NOVA: Cracking Your Genetic Code
Catalogue Number: 041537
ISBN Number: 0793664128
Producer: PBS Video
Subject: Science
Language: English
Grade Level: Post Secondary, Adult
Country Of Origin: United States
Copyright Year: 2012
Running Time: 60
What will it mean when most of us can afford to have the information in our DNA—all three billion chemical letters of it—read, stored, and available for analysis? Cracking Your Genetic Code reveals that we stand on the verge of such a revolution. Meet cancer patients returned to robust health and a cystic fibrosis sufferer breathing easily because scientists have been able to pinpoint and neutralize the genetic abnormalities underlying their conditions. But what are the moral dilemmas raised by this new technology? Will it help or hurt us to know our genetic destiny? What if such information falls into the hands of insurance companies, employers, or prospective mates? One thing is for certain: the new era of personalized, gene-based medicine is relevant to everyone, and soon we may have to choose whether to join the ranks of the DNA generation.