The Wondrous World of Genetics

If you haven't been on the moon or some other part of our solar system for the last decade, you've probably noticed the prevalence of genetics in the news. The genomes, the complete set of genetic materials of an organism, of various animals have been sequenced, as has the human genome as of April 14th, 2003. Although the sequencing may be complete, the next step in the process, deciphering what exactly each gene controls, will take at least a few more years, and that is exactly what I want to be part of.

For those that don't know, genetics as defined by the Merriam Webster dictionary is the branch of biology that deals with the heredity and variation of organism, or in most basic terms, how DNA defines an organism.  The study of genetics begins in the 19th century with the quintessential tale of Gregor Mendel and his peas. Gregor Mendel is often accredited as the father of genetics. Mendel was an Austrian monk who began breeding experiments with peas in 1856; before him, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Linnaeus, and Sageret has developed primitive theories about inheritance, although no statistical patter had been discerned. His experiments demonstrated a correlation between statistics and dominance at its most basic level; this particular kind of predictable inheritance is called Mendelian inheritance.

Although Mendel could predict a pattern of dominance in plants, he did not know what made such inheritance possible. Mendel's work was published in a back-water journal and was not rediscovered until the early 1900s. During the time leading up to the rediscovery of his work, a scientist by the name Friedrich Miescher discovered a weak acid in the nucleus of a cell, which is now known as DNA. Ten years later, Walter Flemming and two other colleagues succeeded in witnessing and explaining chromosome distribution during cell division. William Sutton and Theodor Boveri create the Boveri-Sutton chromosome theory in 1903, a theory that lays the basis for Mendelian genetics. The chromosome theory identifies the chromosomes as carriers of genetic material that are inherited in pairs, passed down from generation to generation, and are the basis for genetic inheritance. Additionally, the theory states that chromosomes are made up of genes, which can be found at specific sites, or loci, on them.

Passing forward the next 38 years, the terms genetics is first coined by William Bateson, the Harvy-Weinberg principle is developed, Alfred Sturtevant outlines the first genetic map of a chromosome, Ronald Fisher writes "The Correlation Between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance", Jean Brachet demonstrates the location of DNA and RNA within a cell, and Edward Tatum and George Beadle identify that genes code for protein production. In 1953, Rosalind Franklin determines the helix structure of DNA (Note: Watson and Crick published this information, but only after they stole data from Franklin). DNA is first sequenced in 1977 by three different scientists, and six years later Kary Mullis develops the polymerase chain reaction which facilitates the amplification of DNA. In 1995, the first genome of an organism is fully sequenced, the genome of Haemophilus influenzae. All of these decades of research finally   climax to the sequencing of the human genome in in 2003 by the Human Genome Project.

Genetics is essentially who we are at the most basic level aside from all the environmental influences that affect us as we mature. It all comes down to millions of codons of information about the way we look, the way we function, and at times the way we innately think. Although I wouldn't go so far as to say genetics is the most basic ingredient of the universe, it is the most basic ingredient of humanity; it is what makes us human and not chimpanzee. I want to delve into this soup of DNA and find what exactly makes certain people susceptible to certain diseases and how genes play out across the world's diverse population. The fact that only 4-different DNA basis can encompass a whole being; that our body's work in such a complex manner so well thought out; that there are so many endless possibilities within our 48 chromosomes allowing every individual alive to be unique; I have to believe that there is a sort of ultimate power in the universe that has made such beauty possible.

By studying genetics, I hope to unravel the mystery of the essence of life and come to terms with my own mortality, and, hopefully one day, find my name among Mendel's and Franklin's as a contributor to the wondrous world of genetics.

Flightless Wings

what are we,

such wondrous things

can we not rise

with our flightless wings?

worthlessness be gone

tremor be still

all that takes

is the strength of will,

the courage to look

at what we see

the want to live

in reality