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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How close are we to designing athletes? Do you think we should design traits in humans at all?
     Weiyi Mu: I am a second-year genetic counseling student in the Johns Hopkins University/NHGRI Genetic Counseling Training Program. I became interested in genetics when I was in middle school and have been studying science ever since! As a genetic counseling student, I see patients with all different kinds of genetic or genetics-influenced conditions from Down syndrome to breast cancer. I learn about how genes affect their conditions and also learn to how to help them understand and live with their conditions. Your question has two great parts -- where the technology is, and the ethics of using that technology. Right now, we still have a lot to learn about what all the genes in our body do. We know a bit about the genes that controls how big our muscles are and the genes that control testosterone levels, but there are still many things needed to put all this together. We don't know a lot about how all those genes interact, and we are still learning a lot about how our environment affects how those genes are expressed! In terms of ethics, it is my belief that because medical technology is expensive (choosing which embryos to implant is a very costly procedure), it should be limited to people who need it for medical reasons, such as infertility and a family history of a deadly disease. But who knows; just a few years down the line, things may change!
Somersworth High School and Career Technical Center in NH (11th grade teacher)

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