by Lone Frank
Deep down, genetic consciousness is the remaking of consciousness itself. Today, we can check out a million SNPs; tomorrow our whole genome, and the day after that, our genome and its epigenetic changes as they play across the body’s tissues and organs. Eventually, we won’t be able to conceive of our self without this information. It will seep into our knowledge of who we are – as a species among other species, and as individual beings.
The Canadian philosopher, Ian Hacking, frets about what will happen when society, as a whole, buys into the new biological view of humanity. “I’m a conservative reactionary,” he admits in an essay on consumer genetics and identity. “I know that although my genetic inheritance constrains my possibilities of action and choice, I do not believe it is my essence or constitutes my identity … How long will it take before this attitude becomes extinct? We know that the genomic revolution will radically change the material conditions of life for soon-to-be-born generations … What will be the conception of self for those people soon to come?”
I think he is worrying unnecessarily. As I can bear witness, seeking and finding out what your DNA says inevitably has the wonderful effect of raising a lot of questions, personal and profound.
Who are we? Where do we come from? What is our place in the world? Where are we going? What do we want? In the past, these questions were traditionally relegated to the “spiritual” realm, but I believe they will be better answered by digging deeper into our physical reality.
Now that I have looked into my genes, the result is not a simplified self-image. On the contrary. It is rather that I’m experiencing more facets and nuances in my life. It is far more satisfying to be able to interpret myself as both a biological and a social being. My genes are not fate but cards I’ve been dealt, and some of those cards give me a certain amount of latitude in playing the game of life. Or, to turn another phrase, my genome is not a straitjacket but a soft sweater to fill and shape, to snuggle up and stretch out in. It is information I can work with and around, information that can grant me greater freedom to shape my life and my essence. It is also information that can, in its way, ease my existential burden. It tells me that I am not totally free, but neither am I completely responsible for who I am and what I have ultimately become.
So who am I?
I am what I do with this beautiful information that has flowed through millions of years through billions of organisms and has, now, finally been entrusted to me.
Notes
Prologue: My Accidental Biology
8 “the limitations are sociological”: Henderson, Mark. 2009. “Genetic Mapping of Babies by 2019 Will Transform Preventive Medicine.” Times (9 February).
1 Casual About Our Codons
12 “people who … deal with black employees”: Hunt-Grubbe, Charlotte. 2007. “The Elementary DNA of Dr Watson.” Sunday Times (14 October).
12 “The most unpleasant human being”: Conniff, Richard. 2006. “Discover Interview: E.O. Wilson.” Discover magazine (24 June).
14 “… a historic defeat”: Wade, Nicholas. 2009. “Hoopla, and Disappointment, in Schizophrenia Research.” New York Times, TierneyLab Blog (1 July). http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/01/hoopla-and-disappointment-in-schizophrenia-research
19 “… we had found the secret”: Watson, James D. 1968. The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. New York: Touchstone.
27 “The most wondrous map”: Clinton, Bill. 2000. White House press conference (26 June). Transcript available at www.dnalc.org/view/15073-Completion-of-a-draft-of-thehuman-genome-Bill-Clinton.html
28 “Hitler”: Shreeve, James. 2004. The Genome War: How Craig Venter Tried to Capture the Code of Life and Save the World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
32 a team led by Robert J. Klein: Klein, Robert J. 2005. “Complement Factor H Polymorphism in Age-related Macular Degeneration.” Science 308 (5720): 385–9.
32 McGill University tried to locate the genetic factors: Sladek, Robert, et al. 2007. “A Genomewide Association Study Identifies Novel Risk Loci for Type 2 Diabetes.” Nature 445: 881–5.
32 Britain’s Wellcome Trust backed similar studies: Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium. 2007. “Genomewide Association Study of 14,000 Cases of Seven Common Diseases and 3,000 Shared Controls.” Nature 447(7145): 661–78.
33 “We have entered the era”: Pinker, Steven. 2009. “My Genome, My Self.” New York Times Magazine (7 January).
2 Blood Kin
36 “I note to myself”: Homes, A.M. 2007. The Mistress’s Daughter: A Memoir. New York: Viking.
38 “At first, it made me scared”: Padawer, Ruth. 2009. “Who Knew I Was Not the Father?” New York Times Magazine (17 November).
