“For many people, technology makes things easier. For some people, technology makes things possible!” In this episode, Angelica and Bey chat with the crew at TechOwl about designing life-changing technology for people who need it. Also in this episode, we also talk to Philadelphia artist Mason Carter about his experience using a prosthetic leg.
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Transcript
Hello, world, and welcome to So Curious, presented by the Franklin Institute.
Speaker:In this season Human 20, we will be talking to scientists and non-scientists
Speaker:alike about technology and innovation surrounding the human experience.
Speaker:We're your hosts.
Speaker:I'm Angelica Pasquini.
Speaker:And I'm the Bul Bey.
Speaker:But you can just call me Bey.
Speaker:In today's episode, we'll be talking to
Speaker:the director of the Gene Editing Institute, Dr.
Speaker:Eric Kmiec, and chief bioscientist at the Franklin Institute, Dr.
Speaker:Jayatri Das.
Speaker:Today we're going to be talking about personalized health and genetics.
Speaker:Personalized health and genetics is like,
Speaker:what, 23andMe, spitting into tubes, DNA tests. Have you done any of this?
Speaker:Yeah. You know what, I did?
Speaker:My roommate was moving to Beijing and she
Speaker:had a 23andMe and was like, listen, I'm not going to be able to do this.
Speaker:I've got to go.
Speaker:And I was like, okay, I'll do it.
Speaker:So we're just sitting in the apartment and
Speaker:I tried it, and then I got information back, and it turned out that I was a
Speaker:little more Italian than some of my siblings.
Speaker:And it's funny because your genetics
Speaker:aren't the same necessarily as everyone in your family.
Speaker:Each of us has our own breakdown. And do I regret it?
Speaker:Yes. Because then later I found out that they
Speaker:sell the data, but we'll get into that later.
Speaker:How about you?
Speaker:I haven't done any swabbing or spitting them myself, but my brother took an
Speaker:African ancestry test that traces, I think, the maternal line, essentially the
Speaker:mothers of the family all the way back to the continent.
Speaker:There's some accuracy there.
Speaker:But you brought up such a great point.
Speaker:There's so much more diversity within one small group than we ever give credit for.
Speaker:Like a small nucleus of family members.
Speaker:The gene genetics and the diversity in there is a lot.
Speaker:And we think everybody's just like
Speaker:identical, and we're all a little distinct.
Speaker:Yeah. Also, I think that sometimes with
Speaker:personalized health and genetics, you can take a test that will show you what you
Speaker:could be mindful of in the future as far as your health is concerned and how to be
Speaker:aware of what you have dispositions towards in your health.
Speaker:Right. And we'll be going into all of these
Speaker:little tidbits, but things evolve and grow.
Speaker:DNA and genes and things like that do the same.
Speaker:And what's good for you may not be good for someone else.
Speaker:What's good for your mom may not be good for you.
Speaker:These little health tips that she might give you.
Speaker:Or at least maybe I'm projecting.
Speaker:Maybe I'll talk about my mother right now.
Speaker:I'll just stop.
Speaker:No, go on.
Speaker:I think that, yeah, I mean, i f I knew that...
Speaker:I think a lot of people do breast cancer
Speaker:testing and things like that, just like if they have a certain type of gene, they can
Speaker:know, they can get ahead of it before it could get potentially dangerous for them.
Speaker:That kind of thing is actually, I think, a really amazing innovation.
Speaker:I think it's time to transition into our first expert interview with Dr.
Speaker:Eric Kmiec.
Speaker:Our next guest is Dr.
Speaker:Eric Kmiec. Dr.
Speaker:Kmiec has directed the Gene Editing Institute of the Helen F.
Speaker:tute at Christiana Care since:Speaker:He is widely recognized for his pioneering
Speaker:work in molecular medicine and gene editing.
Speaker:Throughout his career, Dr.
Speaker:Kmiec has led research teams developing
Speaker:genetic therapies for inherited disorders like sickle cell disease.
Speaker:He is the author of over 140 scientific
Speaker:publications and has been awarded multiple research awards from the National
Speaker:Institute of Health and the American Cancer Society.
Speaker:Hello and welcome. Dr.
Speaker:Kmiec. Can you start by introducing yourself?
Speaker:I'm Eric.
