2012 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2012. The NHGRI Director and many genomics experts from across NHGRI 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.

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Could it be considered a genetic mutation if you're whole family is really tall or really short and you're the exact opposite?      Barbara Biesecker, Ph.D.: I am an Associate Investigator and Genetic Counselor in NHGRI's Social and Behavioral Research Branch. I direct the JHU/NHGRI Genetic Counseling Training Program and have been doing genetic counseling for thirty years. My primary interests are in achieving quality of life for those affected with a genetic condition or at risk. Height is highly heritable due to a combination of many genes. The most likely explanation is that the person in the family who is remarkably tall or short got a different "sort" of the parents' genes. So it is not due to a single mutation in a gene but rather a combination of the family genes. Peru High School in IN (9th grade student)

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