41 As … Gina Paige told the BBC: Goffe, Leslie. 2009. “Americans Seek Their African Roots.” BBC Focus on Africa (29 June). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8117258.stm
43 “In this future-obsessed era, it is important to seize a snapshot”: Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism. “Genographic Project Director Spencer Wells, IBM Lead Scientist Ajay Royyuru Answer Questions about the Project.” http://www.ipcb.org/issues/human_genetics/htmls/geno_q&a.html
43 the past’s great sailors, the Phoenicians: Zalloua, Pierre A., et al. 2008a. “Identifying Genetic Traces of Historical Expansions: Phoenician Footprints in the Mediterranean.” American Journal of Human Genetics 83(5): 633–42.
43 the genome of today’s Lebanese population: Zalloua, Pierre A., et al. 2008b. “Y-chromosomal Diversity in Lebanon Is Structured by Recent Historical Events.” American Journal of Human Genetics 82(4): 873.
46 the most widespread haplogroup among European men: Balaresque, Patricia, et al. 2010. “A Predominantly Neolithic Origin for European Paternal Lineages.” PLoS Biology 8(1): 1–9.
49 Y chromosomes in … a bunch of other Kohanim: Hammer, Michael, et al. “Y Chromosomes of Jewish Priests.” Nature 385(6611): 32.
50 tracked down a man she suspected of being a descendant: Harmon, Amy. 2007. “Stalking Strangers’ DNA to Fill in the Family Tree.” New York Times (2 April).
3 Honoring My Snips, in Sickness and in Health
73 rs9642880 apparently increases the risk of that cancer: Kiemeney, Lambertus A.A., et al. 2008. “Sequence Variant on 8q24 Confers Susceptibility to Urinary Bladder Cancer.” Nature Genetics 40(11): 1307–11.
82 a group of American geneticists warned: Hunter, David J., et al. 2008. “Letting the Genome out of the Bottle: Will We Get Our Wish?” New England Journal of Medicine 358: 105–7.
87 deCODEme found that one such variant … if it comes from your father: Kong, Augustine, et al. 2009. “Parental Origin of Sequence Variants Associated with Complex Diseases.” Nature 462: 868–74.
91 “… who – in their right mind”: Long, Camilla. 2010. “When DNA means Do Not Ask.” Sunday Times (14 March).
4 The Research Revolutionaries
114 variants in a gene by the name of ZFHX3: Gudbjartsson, Daniel F., et al. 2009. “A Sequence Variant in ZFHX3 on 16q22 Associates with Atrial Fibrillation and Ischemic Stroke.” Nature Genetics 41(8): 876–8.
116 “Humans are really good at … a bit of knowledge”: Check Hayden, Erika. 2010. “The Human Genome at Ten.” Nature 464(1): 664–7.
118 tested relatives of Alzheimer’s patients for the ApoE4 variant: Green, Robert C., et al. 2009. “Disclosure of APOE Genotype for Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease.” New England Journal of Medicine 361: 245–54.
119 followed … people who bought a SNP-based gene profile: Bloss, Cinnamon S., et al. 2011. “Effect of Direct-to-Consumer Genomewide Profiling to Assess Disease.” New England Journal of Medicine 359:2192–3.
119 “Up until now there’s been lots of speculation”: Tierney, John. 2011. “Heavy Doses of DNA Data, With Few Side Effects.” New York Times (17 January).
120 “I believe the most important ethical, legal”: McCarty, Catherine A. 2009. “To Share or Not to Share: That Is the Question.” Genomics Law Report (15 Oct). www.ge
nomicslawreport.com
123 “This sense of monopoly prevents”: Davies, Kevin. 2009. “Linda Avey on an Alzheimer’s Brainstorm.” Bio-ITWorld.com (24 November). www.bio-itworld.com/news/11/24/09/Linda-Avey-Alzheimers-brainstorm.html
125 “… cool it is to be able to give something back”: McCabe, Jen. 2009. “Exploring the ‘Me-ome’ 23andMe Research Revolution Results.” Health Management Rx Blog (23 July). http://hmrx.posterous.com/jensmccabe-exploring-the-me-ome-23a
128 “I’m a believer”: MacArthur, Daniel. 2009. “23andMe Launches New Effort to Recruit Patients for Disease Gene Studies.” Genetic Future Blog (7 July). http://scienceblogs.com/geneticfuture/2009/07/23andme_launches_new_effort_to.php
128 The first results of the research: Eriksson, Nicholas, et al. 2010. “Web-based, Participant-driven Studies Yield Novel Genetic Associations for Common Traits.” PLoS Genetics 6(6): e1000993.
131 “10 hottest nerds”: Newsweek. 2007. “The 10 Hottest Nerds.” Newsweek (9 October).
