Cracking Your Genetic Code

Parkinson’s. Huntington’s. Dementia. Cancer. Sound familiar? 

These are diseases that can be genetically inherited and passed down. Unfortunately, in most cases, they are incurable. What if there was a way to detect these diseases before they develop? What if you could take preventative measures before it’s too late? Would you even want to know, or would you want to live in ignorant bliss not knowing the truth of the inevitable?

With the development of gene sequencing technology, it is possible to take a sample of your own DNA to a lab where your DNA can be extracted from your blood and have all 6 billion+ nucleotides read and analyzed. In doing so, your likelihood of developing diseases such as the ones mentioned above will be calculated based on the sequences of nucleotides present in your DNA. These sequences are compared to the sequences of the DNA of other healthy individuals. The more your sequences differ from the other DNA sequences, you probably have a genetic mutation which means that you are more likely you are to develop certain diseases.

I’m really sorry if I scared you! I’ll be honest, when I learned about the topic of genetic disorders I got a little nervous because I myself do not know what I could be at risk for. Frankly, I don’t even want to know. If the diseases I could be at risk for are unavoidable, I would not want to know because that knowledge would probably prevent me from living my life to the fullest. However, I do not discourage any of you from finding out which diseases you are at risk for. There is a saying that goes, “Early detection = early action.”

Check out this trailer for Cracking the Genetic Code if you want to dive a little deeper into the world of genetic sequencing:

Cracking Your Genetic Code – Nova Productions – February 9, 2012

This documentary explores the lives of different people with different diseases who have been treated at the genetic level. Each person has had their DNA sequenced and analyzed for mutations. Once these mutations have been found, scientists were then able to develop a drug to fight the disease. Do any of you remember CRISPR? Scientists can now combine genetic sequencing with CRISPR technology to snip out the incorrect code and replace this code with the correct one. That’s some crazy life-saving technology!

The topic of genes is fascinating and my team and I have been learning about them all month. If you would like to learn more about genes yourself, check out this super cool website that takes you through so many games and simulations to explain every topic related to genetics.

Learn.Genetics

If you would like to discover more about other medical breakthroughs regarding genetic diseases, here’s a trailer for a documentary about a scientist who developed a cure for cancer!

Breakthrough – Jim Allison – April 1, 2019

Works Cited:

“Cracking Your Genetic Code Trailer.” YouTube, 9 Feb. 2012, youtu.be/UPzid88oSFc.

“DocLands Presents: Jim Allison: Breakthrough (Official Trailer).” YouTube, 1 Apr. 2019, youtu.be/TfwiyqhC92U.

“Learn.genetics.” Learn.Genetics, learn.genetics.utah.edu/.

 

Cracking Your Genetic Code

 Today in my AP Biology class, we watched a documentary on genome sequencing or reading the genetic code of a genome. Last semester and this unit, we learned about DNA replication and the possibility of mutation through an error in replication, transcription, or translation of DNA or RNA. Even the smallest mutation of a single nucleotide can be fatal in an offspring, but sometimes the mutation can be silent and change nothing. Genetic sequencing enables individuals with an undiagnosable, medical issue to locate the mutated gene in their DNA to then properly diagnose, and hopefully find a cure for, their disease. Although a long and expensive process, Doctors believe, especially for these never-seen-before mutations, that it is better to look through the DNA of a genome and not find anything than to have missed an opportunity to fix the problem. But with more technological advancements related to reading DNA, there is an ethical concern on when altering DNA will be taken too far and whether our genetic code will become the new social security number.

An up-close example of the technology and how genome sequencing looks. The highlighted G could be an example of a mutation (Spencer and Sesay).

New companies, such as 23andMe or Ancestry, provide kits to analyze a patient’s DNA to make assumptions on whether they are prone to or have the gene for any genetic diseases. Although, this form of analyzing genetics is not fully reliable because instead of reading the entire DNA sequence, 23andMe only reads one million letters, which is about 1%. This process of genotyping means that 23andMe takes your sample of DNA, reads about 1% of your genetic information, and assumes what genetic diseases you are most likely to develop, based on unfinished information and barely analyzed genetic code. In contrast, many people have bettered their lives by learning these assumptions of their genetic code because it has allowed them to detect diseases early on in development, preventing further growth.

This same reading of genetic code can even be done in the cells of newly conceived embryos to remove any mutations and inheritable diseases before the baby is further developed and born. This advanced scientific technology sparked the ethical debate of “designer” babies, genetically modified babies with preferred traits. Thankfully, the documentary reassures us that some phenotypes are too complicated to be altered and we seem to be a long way out from choosing our child’s gender, eye color, or height.

A few examples of how people fear we will be able to genetically modify babies in the future to become designer babies (“Editing Humanity”).

Some fear that as reading genetic code becomes even more common, our DNA might replace the use of a social security number, I.D., or fingerprint. In the future, when reading DNA becomes more accessible, we could create even more problems of possibly being judged or discriminated against based on your DNA. For example, your insurance could see in your DNA that you are likely to develop a fatal genetic disease at a young age and can deny you life insurance. Although genome sequencing can be taken out of hand or unethically used, the basis of the technology will beneficially impact many lives by giving hope to undiagnosed patients that research can be done to find the genetic mutation causing their problem to then work towards a solution.

A video of 23andMe discussing their genotype process compared to genome sequencing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xmQtJwLRQc

An informational article on the history and social arguments of designer babies: https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/ethics-designer-babies

Work Cited:

“Editing Humanity: The Prospect of Genetic Enhancement.” The Economist, 22 Aug. 2015, http://www.economist.com/weeklyedition/2015-08-22. Accessed 24 May 2022.

Spencer, Philip, and Abdul Karim Sesay. “Expanding the Capacity of Governments for Genome Sequencing in West Africa.” Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, 24 Sept. 2020, institute.global/advisory/expanding-capacity-governments-genome-sequencing-west-africa. Accessed 24 May 2022.