Speaker:I'm the Director of Christiana Care's Gene Editing Institute.
Speaker:And over the past few years, with some
Speaker:recent discoveries, there's a movement now to be able to put some genetic medicine
Speaker:and gene therapy into the clinic and actually begin treating patients.
Speaker:And you work with clustered regular....oh, here we go.
Speaker:Can you say it five times fast?
Speaker:Can you talk about CRISPR? The technology?
Speaker:Gene editing is a process that's like genetic "spell checking." Our DNA can be
Speaker:thought of as a series of letters, actually, over 3 billion of them.
Speaker:They are broken up into words, which can be functionally considered genes.
Speaker:And occasionally one of those words is misspelled.
Speaker:Then, up to this point, it's been really hard, no matter how hard we've tried, to
Speaker:be able to replace or fix or repair or do a genetic "spell check" on genes.
Speaker:And real quick, when you say "misspelled," you mean flawed?
Speaker:Yeah. And in what way?
Speaker:There are four bases in DNA, and let's say
Speaker:there's supposed to be a T in one position and it's an A, and that just comes from
Speaker:inheriting malfunctioning genes or sequences from your parents.
Speaker:What does that look like on a human?
Speaker:Probably the one genetic disease that
Speaker:people have wanted to approach with this is sickle cell disease.
Speaker:So sickle cell disease is caused by a single base or a single letter that's
Speaker:incorrect in the entire human genome , or on all your chromosomes.
Speaker:There hasn't been a very good series of treatments developed for sickle cell.
Speaker:So actually, for most inherited diseases,
Speaker:CRISPR is now maybe the first genetic tool that might be able to address it.
Speaker:So a fair bit of work is going on around
Speaker:that. The people in my lab are pretty good at using CRISPR.
Speaker:We have a very active lab doing that work now.
Speaker:So there's actually some hope for
Speaker:something that has been a dreaded inherited disease for a long time.
Speaker:And you can see in the embryo, that typo?
Speaker:If we're using the Microsoft Word, we're going to use that analogy?
Speaker:Yeah.
Speaker:Shortly after a child is born, there are a number of genetic tests that are done to
Speaker:predict what sort of inappropriate genes or typos or mutations are present.
Speaker:This is also kind of important, on a
Speaker:slightly related topic, is the importance of having genetic counseling and genetic
Speaker:testing being done to parents prior to conception. We'll at least inform folks
Speaker:that there's a chance here that you could pass this gene onto your child.
Speaker:And if they make a decision to go ahead, it's not our place to tell them not to do
Speaker:it, but at least they have the information ahead of it.
Speaker:And CRISPR and many other practices falls under precision medicine?
Speaker:Precision medicine. Yes. Can you tell us about that?
Speaker:Sure.
Speaker:So precision medicine right now is not so precise.
Speaker:Got you.
Speaker:We have a dedication to try to figure out the complexities of diseases.
Speaker:Now, this actually started primarily in cancer therapy.
Speaker:What happened was people thought there's got to be a better way, and they started
Speaker:to understand more about the proteins and the DNA and the guts of the cell, and they
Speaker:developed these things called targeted therapies.
Speaker:Keytruda, you'll see advertised on television.
Speaker:Opdivo.
Speaker:These are targeted therapies that have
Speaker:been designed to attack a specific genetic trait in a specific patient.
Speaker:And that's why we call it precision medicine.
Speaker:It's going after a certain number of people.
Speaker:The problem is, it's a certain number of people.
Speaker:So Keytruda is a very good drug, but it
Speaker:only is appropriate for 19% to 20% of lung cancer patients.
Speaker:They can be treated, but it will do no good.
Speaker:And that's a tough conversation. Absolutely.
Speaker:People try everything, they do. Okay.
Speaker:So what are your conceptions of treating cancer?
Speaker:So it's a very complex issue with very complex treatment.
I'm just going to ask:if it happened to you or someone in your family, like
I'm just going to ask:precision treatment is what you would hope you could be able to do?
I'm just going to ask:So the standard of care, chemotherapy,
I'm just going to ask:radiation, targeted therapies, immunotherapy, they actually do work.
I'm just going to ask:A lot of times the side effects are worse than the disease itself.
I'm just going to ask:And so what we try to do is we try to augment those side effects.
