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Articles & Related Information © Patricia Foote, February 2001 A first cursory glance at the double helix image of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) suggests the tails of a kite blowing freely in the wind. Sometimes the ribbons of the kite’s tail intertwine like a spiral; sometimes they blow freely alone as if looking for a mate. How they ravel, twist, unravel and create ripples through the air seems random - relying on windy chance. A person’s genetic makeup is also somewhat determined by chance. Which two parents will mate and produce a child? What environmental factors - too much exposure to smoke, chemicals or poor nutrients - may cause random changes in a person’s genetic blueprint? Did taking a walk on a certain day to a certain place when xyz was in the air unknowingly cause irreparable damage? Many of these questions are as unanswerable right now as predicting which way the kite’s tail will blow. Just as when the ribbons of a kite’s tail do not ravel and unravel in a specific way they will become knotted and cause problems - so too, the raveling and separation of the double stranded helix will cause problems if this is not done in a predetermined way. At the start of a new millennium we are much closer to understanding the nature of DNA than ever before. Each of the 30,000 genes that make up a human is tightly packed with it. In June of 2000, the first draft of the human genome was unveiled in a celebratory announcement by Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the federally funded National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) and Dr. Craig Venter, runner up for Time magazine's person of the year and President of Celera, a private biotech company. The enthusiastic audience included President Clinton and Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Close to a trillion dollars have been poured into the effort of understanding the study of our genes (genomics). In 2001, $382.4 million of our tax dollars will be given to the NHGRI. New industries are being founded on this research and much more scientific discovery, economic investment and debate lies ahead. Pharmaceutical companies are changing the way they manufacture drugs based on their understanding of the function of genes and the proteins they make. Proteomics, the study of proteins, is leading pharmaceutical companies to investigate manufacturing drugs that can be tailor made for each individual. This means a specific drug could be manufactured which would interact optimally with the other proteins in a specific person's body to produce the best outcome. The positive potential of genomics is vast. Yet, it is also unknown territory. Not only are the medical uses evolving, but also ethicists, lawyers and sociologists are debating genomics' impact. The public will need to understand basic issues of genetics if they are to engage in decision making regarding their treatment options for fighting illness. Disease gene hunters find new genes on an almost daily basis and there are over 450 tests currently available a person could take to determine genetic predisposition. Genetic testing provides a window into the mysteries of the double helix. The public will need to decide whether or not they want to unravel their medical predispositions or to just say "no". Patricia Foote is a trainer for Stanford University's "The Chronic Disease Self-Management Course" and is the author of How Are You? Manage Your Own Medical Journey, available from Amazon.com or local bookstores.
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