can fit into a tiny cell. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): When we eat something with chromosomes, do we destroy them or absorb them? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: DNA is broken down by our digestive system, so no chromosome absorption. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Is the yellow skin color and four fingers in the Simpsons caused by genetic mutations due to the nuclear power plant? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: The Springfield Isotopes have faced teams from Shelbyville, Salem, and Burlington and all players had yellow skin and four fingers, so the mutations are likely not caused by the nuclear power plant. Q: Westview High School in CA (10th grade student): Is there a certain disease for each chromosome number? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: There are multiple disease-causing genes on all human chromosomes. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (10th grade student): Can cervical cancer run in your family? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: To date, cervical cancer is not thought to have strong genetic components. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): What are major hurdles scientists are still faced with that they still have to overcome? A: Arjun Prasad, B.S.: One fun thing about being a scientist is that the more we discover the more we realize all that we don't know. We have completed the sequencing of the human genome, but we are now trying to understand what it all means. A big hurdle now is to understand the genetic differences between people that are responsible for inheritable differences in disease susceptibility. We know that some people can smoke their whole lives and never get lung cancer, why is that? The hope is that by figuring out the genes that increase risks for disease we can also figure out how to prevent them from getting the disease in the first place and treat those diseases more effectively. Q: Bowie State University in MD (Higher Education grade student): Do you believe in those personalized genealogical tests - where you take a swab inside your cheek and send it to some lab to analyze your DNA - are accurate in telling you where your ancestors came from? A: Vence Bonham, J.D.: Genetic ancestry testing often described as recreational genetics provides some information about your ancestral background. It however, does not necessarily tell you were all of your ancestors are from. My recommendation is buyer beware. Q: Montgomery College in MD (Higher Education grade student): What proportion of the human genome is thought not to have a function (truly "junk" DNA)? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: A long time ago, some people thought that all DNA that didn't code for genes was "junk". We now know that non-coding DNA plays a very important role in regulating how genes are turned on and off. We're still trying to figure out what all this non-coding DNA does, and my bet is that little to none is "junk" (though admittedly that gives me job security since my lab studies non-coding DNA!) Q: Richard W. Aiverz in NJ (10th grade other): Is it true that DNA can be used as a miniature computer? If so, would it be possible for these computers to attain intelligence, and eventually think on their own? It would be pretty scary if those DNA robots then tried to take over our bodies! A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: There are things called "genetic algorithms", which can help us solve very complex problems. But the DNA itself doesn't act as a mini computer. So, I don't think you need to worry about your body being taken over by a DNA robot. Q: Charles DuMarr in NY (11th grade student): Which is your favorite stage of mitosis? Mine is Anaphase. A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: My favorite stage is Metaphase. I love the way the chromosomes come together and meet in the middle. It reminds me of line dancing. It is quite visual. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Do you consider science as the ultimate search for truth? Or are there things that even science cannot even try to answer? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: I can only answer for myself. What's enjoyable about science is that it is a quest for knowledge about ourselves and the world around us. Even science, though, cannot answer some of the most meaningful questions about ourselves and our society. Will there be an end to war? Will we learn to greatly lessen our impact on our planet? Can we become the person that we want to be? Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Why is DNA so small but carries so much information? A: Arjun Prasad, B.S.: Our DNA has to carry a lot of information, so the fact that it's small is probably a good thing for us. We aren't sure exactly how DNA came to be the carrier of genetic information, but we do know that early living cells were very small and would need their genetic information to be contained very compactly. Q: Francis Howell North in MO (11th grade student): Which genetic diseases are increasing in frequency in humans (in the past few generations)? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: In the United States diseases like diabetes and heart disease are increasing in the population. These diseases result for interactions between environmental factors and a large number of genetic factors. The interesting question is why. It seems less likely that the genetic factors are becoming more common and much more likely that those disorders are becoming more common because the environmental factors (like lack of exercise and poor diet) are becoming more common. Q: LaSalle Academy in RI (9th grade student): We've been looking at prions as infectious proteins. Do they reproduce by causing the cell to make the DNA that coded for them originally ? