INDIANAPOLIS -
You probably have heard about the Human Genome Project, but chances are you don't know what it means to you.
Scientists have been studying it since 1990. Basically, they've been organizing genetic information to learn why we have the characteristics we do. But it can also tell you about things you don't have, or conditions that you may develop someday - along with what your relatives may get from you.
The research that has gone on in laboratories for two decades is now coming home to the rest of us.
Sue Cotter of Indianapolis is one who is searching her own genome. By giving a DNA sample to a company "23 & Me" (each of us has 23 pairs of chromosomes), she was able to find out the chances of her children getting hereditary diseases. This is especially important to Sue because she has been struggling with Parkinson's Disease for a decade. It turns out that her children have no elevated risk of Parkinson's, and she knows that because 23 & Me mapped her personal genome.
Geneticist Joanna Mountain calls it extraordinary science coming home to the ordinary people: "If you have somebody's DNA at, say a billion positions, which is what 23 & Me looks at, you can tell people something about their risks for various diseases. You can figure out if they carry variants that can impact the health of their children."
Extraordinary science
For Sue Cotter, the DNA testing has a more practical application. "If you're predisposed to something, you can watch for it," she said. "And maybe you can change your diet, and something as simple as that could make a big difference in your health."
But not all scientists are on the DNA bandwagon.
Some scientists don't agree
IU Health Genetic Counselor Dr. Kimberly Quaid told us, "I mean, this is whiz bang science and it's very exciting, and I think this is where health care is going to be in the future, but I don't think we're there yet."
Her point is that DNA information is only as good as the database with which it is compared, but proponents of this kind of study say the only way to build the database is to use it. Basically, it's the chicken or the egg argument.
Besides possibly leading you to a healthier future, it can also take you back in time - further than most people have ever gone before. Geneology studies your relatives over the last few centuries, but your genome can tell you about hundreds of generations of your family tree. The DNA they carried 20,000 or 30,000 years ago shows up in our genome today.
Taking you back
I sent a sample of my own DNA to "23 and Me", by filling a test tube with saliva. The results show my mother's ancient relatives lived all over Europe, but my father's came from a distinct region of the continent.
"Your father's line traces back quite directly to the Pyrenees - between France and Spain - and that's where it seems to have originated a few thousand years ago," said geneticist Joanna Mountain.
I learned that through my own father, I'm related to founding father and president John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams. Also, former presidents Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan. On the other hand, the DNA I got from my mother matches that of notorious outlaw Jesse James.
What I learned
The research also shows I have a lower than average risk of getting Alzheimer's, a resistance to several common viruses, a low risk for diabetes. But I do have a to watch for other things. Joanna Mountain says I have a slightly elevated risk for psoriasis.
"And glaucoma shows up in your profile as well -- a slightly elevated risk there -- and that's just something to be aware of through time as you go for eye exams; something that you could make sure gets checked," she said.
Although scientists have been working on the Human Genome Project for more than 20 years, they are just beginning to apply what they've learned. The more people get their DNA analyzed, the more they will be able to push the research forward.
A real contribution
By simply by filling out surveys on the web, people can contribute to research that gets published in scientific journals, making a real contribution to what scientists know about our genes and what they say about us.
23 & Me
Human Genome Project