I'm just going to ask:And by doing that, you allow the standard of care therapy to work better.
I'm just going to ask:So if I could make you less sick over chemotherapy and keep you healthier in
I'm just going to ask:response, you would be able to respond better to that specific therapy.
I'm just going to ask:So that's where I think CRISPR and genetic medicine is going.
I'm just going to ask:So we're working on eliminating a gene in a tumor by directly placing CRISPR into
I'm just going to ask:the tumor, that causes that tumor to be resistant to chemotherapy.
so that allows now two things:number one, it allows the tumor to remain small
so that allows now two things:or even shrink, and then that allows the surgeon to go in and remove it because the
so that allows now two things:best therapy is surgical removal of a tumor.
so that allows now two things:But in some cases, those tumors have gone around blood vessels and you can't do it.
so that allows now two things:So it's a really ugly situation.
so that allows now two things:Yeah, that's pretty low-hanging fruit.
so that allows now two things:Just reduce the size so a surgeon can
so that allows now two things:remove it, but that's a legitimate endpoint.
so that allows now two things:You know, Dr.
so that allows now two things:Kmiec, we did a Google search of CRISPR before you came in.
so that allows now two things:So we're halfway there, almost where you are.
so that allows now two things:But the auto-fill response of CRISPR was, "is CRISPR ethical?
so that allows now two things:Is it legal?
so that allows now two things:Is it safe?" Can you go on about that and
so that allows now two things:talk about some of those worries, concerns?
so that allows now two things:Because clearly those autofills are like what people are generally asking.
so that allows now two things:Common concerns.
so that allows now two things:That's a great point, and it's an important one.
so that allows now two things:So as scientists, they are much more socially-conscious than used to be.
so that allows now two things:So when you introduce a difficult and
so that allows now two things:challenging technology, people are at different levels of understanding.
so that allows now two things:We do not believe, nor will we work on anything related to germline.
so that allows now two things:So we are not going to design a child by treating a fertilized egg or sperm oocyte.
so that allows now two things:That's known as germline gene editing.
so that allows now two things:To us, that's completely unethical
so that allows now two things:and completely forbidden in the United States.
so that allows now two things:But like anything, it's open for abuse, so we have to police ourselves.
so that allows now two things:Is that the structure at this point? You are policing yourselves?
so that allows now two things:Yeah. So there's no regulations on it yet?
so that allows now two things:Well, there's regulations.
so that allows now two things:So the law in the United States, again,
so that allows now two things:the National Institutes of Health will not fund that kind of research or development.
so that allows now two things:But can somebody in a private company, in a biotechnology company go do it?
so that allows now two things:Yes. Right, now that the technology exists.
so that allows now two things:It completely exists.
so that allows now two things:I think the other thing about the consequences and the ethics of this...
so that allows now two things:there is a fairly high misconception that you can engineer human traits.
so that allows now two things:So you can engineer hair color, eye color, perhaps skin color, creativity,
so that allows now two things:creativity, athletic abilities, things like that.
so that allows now two things:And the chances of doing that now are beyond possibilities because they are
so that allows now two things:controlled by so many different genes that we don't understand.
so that allows now two things:There's a built-in safety out there that
so that allows now two things:even if we were to try to design children in the way that we prefer, or induce
so that allows now two things:certain traits, it would be almost impossible.
so that allows now two things:Yeah. Right now.
so that allows now two things:Yeah. Right now.
so that allows now two things:I think that what's happening is people see, when you begin, where does it go?
so that allows now two things:And that's what we don't know, too, is like how far things go.
so that allows now two things:It all starts with treating people who are not well and finding a solution for them,
so that allows now two things:or maybe someone with a disability, like around hearing or sight.
so that allows now two things:And then you create something like Siri for them, and then down the line, it's
so that allows now two things:sold in Mac stores, right? So everything becomes luxury that was once for a need.
so that allows now two things:Is there a technology that can detect
so that allows now two things:cancer in an embryo? Can you look at that that early and say, hey, they're likely to
so that allows now two things:have cancer? Let's gene edit, let's CRISPR?
so that allows now two things:There are things called genetic panels.
so that allows now two things:So unfortunately, there's not one specific test that can predict any form of cancer.
