Fredric D. Abramson - Ph.D., S.M. President & CEO

First, our DNA, our genes are blueprints for our everyday life. In other words, they impact far more than risk for disease. They relate to our behavior, our personality, our creative potential, athletics, sex and how our body reacts to exercise and food to manage our weight. Some of this is described in the MyGene DaVinci write up I sent. Second, genes represent potential, and not what we’re fated to become. Genes are the “nature” part of “nature and nurture.” Depending on which scientist you ask, the percentage contribution of our nature can range from 30% to 70%. What’s important is that knowing our DNA blueprint provides a new opportunity to both understand more about who we are, and to identify much more focused and precise choices for how we live our lives to be happier and with greater wellness. Third, knowing something about our non-disease genetic blueprint provides a new opportunity for people to find new, powerful choices that can transform their lives. I would discuss two specific areas where this 21st Century technology can make a powerful difference: families with adopted children, and young women who have delivered a child while single. For adopted families, DNA typing will find many genes that the parents and children both have, even though they are not related. This can translate into a shared sense of biological identity, even though they are not related. For young single mothers, many have low self esteem and are trapped in negative, exploitive, no-future environments. Learning about her genetic identify provides an inalienable total truth about themselves, because nobody can tell them that their DNA is not their DNA.