2009 National DNA Day Online Chatroom Transcript

This is just one question from an archive of the National DNA Day Moderated Chat held in April 2009. 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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some days i wake up and my dna hurts.. do i have aids?
     Pam Schwartzberg, M.D., Ph.D.: I study mouse models of primary immunodeficiencies (genetic diseases that impair the ability of the immune system to fight infections) and how specific disorders affect responses to infectious diseases. Well, we are not certain that you would ever feel your DNA since it is inside of your cells, although there is a really new field recognizing that cell damage (which can release DNA) can trigger an inflammatory response (which would elicit pain). But this would not be specific to AIDS. Having said that, you should know that HIV does incorporate its genome into the host DNA as part of its lifecycle.
Clarksburg High School in MD (10th grade student)

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