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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Is addiction genetic?
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Christy Haakonsen, B.S.:
I am studying to become a genetic counselor and her focus is on caregiving intervention for children with Autism.
Yes. But there are two important things you should know: (1) both genetics and environment affect addiction and (2) addiction may manifest in different ways. A person may be predisposed toward addiction through their genes; however, if they are not given the right environment, they may not exhibit this behavior. For example, say a person is predisposed to alcoholism because of their genetic make-up. If they never step foot in a bar in their life, they may never become an alcoholic. The second part of this answer is that addiction may manifest in different ways. For example, there may be families where family members have a genetic predisposition to addiction. But one person might be an alcoholic, another might be a smoker, and another might be a gambler. |
| Palms Middle School in CA (7th grade student) |
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