so that allows now two things:We don't know yet.
so that allows now two things:We don't have the algorithms yet to predict anything.
so that allows now two things:So we're thinking we're going to get there.
so that allows now two things:There's a tremendous amount of money and effort and research going into
so that allows now two things:develop these software programs, and it's an area called bioinformatics.
so that allows now two things:That being said, there are a few markers for breast cancer, for a certain percent
so that allows now two things:of breast cancer, there's a gene called BRCA1.
so that allows now two things:Oh yeah. You can test for that, right? You can test for that.
so that allows now two things:Right.
so that allows now two things:And I think there's even a home test for that now, believe it or not.
so that allows now two things:I have friends that have done that who've lost their moms to breast cancer.
so that allows now two things:Right. So unfortunately, there isn't a lot of
so that allows now two things:treatment that's been better, although surgeons would say, no, we're better.
so that allows now two things:And that could be true.
so that allows now two things:But it's about diagnosing it early.
so that allows now two things:And breast cancer, prostate cancer, are
so that allows now two things:two types of cancer that can be seen early.
so that allows now two things:So really the two effective things are
so that allows now two things:early diagnosis, and then the other thing, of course, is surgery.
so that allows now two things:Cancer is energy-draining.
so that allows now two things:Your energy just leaves and your cells
so that allows now two things:can't support you and you pass on from that very wasting kind of disease.
so that allows now two things:It's very hard to watch.
so that allows now two things:Is your biggest dream and goal with CRISPR and many other different treatments to
so that allows now two things:eliminate this completely, or is it just to alleviate the pain and the suffering?
so that allows now two things:What are your biggest dreams around CRISPR?
so that allows now two things:The first level is to make standard of
so that allows now two things:care therapies work better and improve the quality of life.
so that allows now two things:What we learn from those patients will
so that allows now two things:eventually draw into preventing it or even reversing it.
so that allows now two things:So we try to be as realistic as possible because the folks ahead of us who were
so that allows now two things:pioneers in some ways actually went a little bit too quickly.
so that allows now two things:So I think that's the right way to approach this right now.
so that allows now two things:Same with genetic disease.
so that allows now two things:That's so tough because you want to
so that allows now two things:help, you want to do some good and change the world and...
so that allows now two things:Nuance, you know what I'm saying?
so that allows now two things:Add gray to everything you're doing, and I think you'll always find a better
so that allows now two things:outcome. Trying to do things absolutely just kind of backfires.
so that allows now two things:I've always wanted to ask someone like you this kind of question, what is your day-to
so that allows now two things:-day like with this? Do you have a lot of big picture questions all the time, or do
so that allows now two things:you sort of find a way to compartmentalize doing this kind of work?
so that allows now two things:Yeah, I think both.
so that allows now two things:We always have our eye on the goal line.
so that allows now two things:We definitely feel that we can contribute something, but at the
so that allows now two things:same time, we're sort of humbled by the challenge.
so that allows now two things:A lot of really smart people have come
so that allows now two things:before us where there were very few original ideas actually in science.
so that allows now two things:Putting them in different compartments, for me is really sort of thinking about
so that allows now two things:them in a different angle, different dimension.
so that allows now two things:And this doesn't stop at:so that allows now two things:There are people in the Institute lab at all hours of the night.
so that allows now two things:Over Thanksgiving, half of the lab was in
so that allows now two things:there in the afternoon on Thanksgiving day and the other half on Friday morning.
so that allows now two things:Because if you're drawn to this kind of work, you can't stop thinking.
so that allows now two things:So one of the questions that we are constantly asking through this series is,
so that allows now two things:not only what the science look like, but what do scientists look like?
so that allows now two things:One of the minorities in science beyond
so that allows now two things:the obvious ones -- and we need to do a lot better at that -- are actually women.
so that allows now two things:Interestingly, in the field of gene
so that allows now two things:editing and CRISPR biology, the majority of the young scientists are women.
so that allows now two things:e linked to the fact that the:so that allows now two things:to Jennifer Doudna and Emmannuelle Charpentier, two women.
so that allows now two things:And for the first time, they shared the
so that allows now two things:prize without a man standing on the podium with them.
so that allows now two things:And I think we all said it's about time.
