Deoxyribonucleaic Acid ??

Deoxyribonucleic acid – DNA -  is a molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in the growth, development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses.

There is a lot of discussion around using DNA testing to help us connect with families, in helping with genealogy and medically for the opportunity to learn more about an individuals’ health history and preventing certain medical conditions altogether.  So I thought I’d take a moment to mention the possibilities.  (The information that follows was gleaned from Ancestry, Stanford Medicine, AMA and Journal of The American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics.)

When DNA sequences within a species are compared, population geneticists can learn the history of particular populations.

DNA AND GENEALOGY   AncestryDNA is an autosomal DNA testing service that utilizes some of the latest testing technology to revolutionize the way you discover your family history. Because autosomal DNA is a mixture of your mother’s and father’s DNA, it is unique to each person. Both men and women can complete this test.

This service combines advanced DNA science with the world’s largest online family history resource to predict your genetic ethnicity and help you find new family connections. It maps ethnicity going back multiple generations and provides insight into such possibilities as: what region of Europe are my ancestors from, or am I likely to have East Asian heritage? AncestryDNA can also help identify relationships with unknown relatives through a dynamic list of DNA matches.

Your AncestryDNA results include information about your ethnicity and can identify potential relatives through DNA matching to others who have taken the AncestryDNA test. Your results are a great starting point for more family history research and it can also be a way to dig even deeper into the research you’ve already done.

The only company right now that links DNA results to your family tree and compares it to others’ family trees is AncestryDNA.  Thousands have taken this DNA test and because they were linked by DNA they found relatives and could communicate and have helped them break through brick walls they hadn’t been able to break down before.   This has been a huge step forward in genealogy research.

Every one of the genetic genealogy companies has its pros and its cons. A comparison chart explaining what features the companies do and don’t have is available in the Wiki for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG).

DNA AND MEDICINE   The percentage of our health dictated by our genetics and the faction by behavior and environment depends on individual diseases. Some diseases are entirely genetic.  Other, more complex diseases such as Type 2 diabetes have a significant behavioral component. That means that even if a person has a genetic predisposition towards the disease there is a lot one can do behaviorally to prevent it.  If someone knows that they have genes predisposing them to a particular disease, then they can be more vigilant to other symptoms of that disease and also discuss further clinical tests for the disease with their doctor.

Preventive medicine is always the best and least expensive medicine.  This is far less expensive and much better for the patient than using antibiotic or anti-viral treatments to try to cure an infection. The risks are also substantially lower with vaccines. Much of the cost of the current health care is due to expensive diagnostic methods and interventions for patients who already have a disease. So preventing the disease in the first place is by far, the best way to reduce health care costs.

Gathering a complete and accurate family medical history is extremely important as genetic medicine explains more diseases.  Although genetic analysis is unlikely to provide a replacement for family history when available, if properly targeted and interpreted, such analysis may have the potential to provide useful information regarding health risks when no information currently exists.   Although integrating family history information and genomic data is optimal, not everyone has an accurate and/or complete family history or access to biological relatives who could participate. Moreover, interpretation of the genome is currently limited.

CONCLUSION   (Medical) At this time, the role of genomic analysis is most certainly imperfect.  Highly selected genomic information could represent a valuable application of this newly emerging technology to the adopted population. Prospective, targeted analysis of selected genes in this population should be explored to assess its benefits and risks.  This includes seeing doctors who specialize in genomics.  Costs $600 and up.

(Genealogy)  Even though more and more people have chosen to do this at this point I won’t be giving my DNA to public entities for non-medical purposes.  I will continue to trudge along working on my genealogy the old fashion way.  Costs $69 and up.