Michael Ransom's Blog, page 3
April 21, 2015
February 13, 2014
Essay: DNA, Violence and Free Will
The dizzying rate of progress in the last decade leading to the sequencing of all 3.2 billion letters of the human genetic code has unleashed a bewildering array of possibilities and unexpected avenues for biomedical research. The first human genome map took fifteen years to complete and was constructed at a cost of 3 billion dollars before being revealed to the world by President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Today, many hundreds of single human genomes are generated every few days and each costs only a little more than a $1000 to complete.
Exciting companies like �23 and Me� are beginning to flourish as the public becomes increasingly interested in understanding their personal genetic code, even as they are placed under increasing scrutiny by the FDA. Today, more than 100,000 human whole genomes have been sequenced, and on a recent trip to China I learned that a �million genomes project� is now on the horizon. In the not too distant future, the vast majority of the industrialized world that we live in will have had their genomes sequenced from birth and onward. This year, a group of researchers in Boston performed whole genome sequencing on 400 newborns of 2014, with the intent of following their medical histories all their lives to begin unraveling the complex interplay between genetics, disease, and drug response on a larger and grander scale than ever before. It is just the beginning.
Mutations in just one out of the 3.2 billion nucleotides in each human cell�s DNA can lead to devastating diseases, or even death. Other alterations (so-called polymorphisms) at multiple points along immense stretches of our DNA have less pronounced effects, which are correspondingly less well understood. While an appreciably large body of research has determined the effects of genetic alterations affecting human biology (genes linked to cancer, sickle cell anemia, Crohn�s disease, etc.), there remains a relative dearth of information regarding the extent such DNA variations play in human behavior.
Nonetheless, as DNA analysis tools have evolved, a growing amount of evidence in the emerging literature suggests that variations in our DNA may indeed be linked to many behavioral tendencies and psychological disorders
Exciting companies like �23 and Me� are beginning to flourish as the public becomes increasingly interested in understanding their personal genetic code, even as they are placed under increasing scrutiny by the FDA. Today, more than 100,000 human whole genomes have been sequenced, and on a recent trip to China I learned that a �million genomes project� is now on the horizon. In the not too distant future, the vast majority of the industrialized world that we live in will have had their genomes sequenced from birth and onward. This year, a group of researchers in Boston performed whole genome sequencing on 400 newborns of 2014, with the intent of following their medical histories all their lives to begin unraveling the complex interplay between genetics, disease, and drug response on a larger and grander scale than ever before. It is just the beginning.
Mutations in just one out of the 3.2 billion nucleotides in each human cell�s DNA can lead to devastating diseases, or even death. Other alterations (so-called polymorphisms) at multiple points along immense stretches of our DNA have less pronounced effects, which are correspondingly less well understood. While an appreciably large body of research has determined the effects of genetic alterations affecting human biology (genes linked to cancer, sickle cell anemia, Crohn�s disease, etc.), there remains a relative dearth of information regarding the extent such DNA variations play in human behavior.
Nonetheless, as DNA analysis tools have evolved, a growing amount of evidence in the emerging literature suggests that variations in our DNA may indeed be linked to many behavioral tendencies and psychological disorders
DNA, Violence and Free Will
The dizzying rate of progress in the last decade leading to the sequencing of all 3.2 billion letters of the human genetic code has unleashed a bewildering array of possibilities and unexpected avenues for biomedical research. The first human genome map took fifteen years to complete and was constructed at a cost of 3 billion dollars before being revealed to the world by President Bill Clinton and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Today, many hundreds of single human genomes are generated every few days and each costs only a little more than a $1000 to complete.
Exciting companies like �23 and Me� are beginning to flourish as the public becomes increasingly interested in understanding their personal genetic code, even as they are placed under increasing scrutiny by the FDA. Today, more than 100,000 human whole genomes have been sequenced, and on a recent trip to China I learned that a �million genomes project� is now on the horizon. In the not too distant future, the vast majority of the industrialized world that we live in will have had their genomes sequenced from birth and onward. This year, a group of researchers in Boston performed whole genome sequencing on 400 newborns of 2014, with the intent of following their medical histories all their lives to begin unraveling the complex interplay between genetics, disease, and drug response on a larger and grander scale than ever before. It is just the beginning.
Mutations in just one out of the 3.2 billion nucleotides in each human cell�s DNA can lead to devastating diseases, or even death. Other alterations (so-called polymorphisms) at multiple points along immense stretches of our DNA have less pronounced effects, which are correspondingly less well understood. While an appreciably large body of research has determined the effects of genetic alterations affecting human biology (genes linked to cancer, sickle cell anemia, Crohn�s disease, etc.), there remains a relative dearth of information regarding the extent such DNA variations play in human behavior.
Nonetheless, as DNA analysis tools have evolved, a growing amount of evidence in the emerging literature suggests that variations in our DNA may indeed be linked to many behavioral tendencies and psychological disorders
Exciting companies like �23 and Me� are beginning to flourish as the public becomes increasingly interested in understanding their personal genetic code, even as they are placed under increasing scrutiny by the FDA. Today, more than 100,000 human whole genomes have been sequenced, and on a recent trip to China I learned that a �million genomes project� is now on the horizon. In the not too distant future, the vast majority of the industrialized world that we live in will have had their genomes sequenced from birth and onward. This year, a group of researchers in Boston performed whole genome sequencing on 400 newborns of 2014, with the intent of following their medical histories all their lives to begin unraveling the complex interplay between genetics, disease, and drug response on a larger and grander scale than ever before. It is just the beginning.
Mutations in just one out of the 3.2 billion nucleotides in each human cell�s DNA can lead to devastating diseases, or even death. Other alterations (so-called polymorphisms) at multiple points along immense stretches of our DNA have less pronounced effects, which are correspondingly less well understood. While an appreciably large body of research has determined the effects of genetic alterations affecting human biology (genes linked to cancer, sickle cell anemia, Crohn�s disease, etc.), there remains a relative dearth of information regarding the extent such DNA variations play in human behavior.
Nonetheless, as DNA analysis tools have evolved, a growing amount of evidence in the emerging literature suggests that variations in our DNA may indeed be linked to many behavioral tendencies and psychological disorders
