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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How many diseases would you say are genetic? And what are they? MG
     Jessica Hooks, M.S.: I am a prenatal genetic counselor who sees preconception and prenatal patients for a variety of indications. I also serve as the genetic counselor for the Charlotte Fetal Care Center, which is a multidisciplinary team dedicated to the prenatal treatment of complex birth defects and obstetrical complications. Some would argue that all diseases have some genetic component. With greater than 20,000 genes in the human body, there are lots of things that can go wrong. There are diseases that are completely genetic and inherited in families and then there are diseases that may have a genetic component but are also strongly determined by the environment. An example of the first would be sickle cell anemia while the second would be more like diabetes or obesity.
East Haven High School in CT (10th grade student)

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