A, T, G, and C: It is all in the genes

A and T and G and C is 'you and me and he and thee', may sound like a part of a nursery rhyme. No, it is not. It in fact is the main part of the genetic code; the nursery which, nurtures all life; the building blocks of nature, and of all life on earth; DNA; deoxyribonucleic acid; the main constituent of the chromosomes of all organisms that designates our characteristics due to inheritance or the action of genes. Whereas a gene is a unit of heredity in a living organism, the genetic code is the set of rules by which information encoded in genetic material translates into proteins - amino acids - by living cells.

The instructions in a gene, tell the cell how to make a specific protein. A, T, G, and C are the 'letters' of the DNA code and represent the chemicals adenine, thymine, guanine, and cytosine, respectively. All organisms have many genes corresponding to, many different biological traits. Some of these features are immediately visible, such as eye colour or number of limbs, and some of which are not, such as blood type or increased risk for specific diseases, or the thousands of basic biochemical processes that comprise life.

Mysteries

Among the many mysteries of human biology is why complex diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and psychiatric disorders are so difficult to predict and, often, to treat. An equally perplexing puzzle is why one individual gets a disease like cancer or depression, while an identical twin remains perfectly healthy. Now scientists have discovered a vital clue to unravelling these riddles.

The evidence is in the human genome: a full set of chromosomes with their associated genes. A chromosome is an organised structure of DNA and protein found in the nucleus of the cells. Regarded as the carrier of the genes or units of heredity, the evolutionary process decides on the number in any given species, and it is a fixed number for each species.

Different organisms have different numbers of chromosomes. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes of which 22 pairs are numbered chromosomes, called autosomes, and a single pair of sex chromosomes, X and Y. Each parent contributes one chromosome to each pair so that offspring get half of their chromosomes from their mother and half from their father.

Organism

Life is defined by genomes. Gnomes, play a critical role in controlling how cells, organs and other tissues behave. Every organism, including humans, has a genome that contains all of the biological information needed to build and maintain a living example of that organism. The biological information contained in a genome is encoded in its DNA, and is divided into discrete units called genes.

Genes are the code for proteins that attach to the genome at the appropriate positions, and switch on a series of reactions called gene expression. These findings stem from the human gnome project.

The Human Genome Project (HGP) is an international scientific research project with a primary goal of determining the sequence of chemical base pairs which make up DNA, and of identifying and mapping the approximately 20,000-25,000 genes of the human genome from both a physical and functional standpoint. The objective of the HGP is to understand the genetic makeup of the human species. It remains one of the largest single investigative projects in modern science.

However, one of the most crazy, widespread, and potentially dangerous notions rooted in our society is: 'it is all in the genes'. Now what does that mean? It means all sorts of subtle things, but for most people out there what it winds up meaning is a deterministic view of life, originating in biology and genetics. For them, genes equal things beyond change; genes equal things that are inevitable, and that on which you might as well not waste resources trying to fix. It is inevitable, and it is unchangeable.

Now that is what I call sheer nonsense. There are very rare diseases, a small handful, extremely sparsely represented in the population, that are truly genetically determined. Most complex conditions might have a predisposition that has a genetic component, but a predisposition is not the same as a predetermination. Most diseases are not genetically predetermined.

Heart disease, cancer, strokes, rheumatoid conditions, addictions - none of them is genetically determined. For example, let us take a look at breast cancer.

Out of 100 women with breast cancer, only seven women will carry the breast cancer genes, 93 do not. And, out of 100 women who do have the genes, not all of them will get cancer. So, what does it imply? Nothing is genetically programed?

Environment

Genes are not just things that make us behave in a particular way, regardless of our environment. Genes are there to give us different ways of responding to our environment. The choice is ours. In fact, it looks as if some of the early childhood influences, and the kind of child rearing, affect gene expression by actually turning on or off different genes to put life on a different developmental track, which may suit the kind of world one has to deal with. This is what the Buddha meant when he said that the formation of our Karma is in our hands.

Hence, instead of realising the true workings of our genes, what we mean by "Oh, it is all in the genes;" is that since there is a genetic contribution to how this organism responds to the environment; genes have a greater influence over the readiness with which an organism will deal with a certain environmental challenge.

Therefore, it gives us an excuse to carry on with things as they are, and not attempt to change the flow of life. Well, that is akin to say that there is nothing we can do, to change the predisposition people may have to becoming violent; and so, all that we can do, if some are violent, is to punish them - lock them up or execute them. Having meted out punishment instead of mercy, we believe that there is no need to change the social environment or the social preconditions that may have lead people to become violent, because that is irrelevant: 'it is all in the genes'. A fine excuse indeed to conceal our inabilities, and irresponsibility.

No wonder most societies in the world are spiralling down the precipice: they care not about their fellow beings. Mercy necessitates change: to reform the environment, the society, in a manner conducive to peace and loving kindness - for progress of the human race.

Argument

This genetic argument allows us the luxury of ignoring past and present historical and social factors. In the words of Louis Menand who wrote in the New Yorker, very astutely he said: "It's all in the genes, an explanation for the way things are that does not threaten the way things are.

Why should someone feel unhappy or engaged in antisocial behaviour when that person is living in the freest and most prosperous nation on Earth? It can't be the system. There must be a flaw in the wiring somewhere" which is a good way of putting it.

The genetic argument is simply a cop-out that allows us to ignore the social, and economic, and political, factors that, in fact, underlie many troubles.

Or; is it all in our genes?

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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