Your DNA secrets are (mostly) safe for now
Further to my last blog I just stumbled on this Lancet paper that reports on the whole genome sequence of one guy to wring out all one could possibly know about him, though most of the effort was focused on potential medical issues he might face down the track.
Their conclusion was that such whole-genome sequencing can yield useful and clinically relevant information for individuals – hardly a revelation as this has already been shown.
What we know
One intriguing find though was this guy had three independent rare mutations in genes associated with sudden cardiac death, and high lifetime risks for, myocardial infarction, type 2 diabetes and obesity. Having that information at least allows him the option of making lifestyle changes, and as actually happened taking preventative drugs, to reduce his risk.
The Genetic Future blog comments on this research in more detail and more authority than I can, including on the important caveats in what this actually all means.
What we don’t know
Despite what appears like some revealing insight into ourselves, we are a long way from having this technology telling us much more than our susceptibility to a few diseases. As suggested in my last post, what this research and Genetic Futures reveal is that we still know diddly and therefore many of our predictions are largely guesswork.
What we know about what we don’t know
We only know the function of a small proportion of the protein-coding genes and effectively nothing about the non-coding part of the genome, which has important roles in the regulation of the protein-coding genes, among many other function, many of which we are still trying to figure out.
Dialogue about what we might know
So most of our secrets are safe – even from ourselves – for now. But I reiterate, the science is moving at a rapid pace and the potential applications for this forthcoming knowledge need to discussed and debated now.