so that allows now two things:One of the things we also do is we're
so that allows now two things:really trying to get out into the communities to share gene editing as a
so that allows now two things:breakthrough technology so that we have lots of color in the field.
so that allows now two things:We're tending to bring breakthrough
so that allows now two things:technologies to underserved communities by back-teaching them.
so that allows now two things:Oh, this really works great...
so that allows now two things:CRISPR and gene editing is a current technology.
so that allows now two things:So let's work our way in there.
so that allows now two things:And what we see when we do that with high
so that allows now two things:school students in summer camps, they love to see women and women of color.
so that allows now two things:And those are the people they want to talk to, not me.
so that allows now two things:And that's very important.
so that allows now two things:So the structure of the population of this
so that allows now two things:field may help to change the rest of science in general.
so that allows now two things:That's so dope. Great.
so that allows now two things:Thank you so much for opening that up and giving us all this fresh information,
so that allows now two things:because at the beginning, we were like what?
so that allows now two things:We had no idea what to expect.
so that allows now two things:What is "clustered regularly....?"
so that allows now two things:We learned so much.
so that allows now two things:It's been great. Thank you.
so that allows now two things:All right. Take care.
so that allows now two things:All right.
so that allows now two things:So we just got a lot of information and things presented to us.
so that allows now two things:Time to reflect.
so that allows now two things:Well, that was really interesting.
so that allows now two things:I have to admit, I came in a little
so that allows now two things:nervous about what we were going to be talking about.
so that allows now two things:So where are you now?
so that allows now two things:Cautiously relieved. You?
so that allows now two things:I really appreciated the presence of ethics.
so that allows now two things:Right. And trying to be careful
so that allows now two things:and also acknowledging there is some scary parts of it.
so that allows now two things:But most people are focused on the early
so that allows now two things:lifecycle, the embryos, and also at the end.
so that allows now two things:I absolutely loved that.
so that allows now two things:This is another cool example of how a
so that allows now two things:technology that's developed to help people who are not well later becomes a luxury,
so that allows now two things:potentially, down the line, in genetic modification.
so that allows now two things:So we're starting off first with trying to heal or detect and manipulate
so that allows now two things:early-onset signs of something particular, maybe even just in the embryo and
so that allows now two things:adjusting the cells early on to prevent disease later on.
so that allows now two things:Right.
so that allows now two things:So that's something that we're using for people who are unwell.
so that allows now two things:That's what the doctor said.
so that allows now two things:And then later it can become something that's a luxury tool.
so that allows now two things:Right?
so that allows now two things:And that's what people's biggest fears are.
so that allows now two things:And I did love that he talked about
so that allows now two things:regulation around designer babies and making a baby with
so that allows now two things:a certain color eye and s certain ability to play tennis or something like that.
so that allows now two things:He really knew.
so that allows now two things:And he has very strong thoughts about that not being where this goes.
so that allows now two things:Right. And, you know, I came into the
so that allows now two things:conversation a little pessimistic about cancer and other things that ail the human
so that allows now two things:species and really kind of keeps people in unwell space, like, just sick sometimes.
so that allows now two things:But some of the details that he gave left me optimistic.
so that allows now two things:I'm like, maybe we can start to move towards an actual cure for cancer and an
so that allows now two things:actual answer to these really hard-hitting diseases.
so that allows now two things:Yeah. It sounds like molecular medicine and gene
so that allows now two things:editing are much more multifaceted than we could have ever imagined.
so that allows now two things:Yeah. Let's switch gears a moment.
so that allows now two things:Okay, time for a Body of Knowledge segment.
so that allows now two things:In this segment, we're going to discuss
so that allows now two things:the topic of personalized health and genetics in an open-form discussion.
so that allows now two things:We're going to be throwing ideas, asking
so that allows now two things:questions with the chief bioscientist at the Franklin Institute, Dr.
so that allows now two things:Jayatri Das.
so that allows now two things:Welcome, Jayatri.
so that allows now two things:Okay, so we are back with Jayatri, and we
so that allows now two things:are talking about personalized health and genetics.
so that allows now two things:What does that make you think of?
so that allows now two things:I'm going to ask you guys a question. First is, like, when you think about your
so that allows now two things:DNA and who you are, what connection do you see between them?
