2008 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2008. 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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does dna kill people somtimes      Alan Guttmacher, M.D.: Developing new research tools to translate the findings of the Human Genome Project (HGP) into new diagnostic tests and therapies. Hmmm...almost all of us eventually die from some disease, and that disease is almost always due to the interplay of genetic factors (variations in our DNA) and environmental factors. So, in a way, DNA kills almost all of us. Of course, first it allows us all to live and be the individuals who we are. Kannapolis Middle School in NC (7th grade student)

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