DNA as Destiny - 4239 Words

DNA as Destiny DNA is the book of life. Its also the book of death. In the future well all be read cover to cover. Heres what its like to take the worlds first top-to-bottom gene scan. By David Ewing Duncan I FEEL NAKED. EXPOSED. As if my skin, bone, muscle tissue, cells have all been peeled back, down to a tidy swirl of DNA. Its the basic stuff of life, the billions of nucleotides that keep me breathing, walking, craving, and just being. Eight hours ago, I gave a few cells, swabbed from inside my cheek, to a team of geneticists. Theyve spent the day extracting DNA and checking it for dozens of hidden diseases. Eventually, I will be tested for hundreds more. They include, as I will discover, a nucleic time bomb ticking†¦show more content†¦Hes after single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs (pronounced snips), the tiny genetic variations that account for nearly all differences in humans. Imagine DNA as a ladder made of rungs — 3 billion in all — spiraling upward in a double helix. Each step is a base pair, designated by two letters from the nucleotide alphabet of G, T, A, and C. More than 99 percent of these base pairs are identical in all humans, with only about one in a thousand SNPs diverging to make us distinct. For instance, you might have a CG that makes you susceptible to diabetes, and I might have a CC, which makes it far less likely I will get this disease. This is all fairly well-known: Genetics 101. Whats new is how startups like Sequenom have industrialized the SNP identification process. Andi Braun and Charles Cantor are finding thousands of new SNPs a day, at a cost of about a penny each. Braun tells me that there are possibly a million SNPs in each person, though only a small fraction are tightly linked with common ailments. These disease-causing SNPs are fueling a biotech bonanza; the hope is that after finding them, the discoverers can design wonder drugs. In the crowded SNP field, Sequenom vies with Iceland-based deCode Genetics, American companies such as Millennium Pharmaceuticals, OrchidShow MoreRelatedThe Contributions Of DNA Sequences : DNA Is Not Destiny739 Words   |  3 PagesDNA is Not Destiny Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is made up of nucleotides which contain three parts: a phosphate group, a sugar group, and one of four types of nitrogen bases. DNA then forms a double helix, with alternating phosphate and sugar groups linked to a chain of nucleotides. DNA is important because it gives instructions to an organism on how to develop, survive, and reproduce through DNA sequences. These sequences contain instructions on how to make proteins, which are complex moleculesRead MoreEssay on Molecular Genetics885 Words   |  4 Pages1. DNA Nucleotide [pic] Nucleotides consist of three parts --- a pentose sugar, a nitrogen-containing base, and a phosphate group. A pentose sugar is a five-sided sugar. 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The viral instruments that are used to have the DNA into the cell may cause some lethal immune responses or even tumors. While this argument may be valid today, it is probably a technical problem or a DNA issue that will eventually be circumvented. An other safety argument is that when transgenes are inserted into the genome, they may disrupt functional genes and cause mutationsRead MoreGenetic Engineering : Medical Perfection Or Playing God1280 Words   |  6 Pagesengineering is an issue that involves ethical, moral and social choices. With breakthrough research of human genetic engineering and experiments in DNA in medicine, pharmacology, and reproductive technology, DNA a deoxyribonucleic acid, that has a self-replicating chromosomes cell that has genetic information that can be used for to divide, reproduce DNA molecules, that has been used in bioengineering for the reproduction of organisms and human cloning, scientists creating human and animal life fromRead MoreHomework1572 Words   |  7 Pagesscience by insisting unrealistic financial agreements†. (Skloot 323). This year, the National Institutes of Health announced that the family will gain some control over HeLa DNA and are invited to serve on the committee tha t makes such decisions. (Ritter) While it is truly important for the family to have a say in the destiny of HeLa cell lines and the use of Henrietta’s name in science publications, monetary compensation is still deserved. 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