MEPX
Chapter 10 of 10All chapters
  1. 1What living things share
  2. 2Cells
  3. 3DNA
  4. 4Inheritance
  5. 5Mutation and variation
  6. 6Genes and environment
  7. 7From cells to organisms
  8. 8Reproduction
  9. 9Populations and ecosystems
  10. 10Modern genetics

Chapter 10 of 10

Modern genetics

Reading and editing the code.

Sequencing

Reading a whole human genome cost billions in 2003 and now costs a few hundred. That collapse in price is what turned genetics from a laboratory subject into a medical tool.

  • Genetic tests report risk, not certainty, for almost every common condition.
  • Ancestry estimates are comparisons with reference populations, not fixed facts.

Editing

CRISPR makes targeted changes to DNA cheaply enough for ordinary laboratories. Treating inherited disease is the near-term use, and editing changes that would be inherited raises questions no technique settles.