Human Genetics Society Ponders New Age

The presentations and posters at the recent American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) annual meeting offered up reams of data that pointed to a commanding future of discoveries. But, as the geneticists and students checked in and got their badges, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks cast an ominous shadow that could not be ignored. ASHG president Huntington F. Willard addressed it head-on: "Let the clearest and loudest message of this week be that at a time when others would take away freedom of thought and action, more than 4,400 geneticists from over 20 countries came together to share new information and to speak their shared conviction that the open pursuit of knowledge is far more powerful than the fear of terror." Although security was heightened, attendance was down, but only about 15%, according to Harry T. Orr, ASHG program committee chair. He estimated that about 10% of the speakers--most from outside the United States--canceled. A few of Arabic lineage, he said, expressed concern about being "highly visible" or cited a general "uncomfortableness." As scientists and students mingled around chocolates, bargain-priced books, mouse-shaped pads, and science guy action figures in the exhibit hall, there were festive, convivial moments where things almost seemed normal. Still, there was an underlying sense of uncertainty permeating the halls and meeting rooms of the San Diego Convention Center. One undercurrent of conversation concerned the new roles geneticists may play. The sudden interest in biological and chemical warfare will no doubt lead to more funding for genetics research in those areas--just as radiation research was increased after World War II. "We are, at the same time, scientists with much to contribute by way of understanding the nature of the human condition, and individuals with much to lose because of the nature of the human condition," Willard said, noting that the ASHG had put together a working group to provide expertise and assistance to the identification process of human remains from the terrorist attacks. Entering the Age of Genomic Reductionism Just as the world at large has changed, so has the world of genetics, but for vastly different reasons. Genomics has become "the hottest ticket in town," Willard said, ever more important in the daily lives of all people. The field is burgeoning and the press is riding the wave, escalating coverage, devoting prime front-page space to genetics discoveries. "Those of us inside the tent must now view genetics in a larger, broader perspective," Willard stated. By welcoming scientists who are not card-carrying human geneticists but who work in bioinformatics, medicine, model organisms, chip development, as well as those working in industry, ASHG members can find and develop "effective bridges that connect basic science to medicine," and span the "gulf" between universities and industry. "As the ranks of those in industry who are interested in human genetics increases, we have a lot to gain by finding ways of continuing to break bread with them and a lot to lose if we don't," Willard warned. "We have entered the age of genomic reductionism, where everything, it seems, has to have an explanation embedded in our genome sequence." As people everywhere pause to reevaluate their lives in the coming months, Willard encouraged geneticists to do the same in their work. It is often there, he advised, that the greatest mysteries unravel. "It takes great intellectual discipline to put your pipette down and just think about the data to look for doors where none appear to exist." One People, One World In ASHG presentations on genetics in African populations, natural selection, and evolution of populations, study after study confirms the now most widely held hypothesis of human origin--that the various races each emerged from one common Homo sapiens ancestor some 200,000 years ago. Known as the Out of Africa or replacement theory, it maintains that about 100,000 years ago, those ancestors began migrating to other parts of the planet, largely replacing the local archaic forms of Homo sapiens. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, in an interview with The Scientist at the ASHG meeting, summed it up, saying, "It would astound somebody coming from another planet to look at the human species, recognize how very much alike we are, and yet see that we're still so focused and get so worked up about this 0.1% of differences that came from a very recent derivation from a common set of ancestors. Especially over the last 2-3 years as we've gathered more and more data, it has become clear that you cannot draw precise boundaries around any particular ethnic group and say, 'those people are genetically different.'" There is, in fact, no such thing as "a genetically pure" population, adds Lynn B. Jorde, professor, department of human genetics at the University of Utah, who gave a talk on the evolution of human populations. "Humans are all biological cousins." Most autosomal variations actually are among individuals within populations, Jorde points out. "The genetic data tell us that we are all very, very similar at the DNA level, the most fundamental biological level. It is really a testament to the unity of humankind." It is an important social, as well as biological, history lesson, Collins and Jorde agree. Some prejudices, however, run so deep that simply putting up a scientific argument about why they shouldn't be there "isn't just going to make them go away," Collins noted. "There is an opportunity here for science to play a productive, positive role in diminishing the likelihood of discriminatory and prejudicial attitudes, because those attitudes have often been based on scientific presumption. Now we can say scientifically that they're unfounded." Willard concluded: "Only greater knowledge of genetics and its contributions to the human condition will help us decipher the meaning and potential of the human genome and lead us to better ways of influencing health and the state of humankind." A.J.S. Rayl (ajsrayl@loop.com) is a contributing editor.

Human Genetics Society Ponders New Age

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