131 “arguably the smartest, most influential”: Zimmer, Carl. 2010. “A Day Among the Genomes.” Discover The Loom Blog (3 May).
132 On the project’s website, you can learn: Personal Genome Project. “PGP-10.” www.personalgenomes.org/pgp10.html
140 “a race between education and catastrophe”: Wells, H.G. 1920 (reprinted 1976). The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind. St. Clair Shores, Mich.: Scholarly Press.
143 “genetic McCarthyism”: Green, Robert C., and George J. Annas. 2008. “The Genetic Privacy of Presidential Candidates.” New England Journal of Medicine 359: 2192–3.
5 Down in the Brain
148 “That genes strongly influence how we act”: Holden, Constane. 2008. “Parsing the Genetics of Behavior.” Science 322(5903): 892–5.
151 “all human behavioral traits are heritable”: Turkheimer, Eric. 2000. “Three Laws of Behavior Genetics and What They Mean.” Current Directions in Psychological Sciences 9: 160–4.
152 “‘compulsive hoarding’ … study”: Iervolino, Alessandra C., et al. 2009. “Prevalence and Heritability of Compulsive Hoarding: A Twin Study.” American Journal of Psychiatry 166: 1156–61.
152 your tendency to be religious: Koenig, Laura B., et al. 2005. “Genetic and Environmental Influences on Religiousness: Findings for Retrospective and Current Religiousness Ratings.” Journal of Personality 73(2): 471–88.
153 holding liberal or conservative values: Alford, John R., et al. 2005. “Are Political Orientations Genetically Transmitted?” American Political Science Review 99: 153–67.
153 “new science of human nature”: Fowler, James H., and Darren Schreiber. 2008. “Biology, Politics, and the Emerging Science of Human Nature.” Science 322(5903): 912–4.
153 “most original thinker”: McLaughlin, John. 2008. “2008 Year-End Awards.” The McLaughlin Group (27–28 December). Transcript available at www.mclaughlin.com/transcript.htm?id=697
153 studies of voting behavior: Fowler, James H., et al. 2008. “Genetic Variation in Political Participation.” American Political Science Review 102: 233–48.
154 a predisposition to homosexuality: Hamer, Dean H., et al. 1993. “A Linkage between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation.” Science 261(5119): 321–7.
155 the “aggression gene”: Brunner, Han G., et al. 1993. “Abnormal Behavior Associated with a Point Mutation in the Structural Gene for Monoamine Oxidase A.” Science 262(5133): 578–80.
156 the gene for the dopamine D4 receptor and … thrill-seeking: Benjamin, Jonathan, et al. 1996. “Population and Familial Association between the D4 Dopamine Receptor Gene and Measures of Novelty Seeking.” Nature Genetics 12(1): 81–4. Ebstein, Richard P., et al. 1996. “Dopamine D4 Receptor (D4DR) Exon III Polymorphism Associated with the Human Personality Trait of Novelty Seeking.” Nature Genetics 12(1): 78–80.
157 In Lesch’s study, the subjects with a high neuroticism: Lesch, Klaus-Peter, et al. 1996. “Association of Anxiety-related Traits with a Polymorphism in the Serotonin Transporter Gene Regulatory Region.” Science 274(5292): 1527–31.
157 Different variants of DRD4 apparently influence … sexual desire: Ben Zion, Itzhak Zahy, et al. 2006. “Polymorphisms in the Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene (DRD4) Contribute to Individual Differences in Human Sexual Behavior: Desire, Arousal and Sexual Function.” Molecular Psychiatry 11(8): 782–6.
158 gene chips to compare … high IQ and average IQ children: Butcher, Lee M., et al. 2008. “Genomewide Quantitative Trait Locus Association Scan of General Cognitive Ability Using Pooled DNA and 500K Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Microarrays.” Genes, Brain and Behavior 7(4): 435–46.
161 “Major depression is a familial disorder”: Sullivan, Patrick F. 2000. “Genetic Epidemiology of Major Depression: Review and Meta-Analysis.” American Journal of Psychiatry 157: 1552–62.
165 an analysis of fourteen other studies: Risch, Neil, et al. 2009. “Interaction Between the Serotonin Transporter Gene (5-HTTLPR), Stressful Life Events, and Risk of Depression.” Journal of the American Medical Association 301(23): 2462–71.
168 studied advertisements for SSRI drugs: Lacasse, Jeffrey R., and Jonathan Leo. 2005. “Serotonin and Depression: A Disconnect between the Advertisements and Scientific Literature.” PLoS Medicine 2(12): 101–6.