so that allows now two things:I think of a long line of creative people,
so that allows now two things:and I'm super-creative, and I can't turn it off.
so that allows now two things:And sometimes I love that about myself.
so that allows now two things:And other times I'm like, oh, my God, stop making everything into a song.
so that allows now two things:But that's kind of my connection. I see a lot of creativity.
so that allows now two things:I see a lot of pride.
so that allows now two things:I love the fact that you thought really about thinking back about your family.
so that allows now two things:It's not just about physical traits, right?
so that allows now two things:What you end up is more about...
so that allows now two things:Well, noses.
so that allows now two things:My family has big noses. Big noses.
so that allows now two things:What about you, Angelica?
so that allows now two things:I did think physical.
so that allows now two things:Okay, so I'm Italian, so I'm like...hairy.
so that allows now two things:I look at all the photos, and I'm like, you guys are all hairy!
so that allows now two things:Like, it's just the way it is, right?
so that allows now two things:We're all hairy.
so that allows now two things:And I think of heart stuff has come up in
so that allows now two things:my family or like, my grandma did have brain cancer.
so that allows now two things:So I do think of those things, but
so that allows now two things:generally I love to look at my family, and I can just see how we all look similar.
so that allows now two things:And I think part of why people love having kids, too, is to see this version of
so that allows now two things:themselves, of their personal health and their genetics growing.
so that allows now two things:I think that that's a fascinating part of human life and family.
so that allows now two things:Well, I think the two elements that you
so that allows now two things:each brought to that conversation kind of illustrate the power of why we want to
so that allows now two things:take a more personalized approach to health and medicine.
so that allows now two things:Because, Angelica, you're absolutely right that there is so much of the DNA that
so that allows now two things:shapes our physical appearance and our health, but not entirely.
so that allows now two things:If anybody ever told you that whether or
so that allows now two things:not you can roll your tongue is based on your genetics, that's a myth.
so that allows now two things:Wow. Have you ever heard of any of those?
so that allows now two things:I haven't thought about it in that way, but yeah, right.
so that allows now two things:Like, speech and capabilities.
so that allows now two things:If your dad can play tennis, can you? Right.
so that allows now two things:So a lot of those traits are much, much more complex than being able to boil it
so that allows now two things:down to like, oh, you have a gene that tells you whether you can roll your tongue
so that allows now two things:or you have a gene that makes you creative.
so that allows now two things:That's not real.
so that allows now two things:There are some diseases that are caused by single changes in DNA.
so that allows now two things:Turns out earwax is also affected by a single gene.
so that allows now two things:It's one of my favorite examples, whether your ear wax is wet or dry.
so that allows now two things:Whoa. Wow.
so that allows now two things:What are yours? It comes down to one gene?
so that allows now two things:Yeah. What are yours?
so that allows now two things:Is it wet? That was a weird question.
so that allows now two things:Sorry.
so that allows now two things:That's a little personal. Your ear wax, sorry.
so that allows now two things:You know what? It's what I've seen.
so that allows now two things:So it's part of my personalized health and genetics and me and my friends and family.
so that allows now two things:That's fascinating. Wow.
so that allows now two things:Right. And so where that level of genetics comes
so that allows now two things:into play is thinking about whether medicine or some sort of behavioral
so that allows now two things:treatment, whether your genetic background will respond to that.
so that allows now two things:Right? Because all of our genes are different.
so that allows now two things:And sometimes that background makes a difference in whether or not your body
so that allows now two things:will respond to one medicine or another medicine.
so that allows now two things:You mentioned some things that were not necessarily true, like rolling the Rs and
so that allows now two things:being creative and so on and so forth. Are there some things that are actually
so that allows now two things:understood to be passed along dynamic in genes?
so that allows now two things:So, aside from a few diseases and then the
so that allows now two things:earwax trait, most things are not only influenced by a whole number of different
so that allows now two things:genes, but also very much from your environment.
so that allows now two things:Right? And this kind of gets, Bey, at what you
so that allows now two things:brought up, this being in a creative environment from a creative family. You
so that allows now two things:see that helping you become a creative person as well.
so that allows now two things:And so where we're looking now in terms of what's possible with health and genetics
so that allows now two things:and things like that is thinking about what we know about how our genes and the
so that allows now two things:environment actually interact with each other.
