Cracking Your Genetic Code!

Today in class, my teammates and I watched a documentary called Cracking Your Genetic Code to kick off our next unit covering Genetics. This was an interesting documentary because we were able to learn about the advancement of technology and how genetic testing works. Along with that, we learned more about families who have found solutions to diseases, simply by testing their genetic sequences. One couple had a 5 year old son named Andrew, who suffered with a high fever and several strokes within a short period of time. They took him to many different doctors/hospitals, trying to find out what was wrong with their son. After months of suffering, he was brought to his pediatrician to get his blood drawn. They then sent it off to a genetics testing lab where 45 days were spent sorting out his DNA. After months of doing research, an entire team got together to find a variance in Andrew’s DNA. While every human shares 99.9% of the same DNA, one variance can change everything. When the spelling of a certain gene is shifted in any way, it changes how the protein functions, therefore directly affecting that person. The genetic counselors plan is to comb through Andrews DNA to try and find a misspelling of his DNA. Finding this variance is a gamble but their goal is to give the family an answer as to what is wrong with their son. This new idea of having full access to the tools needed to determine your genome is crazy! While there is major controversy between knowing and not knowing, it all comes down to one’s personal preference. For me, personally, being able to know might be helpful for any life changes later on. For now, I’ll stick to being a worry-free 17 year old! This entire process as a whole is so interesting; to learn more about genetic counseling, watch the video below:)