171 “Mugged by Our Genes?”: Aamodt, Sandra, and Sam Wang. 2009. “Mugged by Our Genes?” New York Times Opinionator Blog (24 March). http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/guest-column-mugged-by-our-genes
171 Beaver calculated that almost half: Beaver, Kevin M., et al. 2009. “Biosocial Development and Delinquent Involvement.” Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 7: 223–38.
177 imaging studies of our old friend SERT: Hariri, Ahmad R., et al. 2002. “Serotonin Transporter Genetic Variation and the Response of the Human Amygdala.” Science 297: 400–3.
186 Eisenberg and Lieberman put their volunteers into a brain scanner: Eisenberger, Naomi, et al. 2007. “Understanding Genetic Risk for Aggression: Clues from the Brain’s Response to Social Exclusion.” Biological Psychiatry 61: 1100–8.
187 driving ability: McHughen, Stephanie A., et al. 2009. “BDNF Val66Met Polymorphism Influences Motor System Function in the Human Brain.” Cerebral Cortex (published online 10 September).
188 slow-release methionine variant … protects: Pezawas, L., et al. 2008. “MET BDNF Protects Against Morphological S Allele Effects of 5-HHTLPR.” Molecular Psychiatry 13(654): 709–16.
188 ninety-five Finnish alcoholics: Sjöberg, Rikard L., et al. 2008. “A Non-additive Interaction of a Functional MAO-A VNTR and Testosterone Predicts Antisocial Behavior.” Neuropsychopharmacology 33(2): 425–30.
189 Caspi and Moffitt lab … on attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: Caspi, Avshalom, et al. 2008. “A Replicated Molecular Genetic Basis for Subtyping Antisocial Behavior in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.” Archives of General Psychiatry 65(2): 203–10.
191 “The debate about nature versus nurture”: Turkheimer, Eric. 2000. “Three Laws of Genetic Behaviors.” Current Directions in Psychological Science 9(5): 160–4 .
6 Personality Is a Four-Letter Word
197 “stable individual differences in the reactivity”: Nettle, Daniel. 2007. Personality: What Makes You the Way You Are. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 43.
198 Galton went to the dictionaries: Galton, Francis. 1884. “The Measurement of Character.” Fortnightly Review 36: 179–85.
198 burrowed through contemporary English dictionaries: Allport, Gordon W., and H.S. Odbert. 1936. “Trait Names: A Psycho-lexical Study.” Psychological Monographs 47(211).
199 revealing the five factors: Tupes, Ernest C., and Raymond E. Cristal. 1961. “Recurrent Personality Factors Based on Trait Raitings.” Technical Report ASD-TR-61-97. Lackland Air Force Base, TX: Personnel Laboratory, US Air Forces Systems Command. Norman, Warren T. 1963. “Toward an Adequate Taxonomy of Personality Attributes: Replicated Factor Structure
in Peer Nomination Personality Ratings.” Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 66: 574–83.
201 the dynamic duo of Costa and McCrae: Costa, Paul T., Jr., and Robert R. McCrae. 1988. “Personality in Adulthood: A Six-year Longitudinal Study of Self-reports and Spouse ratings on the NEO Personality Inventory.” Journalof Personality and Social Psychology 54(5): 853–63.
202 individuals … with one of ten categories of clinical: Lisa Saulsman and Andrew Page Saulsman, Lisa M., and Andrew C. Page. 2004. “The Five-Factor Model and Personality Disorder Empirical Literature: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Clinical Psychology Review 23(8): 1055–85.
202 Conard reviewed the personality scores: Conard, Maureen A. 2006. “Aptitude Is Not Enough: How Personality and Behavior Predict Academic Performance.” Journal of Research in Personality 40(3): 339–46.
203 conscientiousness and … job performance: Barrick, Murray R., and Michael K. Mount. 1991. “The Big Five Personality Dimensions and Job Performance: A Meta-Analysis.” Personnel Psychology 44: 1–26.
211 personality is around fifty percent heritable: Bouchard, Thomas J. and Matt McGue. 2003. “Genetic and Environmental Influences on Human Psychological Differences.” Journal of Neurobiology 54: 4–45.
211 “Behavioural-genetic research provides the best”: Plomin, Robert, et al. 2001. “Why Are Children in the Same Family So Different? Nonshared Environment a Decade Later.” Canadian Journal of Psychiatry 46: 225–33.
211 “Why Are Children in the Same Family So Different”: Plomin, Robert, and Denise Daniels. 1987. “Why Are Children from the Same Family So Different from One Another?” Behavioral and Brain Sciences 10: 1–60.