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Unlike other agents that cause disease, like a virus, prions contain none of the genetic information necessary to spread themselves through its victim. Instead, prions corrupt a perfectly normal protein, PrP, which usually sits on the external surface of brain cells Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Is it possible to lose DNA? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: From one generation to another, disease conditions can arise from the deletion of pieces of DNA. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Who do you think is the biggest contributer to DNA research? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Good question, probably the National Institutes of health. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (12th grade student): If it is true that life is sustained through the passing on of genetic material, how did the original DNA form? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: that's a very philosophical question! It's similar to the chicken/egg conundrum. Some scientists hypothesize that the earliest organisms started out as RNA and proteins, which eventually made their own DNA. Q: LaSalle Academy in RI (9th grade student): Looking for a career opening in biology, would bioinformatics be a good area to major in ? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Absolutely. There is more genomic information right now than we're able to analyze or understand right now. Q: East Forest High School in PA (8th grade student): This is a question for Carla Easter, Ph. D: Do identical twins have the same DNA or do is the DNA completely different for both of them? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: For the most part, the DNA of identical twins is the same. Although, our genomes are constantly changing and various modifications are being made (epigenetics). Not to mention, that and individuals DNA is acquiring somatic mutations throughout their lives. In summary, the DNA of identical twins is pretty similar, but their are differences. Q: West Seneca East Senior High School in NY (10th grade student): can a genetic mutation affect the outcome of identification in DNA fingerprinting? A: Elliott Margulies, Ph.D.: In theory, yes. But not to worry, because when we do a DNA fingerprint, we look at many regions of the genome at once. If one of these places is mutated, we'll still make an accurate call. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): Would glow in the dark Cristmas tree be possible? If it is how would you go about doing this? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: One would probably start with a Fir, Pine or Spruce embryo and clone in the gene for Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). You'd have to use a UV (black) light to see it fluoresce though. Q: University of Illinois at Springfield in IL (Higher Education grade student): Are there more chromosomal abnormalities associated with the X chromosome or the Y chromosome? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: There are many more diseases associated with changes in the genetic material on the X chromosome than on the Y chromosome. This is at least in part because there are many more genes on the X chromosome. The question about chromosomal abnormalities is much harder to answer. There are a variety of disorders like Turners syndrome XO, in which too few, or too many of the sex chromosomes are inherited. I am unsure if there are large differences in cases of disorders where too many or too few X versus Y chromosomes are inherited. Q: Scarlet Oaks in OH (11th grade student): Do you like the Simpsons? They got a glowing monkey how is this achieved? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Yes. The gene-altered monkey, born in Oregon and described in the journal Science, is endowed with a jellyfish gene Green Fuorescent Protein (GFP). To engineer the monkey, Scientists inserted copies of the gene into specialized viruses and injected those viruses into hundreds of unfertilized monkey eggs. ANDi, a backward abbreviation for ``inserted DNA' was the result. Q: Mount Pleasant High School in NC (9th grade student): How is your DNA formed? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Your DNA comes from your parents, and then is replicated millions of times to create you. Q: Bergen County Academies in NJ (9th grade student): How exactly does gel electrophoresis separates the different lengths of DNA segments? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: The DNA has a charge to it, and will move in an electrical field. The smaller pieces move through the gel matrix faster, so the pieces become spread out. Q: St. Bernard Catholic High School in CA (10th grade student): Although we can all think of the positive effects of the Genetic Nondiscrimination bill, recently passed by the Senate, can you think of a downside? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Only that we've all had to wait so long to see it finally pass both chambers. Q: Souderton Area High School in PA (10th grade student): How did scientists come to the conclusion that cancer was caused by cell mutations? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Scientists looked at cancer cells and noticed that there were genetic differences between cancer cells and normal cells--they found that there were often times different numbers of chromosomes. Also, scientists have been able to sequence the DNA of tumor cells and discover the specific mutations that exist. Q: Susan in MD (n/a grade other): Have you discovered the genes involved in depression or bipolar disorder?Once the genes are identified, how difficult is it to come up with drugs that over come the genetic deficiency? