DNA TODAY
THE SCIENCE OF DNA HAS ALREADY CHANGED THE WORLD WE LIVE IN
“We will gain the power to repair, edit and rewrite our genes”
ARCHAEOLOGY
REBUILDING HISTORY
Skeletal remains can contain traces of ancient DNA for thousands of years. Extracting and sequencing this genetic material can reveal not only the sex of the individual – whether they had a Y chromosome or not – but also their ethnicity. This can help to retrace the steps taken by our ancestors as they spread across the world.
FORENSICS
SOLVING CRIMES
Forensic scientists identify DNA by examining sequences called ‘short tandem repeats’. These sequences occur in the gaps between genes and contain three or four DNA letters, repeated a different number of times in different people. Scientists count the number of repeats and compare them to repeats in a suspect’s DNA.
PATERNITY
IDENTIFYING FATHERS
Children inherit half of their genes from their mother and half from their father. In a paternity test, scientists compare around 15 genes from the mother, child and potential father to see how similar they are. Statistical analysis gives a score called a ‘combined paternity index’ – the likelihood of the person tested being the father.
GENETIC HERITAGE (ANCESTRY)
ESTIMATING ETHNICITY
Ancestry is written into DNA like a fingerprint. Different populations of humans, separated by geography, develop their own unique mutations. These pass along from one generation to the next, leaving traces in genetic code. Comparing a genome against thousands of others can reveal where a person’s ancestors came from.
GENE THERAPY
REPAIRING GENES
A handful of gene therapies are now licensed for use in human patients. These cutting-edge treatments use harmless viruses to carry healthy human genes into cells with genetic faults. The viruses paste these healthy genes into human DNA, fixing rare genetic disorders or killing cancer cells.
PERSONALISED MEDICINE
MEDICINE FOR YOU
Tiny differences in our genes change the way illnesses affect us. A tumour might shrink in response to chemotherapy in one patient and not respond at all in another. Genetic testing can reveal which drugs might work best for which person, allowing doctors to match treatments to patients based on their unique genetic make-up.