2010 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript
This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2010. 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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What are some of the things that DNA has helped the most with and what can it help with in the future?
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Ian Wallace, M.S.:
I provide prenatal genetic counseling services to patients, which includes diagnostic testing, carrier screening, teratogenic risk assessment, recurrence risk assessment, preconception counseling, and psychosocial counseling.
It has been incredibly helpful in many areas of science, and the determination of the genetic code is probably one of the greatest scientific breakthroughs in all of human history. For example, we are able to more accurately trace the origins of mankind using DNA, can determine which portions of DNA are highly-conserved across different species, and can now easily, accurately, and relatively cheaply diagnose hundreds of diseases using DNA testing. Many of those diagnoses allow patients to not only have an answer for why they experience certain medical problems, but allow them to know the risks that their family members will also develop the same condition or allow for important treatment and monitoring earlier in the course of disease.
In the future we hope to be able to target clinical therapy to patients based on their personal genetic code. This will hopefully increase the effectiveness of therapy while decreasing the side effects, costs, and lost time associated with ineffective therapy choices.
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| East Haven High School in CT (10th grade student) |
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