Genetic maps cannot tell us what is human

The rapidly unfolding tale of the human genome project continues to astound and amaze.

The latest news is that the basic human genome is in some ways far less complex than scientists originally imagined. That is, only a relatively small part of the human genome — the 23 pairs of chromosomes that contain the blueprint for human life — is directly related to making unique human beings.

The rest is genetic material shared with all other living things or bits and pieces of genetic material that have settled into the human genome over countless years of evolution.

This means the work of making sound scientific or commercial use of the genetic information is at once more simple and more complex. It becomes more complex because some of the disease information scientists find encoded in the genetic map might not be something that is common to all humans.

That makes it less valuable in the search for cures or predictive therapies.

The relative "simplicity" of the genome (and simplicity is a relative word in spades; this remains an enormously complex undertaking) also suggests that less of human behavior may be hard-wired into our genetic code than we once thought.

This is important, because it might dissuade people from trying to find iron-clad genetic "clues" about behavioral matters such as intelligence, criminality, artistic ability and the like.

Down that road lies the dead end where predictive science stands in the way of admitting the ultimate potential and worth of every human being.

The genetic research now under way holds tremendous promise in the treatment and understanding of disease and human health.

But this latest information underscores the fact that human beings are, after all, far more than the sum of their genetic parts.

[back to top]