Indian Princess
Surrounded by molecules and artifacts that represent her genetic past and complex ancestry, the Indian Princess wears a nurses cape as she brings flowers to her next patient.

acrylic on Canvas, 19” x 23”, $ 475.

My partner, Ray, was curious about his distant ancestors and decided that the best way to learn about his origins to have his DNA analyzed. The test involved swabbing his mouth four times with a Q tip before placing the samples in individual containers and mailing them off to a genetics lab. It was that easy.

We found his findings fascinating, for he discovered that after leaving Africa over 100,000 years ago, one branch of ancestors traveled west and spent 5,000 years on the Iberian Peninsula. Results from another strain was more surprising for these ancestors made their way east, through Asia to Oceana, before crossing the Pacific to the new world. Rather than coming over the Bearing Straight land bridge, his relatives might have been among those who settled on somewhere on the western coast, 13, 000 to 14,000 years ago, prior to the arrival of Northeast Asia’s Mongoloid population.

Ray’s discoveries made me curious about my own heritage so I joined the thousands of people participating in the National Geographic’s Genome Study. Unfortunately, at the time, I did not realize that since I am a female with two X chromosomes I only could follow the female part of my lineage. More information would have been provided if my brother was tested with his X and Y mixture, instead of me. But, what I learned was still interesting. When my female line exited Jordan the intermingled with Neanderthals. I learned that 35,000 and 45,000 years ago marked the disappearance of the Neanderthals, yet there is a great deal of evidence that they did interbreed with Homo Sapiens before spreading throughout Europe. Scientists now believe that all non-Africans alive today have a genetic trace of Neanderthal ancestry. Perhaps this genetic mixture helped make me strong. As DNA researchers learn more, they will be able to complete the story of modern human evolution.

National Geographic results are only able to follow genetic markers to about 5000 years ago. Over time, my ancestors did migrate north towards what is now Germany, but more contemporary ancestry searches told of members of my family moving through England, Austria, and Latvia to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the early 20th century.

Biology has certainly evolved since I went to school and studied Mendel’s accounting of the genetics of peas. Mapping the human genome has not only produced information about how we evolved as humans beings but has brought about an explosion of excitement and possibility for future developments in medicine, agriculture sand beyond. We have begun to understand how lifestyle can shape our destiny as scientists learn more about he interaction between genetics, the environment and epigenetics. Moving beyond DNA, to other modifying factors involving cell cycles and molecules makes researchers optimistic about being able to treat and reverse diseases like cancer and autoimmune diseases such as diabetes. Clinical trials are currently underway that use gene therapy to re-engineering the body so it can recognize and attack destructive tissues. As of 2015 more than 1,800 disease genes have been identified with 350 biotechnology-based products released onto the market.

These new therapies have not been easily accepted. They have also spawned political and moral debates about whether the medical profession is altering the course of national selection and human evolution by trying to influence longevity. Others who welcome genetic science’s forward momentum have concerns about administering treatments that have not been thoroughly tested. There are those who are concerned that approvals come too quickly, while others facing imminent death, find the vetting process incredibly slow. And then, there are side effects. For some patients find that the cure is worse than the disease. The FDA has a difficult job of balancing possible benefits of early approvals with the build up of toxicity that occurs in many patients.

A more social concern is deciding how personal genetic information will be used and if individual privacy will be affected. Fears that insurance companies will raise rates and employers will not hire those with a genetic propensity for certain diseases are not unfounded. Many Americans recall Hitler’s dream of creating an race of supermen and find the notion of playing around with human genetics dangerous. Should parents be permitted to choose the color of their child’s hair or eyes, decide on sexual characteristics, or abort a mongoloid child? The more religious among us fear that we are altering God’s will while others believe that we are simply making the human race stronger and more disease resistant. They imagine a world where human beings can live to the ripe age of 150 years and beyond as good.

I have my own worries, for I wonder how the earth earth will be able to support a larger population before self-destructing if life expectancy is increased. There are those who have an answer for every concern. Gene mapping is used in agriculture to design crops that are insect and drought resistant, bringing hope that millions of people can be fed who would otherwise go hungry. Genetically Modified Foods, however, create their own brand of controversy. There is fear that GMO’s are still unpredictable, and that monoculture planted crops could be wiped our with a single organism. In the United States where the public remains wary of the health benefits of GMO, there is a move to have modified food labeled even though, according to Scientific American, most scientists believe that GMOs are safe to eat. The most comfortable decision would be to not alter nature, but in countries where hunger and insufficient food is a problem we have to ask ourselves if genetically altered food is a trade off that needs to be made.

As genetics and computer technologies continue to progress there will be amazing developments in the near future. One area already impacting society are the changes DNA analysis has brought to criminal justice. In earlier years, hundreds of innocent people were convicted of crimes they did not commit. With the advent of DNA mapping, those wrongfully imprisoned are now challenging earlier findings and proving their innocence through incontrovertible evidence. Of the 350 people who have been exonerated by the Innocence Project over the past 25 years, 20 had spent time on death row, two-thirds were African Americans, and 71% were sent to prison because of eyewitness misidentification. These poor souls spent an average of 14 years in prison, wasting their lives.

Other scenarios that are part of our future sound like they belong in a science-fiction novel. They include carrying identity cards with genome characteristics. and conducting laboratory analysis of physical based testing outside of traditional hospitals. Already, cloned organs, gene corrections, and obtaining early use of genetic information enables patients
to play an active role in their own health care.

With legal and ethical issues abounding as we look to the future, we are called on to develop protocols and regulation that makes sense. Yes, biology has certainly changed since I was in high school with much of our future being influenced by a new breed of biologists and geneticist.

References:

Lovgren, Stefan, National Geographic News, 2003, Who were the First Americans? http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/09/0903_030903_bajaskull.html

Grant, Bob, The Scientist, 2015,Neanderthal-Human Hybrid Unearthed / http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/43354/title/Neanderthal-Human-Hybrid-Unearthed/

Durmaz, Karaca, Demkow, Toruner, Schourmans, Cogulu, Evolution of Genetic Techniques:Past, Present, and Beyond, BioMe Research International, 2015 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2015/461524/

Freedman, David, Scientific America, 2013, The Truth about Genetically Modified Food, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-truth-about-genetically-modified-food/

The Forensic Science Technician website, 2017, http://www.forensicsciencetechnician.net/25-wrongly-convicted-felons-exonerated-by-new-forensic-evidence/

The Innocence Project website, 2017, https://www.innocenceproject.org/dna-exonerations-in-the-united-states/