What does your genome have in store?
6 November 2008
A new method of genome sequencing could be the key that allows more of us to access the medical information contained in our DNA. It's already opened the door for two more people to have their genetic make-up described. Antenna unravels the consequences...
This research was published in the journal Nature on 6 November 2008.
This research was published in the journal Nature on 6 November 2008.
Image: istockphoto.com
Your genome is the entire sequence of your DNA. It's the instructions for all your inherited features. The first sequence of a human genome took 13 years to complete. Since then, only two other people have had their genomes described in detail. That's until now...
Your genome is what makes you unique.
Image: istockphoto.com
Two more men - one of west African and another of Han Chinese descent - have had their DNA described. The technology is a real breakthrough that could have implications for us all.
This is the first time someone of non-European descent has had his genome sequenced.
Image: flickr.com/sweettradephotography
'We've reduced the time it takes to sequence a genome from years to weeks,' explains Mark Ross from Illumina, who helped sequence one of the new genomes. 'The cost has reduced dramatically and it's still falling. In the future it should be possible for genome sequencing to be routinely used in medicine.'.
The new method determined genome sequences on slides like this.
Image: Illumina Cambridge Ltd
What kind of information can you find out from your genome?
One of the two individuals studied was found to have an increased risk of tobacco addiction and a greater likelihood of having a deaf child.
What does your genome have in store for you?
Image: istockphoto.com
Sequencing your genome could tell you if you are at risk of diseases such as cancer or diabetes. It could also show you the likelihood of passing harmful genes onto your children.
Would you want to know if you were at risk of an incurable disease?
What do the experts think?
'Such tests could be useful but should be used with care,' says biological ethics expert Hugh Whittall.
'Imagine you found out you have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, when it's uncertain and there's no cure. Would you be better off not knowing? How might it affect your insurance policies?'
'Imagine you found out you have an increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, when it's uncertain and there's no cure. Would you be better off not knowing? How might it affect your insurance policies?'
Hugh Whittall, biological ethics expert with the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, which is compiling a study on the impact of genome sequencing in medicine.
Image: Nuffield Council on Bioethics
'This is a leap forward in the technology used to assess our genetic make-up and will be useful in further disease research,' says geneticist Anneke Lucassen. 'But further debate is needed to explore how it's applied and the ethical implications.'
Anneke Lucassen, geneticist, Southampton University.
Image: Wessex Clinical Genetics