2011 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2011. 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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Can you examine DNA and tell if a person has a chance of getting a type of genetic disease, such as cancer, or not?      Kris Wetterstrand, M.S.: I am the Scientific Liaison to the Director for Extramural Activities. For over ten years I have managed the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) grant portfolio, having participated in the Large-scale Sequencing Program, which managed the Human Genome Project, and the Human Microbiome Project, an effort to sequence the DNA of microbes (e.g. bacteria) that live in and on humans and the ENCODE Project, an effort to identify functional DNA elements in the human genome. Her background is in population genetics and molecular evolution. Yes, absolutely. When doctors and scientists know that a genetic difference is associated with higher risk of getting a disease, then we can test for it and provide the information to a patient. The difficulty is figuring out that the genetic difference is important. That's what researchers spend so much time and effort studying. Brownsville Area High School in PA (9th grade student)

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