so that allows now two things:Genes don't necessarily make up who you are, but they can be very important in
so that allows now two things:thinking about how to design the most effective treatment for you.
so that allows now two things:Right.
so that allows now two things:My aunt went through this.
so that allows now two things:She passed away from lung cancer several years ago.
so that allows now two things:But part of her treatment was actually looking at the genetics of her cancer and
so that allows now two things:thinking about, okay, which drugs are best suited for her specific cancer.
so that allows now two things:And that's the power of medicine that we didn't have just a few decades ago.
so that allows now two things:Yes. It feels like luxury.
so that allows now two things:It does. It feels like luxury medicine, where
so that allows now two things:we're going to look at you and we're going to help you -- not just, we're not going
so that allows now two things:to just give you what works on most people.
so that allows now two things:We're going to look at what's going on with you.
so that allows now two things:And that's so important as we realize the genetic diversity among people.
so that allows now two things:Right.
so that allows now two things:That we can't just take these shortcuts like a social construct of race, for
so that allows now two things:instance, to make those assumptions about what's going to work.
so that allows now two things:That's so true.
so that allows now two things:Okay, we're going to move into our Body of
so that allows now two things:Knowledge auto-fill segment where we turn to the Internet to see what people are
so that allows now two things:asking about personalized health and genetics.
so that allows now two things:These are some of the most popular questions people are asking the Internet.
so that allows now two things:So we're going to get into some of the
so that allows now two things:questions that people have asked. "Is personalized healthcare legit?"
so that allows now two things:Yeah, definitely, for sure.
so that allows now two things:I think where that term...
so that allows now two things:I think there's a reason that we're kind
so that allows now two things:of moving from "personalized medicine" to "precision medicine" is to be a little bit
so that allows now two things:more intentional about what personalized means, because I feel like it's not like
so that allows now two things:somebody just monograms your medicine or something like that!
so that allows now two things:Right?
so that allows now two things:That would be cool.
so that allows now two things:I would buy that.
so that allows now two things:Is precision medicine the future of healthcare?
so that allows now two things:There are some complexities around that
so that allows now two things:question that we don't know the answer to yet, because some of it is very much in
so that allows now two things:terms of the theory versus the practicality of it.
so that allows now two things:If we could design everything to
so that allows now two things:everybody's particular genome, how much of a difference would that make?
so that allows now two things:I don't know that we know that yet.
so that allows now two things:And there's also a question of how expensive is it, right?
so that allows now two things:The realities of health care in the world that we live in?
so that allows now two things:Definitely. It seems expensive.
so that allows now two things:I hope everyone gets access to it eventually.
so that allows now two things:Oh, this is a cool question, and I'm glad
so that allows now two things:people are asking this : "is my DNA unique?"
so that allows now two things:Well, are you an identical twin?
so that allows now two things:I'm not. Are you guys?
so that allows now two things:No, I am not.
so that allows now two things:I don't know why I said it like that.
so that allows now two things:You had to think about it for a minute.
so that allows now two things:No, I am not an identical twin.
so that allows now two things:Do identical twins have exact same DNA?
so that allows now two things:So their DNA sequence is exactly the same when they're born.
so that allows now two things:But what's cool is that even identical
so that allows now two things:twins, they're not completely identical, right?
so that allows now two things:And part of what we've learned over the
so that allows now two things:last few decades is that there are ways that our genes are turned on and off in
so that allows now two things:different ways that don't just depend on the actual sequence of letters.
so that allows now two things:One of the simplest examples is that even
so that allows now two things:though identical twins have the same genome, their fingerprints are different.
so that allows now two things:Right. Wow.
so that allows now two things:Because there are so many other factors,
so that allows now two things:environmental factors that affect how those genes are turned off and on.
so that allows now two things:Even different parts of the body can have
so that allows now two things:genes turned off and on in different ways at different times.
so that allows now two things:For most of us, our DNA is unique.
so that allows now two things:But even among identical twins, there are
so that allows now two things:differences in terms of how you go from your DNA to who you are.
so that allows now two things:And I have a bit of a silly question, I
so that allows now two things:guess. Does your DNA and genetics change as you grow in age and develop different
so that allows now two things:experiences and travel and find a favorite color and eat some food and make a song
so that allows now two things:and all these different things with your experiences? Does your DNA change?
