Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

The rapid progress in genetic science associated with the Human Genome Project has attracted considerable interest among medical sociologists (Conrad & Gabe 1999; Pilnick 2002a ). The basis of genetics is the observation that the biological constitution of all living things – plants, animals, fish, insects, bacteria, humans, etc. – is shaped by a chemical called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) found in the nuclear material of the cells from which they are all made. The various ways in which this chemical can be made up carry the instructions for the construction, articulation, and operation of cells. A gene is a segment of DNA that carries a particular set of instructions to perform a particular task in relation to cell assembly or functioning. The totality of genes found in an organism is called its genome. The human genome is made up of about 30,000 genes, whose instructions combine to produce the varied bodies recognizable as members of our species, Homo sapiens . There is a considerable element of indeterminacy in these processes. The expression of genes is significantly influenced by their environment. This begins at the point of conception. During reproduction, a new combination of genes is assembled out of the set contributed by each parent, resulting in an organism that derives some features from each. The offspring is not identical to either parent and the novel combination ... log in or subscribe to read full text