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: In the last year there have been a large number of studies relating gene discoveries relevant to mental health conditions. These have come about because of a new approach to gene discovery called "genome-wide association studies". Each of these new markers provides potential new approaches to develop therapies. Discovery of new drugs is usually a long and challenging process, but with new genes in hand many scientists are excited that new therapies will come in the next few decades. For more on genome-wide association studies see the catalog of genome wide association studies on www.genome.gov Q: Lugoff-Elgin High School in SC (10th grade student): Will it be possible in the future to switch on and off genes to help people? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Lots of research is being done to understand how genes are regulated. It's likely that this knowledge will be used to develop therapeutics for many diseases. Q: Dennis in CA (10th grade student): Do chimpanzees have DNA similar to humans? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Humans and chimpanzees are about 95% genetically identical. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): how many genes are there in each of our cells? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Each of our cells contains about 20,000 genes. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): How many cells do I have in my body A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: Estimates place the numbers of cells in the human body at between 10 and 100 trillion cells. Q: John C. Fremont High School in CA (9th grade student): Why is it that DNA performs a crossover during the meiosis process? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: DNA crosses over during mitosis, largely to create the genetic changes that fuel evolution. Q: Alpharetta High School in GA (9th grade student): Do our diets affect our DNA? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: Yes, both directly (by causing mutations in DNA in for example the cells lining our intestines) and indirectly by triggering our cells to turn off and on expression of genes. Interestingly enough a wide variety of food contain chemicals that can change your DNA, including celery!! 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! Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Have you always wanted to be a scientist? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: When I was younger I wanted to be a veterinarian, but a few days working in a vet clinic changed my mind. Actually, once I became a scientist, I decided that I wanted to work in policy too, so now I'm a scientist who does policy work. Q: Westview High School in CA (9th grade student): Can a paternity test be performed before the baby is born? If so, how? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Technically this is possible, but would be very invasive and ethically challenging. It is doubtful that any clinician would do a procedure; waiting until the baby is born is the best choice. Q: Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student): So DNA is like a computer program? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: That is an excellent way to think about it. Your DNA is controlling the activities of your cells and in some cases, the program is being re-written causing changes in functions just like computer programs control the functions of a computer. Q: Waterville High School in WA (11th grade student): How long can DNA sample sruvive and be identified as an organism? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Millions of years - we can analyze DNA from dinosaur fossils! Q: Waterville High School in WA (11th grade student): So I guess you guys get paid a lot, huh? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: It's all relative. I'll probably never own a Rolls Royce, but I probably won't go hungry either. Q: Holy Family Catholic High School in MN (9th grade student): Why are some down syndrome children higher functioning than others? A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: There is a fair amount of variation in the function of Down syndrome patients, and there are probably a variety of reasons for this. It seems likely that this is in part because factors outside of chromosome 21 affect intelligence and that not all these factors are adversely affected by by having an extra copy of chromosome 21. Q: Carvin School Inc. Puerto Rico in International (12th grade student): During transcription, why does RNA polymerase continue transcribing for hundreds of nucleotides after the site where pre-RNA was released? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: Probably due to regulatory or targeting regions that are encoded into the mRNA, but are not translated into protein. Q: Rock Canyon High School in CO (11th grade student): How difficult is it to turn on or turn off a persons genes once they are already an adult? (MS) A: Greg Feero, M.D., Ph.D.: It is not, your genes turn on and off many times a day in each of your cells. Many factors affect this including your diet, your physical activity and and the medications you might take.... Q: Flint Northern Academy in MI (10th grade student): Is there a genetic disorder that only one parent is able to pass the trait for at a time? A: Carla Easter, Ph.D.: If I understand the question, you are asking about sex-linked traits. Fathers will pass X-linked traits to their daughters and Y-linked traits to their sons. Mothers will pass X-linked traits to their sons and daughters. Q: Kannapolis Middle School in NC (8th grade student): If you can clone animals, why not plants? A: Phyllis Frosst, Ph.D.: You can clone a plant!
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