so that allows now two things:So, for a lot of those experiences, that's not going to affect your DNA.
so that allows now two things:Is it changing your brain?
so that allows now two things:Absolutely. Okay.
so that allows now two things:But your body does accumulate mutations in your DNA just over time.
so that allows now two things:Like every time your body makes a new copy
so that allows now two things:of DNA, there's a possibility of making a mistake.
so that allows now two things:Okay.
so that allows now two things:And sometimes there are environmental factors, like the sun:
so that allows now two things:UV rays can create mutations in your DNA that can lead to things like skin cancer.
so that allows now two things:Okay.
so that allows now two things:How often does your body make a new copy of DNA?
so that allows now two things:Oh, man. All the time.
so that allows now two things:I didn't know that. That's amazing.
so that allows now two things:So it's constantly making new DNA?
so that allows now two things:Yes. Fascinating.
so that allows now two things:Yeah. We think of ourselves as kind of like...
so that allows now two things:Stagnant. Done?
so that allows now two things:It's over!
so that allows now two things:Yeah, y ou're making new, you're replacing your
so that allows now two things:body's cells all the time and getting rid of all the dead ones.
so that allows now two things:Wow. Fascinating.
so that allows now two things:I love that.
so that allows now two things:Oh, I love this question.
so that allows now two things:Okay. "Are my genetics good?"
so that allows now two things:Oof! There's another value question!
so that allows now two things:They aight.
so that allows now two things:If you have to ask, Bey, they might not be.
so that allows now two things:No, I'm just kidding. If you're looking at the mirror and you're going, is this good?
so that allows now two things:I think we all feel that way.
so that allows now two things:There's some social pressure there.
so that allows now two things:There is for sure. And the last one is: "is my DNA in a database?"
so that allows now two things:So that's a really good question because a
so that allows now two things:lot of people choose to put their DNA in a database.
so that allows now two things:If you've gotten your
so that allows now two things:23andMe or Ancestry.com, then y eah, your DNA is in their database.
so that allows now two things:Low-key, I feel like Angelica put that question in there.
so that allows now two things:That's right up my alley! Right?
so that allows now two things:Yeah.
so that allows now two things:I will say, I didn't know when I did 23andMe.
so that allows now two things:I didn't read the paperwork and know that it's now in a database.
so that allows now two things:It's one of those things. I hate fine print.
so that allows now two things:I will accept it, yes, it is fine print, but life ultimately goes on.
so that allows now two things:Hi, this is Angelica Pasquini from So Curious.
so that allows now two things:You know what?
so that allows now two things:We love making this show, OK? B ut sometimes there are great fits.
so that allows now two things:We just can't fit them into the episode.
so that allows now two things:So we put together a bunch of great bonus
so that allows now two things:content and you can find that available at beyond fi.edu.
so that allows now two things:Thanks so much, Jayatri, and thank you so
so that allows now two things:much for tuning in to this episode of So Curious.
so that allows now two things:This podcast is part of The Franklin Institute.
so that allows now two things:The Franklin Institute is a science museum located in Philadelphia.
so that allows now two things:The Franklin Institute's mission is to
so that allows now two things:inspire a passion for learning about science and technology.
so that allows now two things:For more information on everything about
so that allows now two things:The Franklin Institute, visit fi.edu. This podcast is produced by Radio Kismet.
so that allows now two things:Radio Kismet is Philadelphia's premier
so that allows now two things:podcast network for businesses looking to develop their own branded podcast content.
so that allows now two things:Check them out at radiokismet.com.
so that allows now two things:There's a lot of people who make this podcast happen.
so that allows now two things:Thanks to the producers Joy Montefusco and
so that allows now two things:Jayatri Das. Our managing producer, Emily Charash.
so that allows now two things:Our operations head, Christopher Plant.
so that allows now two things:Our associate producer, Liliana Green.
so that allows now two things:Our audio team, Christian Cedarlund,
so that allows now two things:Goldie Bingley, Lauren DeLuca and Brad Florent.
so that allows now two things:Our development Producer, Opeola Bukola.
so that allows now two things:Our science Writer, Kira Bayette and our Graphic Designer Emma Sagar.