The Limitations of Decoding Your DNA for Predicting Future Health

1. Decoding Your DNA: Not as Useful as You’d Think For the average person, gene mapping isn't terribly helpful for predicting illnesses like cancer or heart disease April 2, 2012 WWW.TIME.COM

2. Gene scans for everyone? Not so fast. New research suggests that for the average person, decoding your own DNA may not turn out to be a really useful crystal ball for future health. Today, scientists map entire genomes mostly for research, as they study which genetic mutations play a role in different diseases. Or they use it to try to diagnose mystery illnesses that plague families. It’s different from getting a genetic test to see if you carry, say, a particular cancer-causing gene.

3. But as genome mapping gets faster and cheaper, scientists and consumers have wondered about possible broader use: Would finding all the glitches hidden in your DNA predict which diseases you’ll face decades later? Johns Hopkins University developed a model using registries of thousands of identical twins, who despite their shared genes can develop different diseases. They examined 24 ailments, including different types of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

4. Under best-case scenarios, most people would be told they had a somewhat increased risk of at least one disease, said Dr. Bert Vogelstein, a Hopkins cancer geneticist and the study’s senior author. But a negative test for most of the rest of the diseases doesn’t mean you won’t get them. It just means that you’re at no more risk than the general population. Those are the findings Vogelstein’s team reported Monday in the journal Science Translational Medicine. Why? Cancer, for example, typically doesn’t result from inherited genes but from mutations that can form anytime, Vogelstein explained.

5. Many other common diseases are influenced by lifestyle and environment — so you’d still have to eat well, exercise and take the other usual precautions. The study examined just one possible future use of genome mapping. It doesn’t mean there aren’t other benefits from the effort. Make no mistake: This technology does have huge promise for customizing care for certain people, especially children with otherwise undiagnosed illnesses, said Dr. James Lupski of Baylor College of Medicine, who wasn’t involved in Monday’s study.

6. Last year, Baylor researchers reported one of the first examples of genome mapping directly benefiting a patient. It found a mutation that pointed to the right treatment for a 14-year-old girl’s baffling trouble breathing. But even if finding a genetic explanation doesn’t lead to treatment, knowing whether it was inherited can help parents decide whether to chance having another baby, Lupski added. “There are families where this can be transformative,” said Lupski. He had his own genome mapped to identify the cause of a rare nerve disorder.

7. Film:

8. UNESP 2012 Instrução: Leia o texto para responder, em português, às questões de números 33 e 34. Gattaca Review by James Brundage (January 15th, 1999) Gattaca is a character drama in the guise of a thriller, the same way that The Truman Show was a drama in the guise of a comedy. Andrew Niccol works his beautiful charms with both of them. In Gattaca, he offers us a stunning vision of the not-so-distant future, a time where genetic engineering is so commonplace that it is common practice. The world, of course, has the drawback that anyone who was not genetically engineered is part of a new class of society, called an invalid. Vincent Freeman was born this way. He chooses, however, not to remain an invalid but to become what is known as a de-generate, someone who uses other people’s blood, urine, hair etc. to fake a genetic code superior to their own. His dream was to end up in space and being this particularly loathed thing is the only way he is able to do it. Lending his dream to the real Gerome Morrow, a suicidal cripple, the two band together to get him into space. Everything is going well, he is set to leave in a week. Then the mission director is murdered. This occurs, in my opinion, only to keep less intelligent viewers interested in the story, which contains enough pathos to warrant me watching it if it didn’t involve a murder at all. As Vincent tries to keep his secret, he is falling in love with Irene Cassini, another worker at Gattaca, the story’s equivalent of Cape Canaveral. The panic caused by the moment causes each person involved to examine themselves, society, and the state of the world. The sad thing about Gattaca is that so many people will hate this movie because of its utterly slow pace. It does not keep the interest of someone not intrigued by people, which encompasses most every viewer today. So that takes out studio fans, and its Star Trek target audience. (www.killermovies.com. Adaptado.)

9. Questão 33 Quem era denominado pelo termo invalid no contexto da história do filme? O que significava ser um de-generate, no mesmo contexto? Questão 34 Segundo a crítica, por que o diretor da missão espacial foi assassinado? Havia realmente necessidade de esse fato ocorrer?