I have an unquenchable interest in DNA and genetics as a whole. This is even more puzzling since I can not tell the tibia from fibula. However some aspects of the physical sciences sound cool and esoteric, characteristics too attractive for me to ignore. So when I saw an episode of 20/20 that dealt with genetic testing and the future of medicine. And also this blog post that suggest Martin Bashir's conclusions were erroneous.
So last night Martin Bashir found out that he has an increased risk of Type II Diabetes -- 19% rather than the average of 11.2%. He also has an increased chance of becoming obese.But when you think about it, that percentage doesn't really apply to him as an individual -- it's only a population average. It's not any different from measuring the height of 100,000 people and then telling each one of them whether they are more or less likely *than average* to become a pro basketball player. There are so many other influential factors at play in any individual life, the "disposition" means almost nothing. It's useful to statisticians, useless to individuals. I don't want this to be one of those bash-the-press blogs, because absolutely any good journalist would be expected to miss this story. That's because most of the scientists themselves have done such a poor job of correcting the extraordinary misperceptions about genetics. We're fighting an entire century of misleading metaphors about genes.
I ended up more confused than before my foray into the subject. So I called up on my in resident geneticists and this is what she had to say.
Funny because I just finished my first class and I told the students about genetic testing since the lab today was about manipulating DNA.Of course genetic testing doesn't paint the big picture. However, it is not a coincidence that some cancers like breast cancer run in some families also this is linked to the fact that they carry some mutated versions of some genes. To a large extent, the genes determine what proteins are made up of and the control of our physiological activities. So while genetic testing would tell a person, he or she carries a bad form of it gene. It doesn't necessarily mean that the person would end up with the bad gene problems. I think bad habits would most likely not help over counteract the effect of the bad gene.So, Martin Bashir can not rule out getting diabetes if he eats bad food and doesn't exercise. So, in the end family history which hospitals ask for may paint a better picture than genetic testing. Ok i'm off to my next class. I would ask if anyone saw the show.
Funny as my resident geneticist is always in a hurry. I will leave you to draw your own conclusions.
Just days after being that milk and meat from cloned livestock were safe for human consumption, Europeans were that cloning causes suffering to the animals. Groups representing consumer interests argue that the science backing the F.D.A.’s decision is shaky and that consumer surveys show that most people are opposed to cloning animals, let alone eating them. Setting aside the associated with cloned animals, it remains clear that the long term outcomes of consuming cloned animal remain unknown and will probably remain so for a long time to come. As these various interest groups jostle to have the final word on cloning, on behalf of the rest of us, I would like to ask what, if anything, this may mean for consumers in Africa. Cloned Suya At the moment it is rather unlikely that cloned farm animals and milk will replace the regular beef and milk. For now this technology appears to be only logical for those seeking to produce designer animals. However, with most technologies there is still the possibility that cloned beef and milk will make it into mainstream consumption. If this ever happens, and if the technology becomes easy to replicate thereby driving, "average cost" of these farm produce below the price of the regular beef and cow. This products will eventually flow to Africa. I worry that these products may gain widespread acceptance in Africa even if this never happen in Western countries. The lax importation guideline, the hardly enforced labelling laws will ensure that this will happen. Eventually if low prices coincide with even a partial pass mark for the beef and milk, the map of consumption of cloned farm animals will lay flush with that of developing economies. Bio-engineered crops vs. Death by starvation In 2002 when the governments of Zambia and Zimbabwe the importation of genetically modified grains, even as these countries faced an imminent famine, there was an outcry from the West. The US claimed the bans were politically motivated, while the African governments claimed they were being arm-twisted and black mailed into accepting food that had the potential of being harmful to citizens. I am no scientist so I can not make definite statements about this claims. Speaking with a geneticist this evening equally left me with more unanswered questions than prior to the discussion. However, it is obvious that when it comes to bio engineered crops, African Governments have little or know leverage when making the decisions of whether to accept these crops or not. There isn't much of a choice to be made between GM or Cloned crops VS. death by starvation.
Competing With Knock-Off In the late 90's giant chicken and turkey mostly imported from Belgium surfaced in Nigeria. Prior to this time all poultry was mostly locally produced. A few government officials expressed their dissatisfaction with this trend, but other than just sprinkles of news related events there wasn't much done by the authorities to discourage the trend. Nigerians had their fill as these imported poultry was rather cheap. The government could not check the trend, because there was always the alternative of importing goods through the sea port in Cotonou. When it comes to knock off goods, and food, Nigeria is both porous and very receptive, and the government does not have the capabilities to enforce any proclamation against any 'fishy' food item. In Nigeria you just can not compete with knock-offs.
Conclusion Whether Africans will consume cloned farm produce or not, is a decision that will be made for them. Africans would not have much say on this issue. This is the beauty or maybe ugly side of a market system that relies heavily on producers, because the choice to consumed has been stymied by poverty.
