What is personal genetics?

What might it mean for me, my family and society?

What is personal genetics?

What might it mean for me, my family and society?

Personal Genetics Education Project Harvard Medical School

www.pged.org

Do Now:Discuss with the following questions with the person (or people) next to you -

1.What are the potential benefits to knowing more about your genetic predisposition to disease?

2.What are the possible negatives to knowing?

Why is genetics getting more personal?

• Insights about our health, behavior, family history and other traits

• Highly personal information with personal, socialand familial impact

• Genetic testing available directly to consumers

Because learning about our own DNA is rapidly becoming

inexpensive and accessible

“Under $1000 dollars in this decade” “Widely available in the next 5-10 years”

“Transforming health care for the next generation”

Sources: New York Times

Why does this matter to you?

http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110615/full/news.2011.368.html

A true story highlights the promise of personalized medicine

• Angelina Jolie reveals she chose to undergo a double mastectomy

• Jolie had a genetic test and found she carried a genetic mutation – doctors estimated an 87% chance she would get breast cancer

Personal Choices Based on Genetic Information

Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing

http://www.monashultrasound.com.au/images/NIPT_clip_image003.jpg

•Fetus and mother share a blood supply

•Fetal cells release DNA that enters the maternal blood stream

•Maternal blood now contains a mixture of maternal cell-free DNA and fetal cell-free DNA

www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/sports/30genetics.html

What might a “sports gene test” tell us?

“DNA tests locate genetic branches of African American’s family trees”

http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/life/lifestyle/dna-tests-locate-genetic-branches-on-african-americans-family-trees-427734/

Photo credit: Steve Mellon

iPad

2012

ENIAC

1946

Technological Advances

Oxford Nanopore MinION

2012

Applied Biosystems 3730 DNA Analyzers

2002

Genome Sequencing Technology

Direct-to-consumer analysis for sale on the internet

Fun Stuff

Health-related Risks

personal genetics education project

Personal genomes: what are the challenges?

1. How far ahead is the technology of its clinical usefulness?

2. How much might this information impact you and your family? 3. Will fair weight be given to environmental & social factors?

4. How much should we be concerned about discrimination at work and by insurance companies?  5. How can we ensure access for all?

Four Corners activity

People should get counseling from a doctor or genetic counselor when

they get genetic testing because they won’t be able to handle the

information otherwise.

People should have the right to learn whatever they want to about their DNA because it is

their own body.

I would only want to find out my likelihood of developing a disease if there are ways

to prevent or treat it.

Parents undergoing in-vitro fertilization should have the

option to screen embryos for serious disease.

Parents should be able to choose a child’s traits for non-medical issues such as as eye color, sex, and athletic ability.

Some people are better suited for certain jobs based on their DNA.

Parents should be able to find out whatever they would like

about their children’s DNA before they turn 18.

I would want to know if someone I was dating had a genetic

condition that would likely cause a serious disease.