In a speech yesterday, Biology Professor Robert Pollack of Columbia University used metaphors to explain the structure and function of DNA in terms more easily understandable by the general public.
Pollack also discussed some of the ethical concerns related to DNA research and genetics but did not take a particular stand on the issues, which he said he will do in the seminars he will lead today.
Pollack described deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as a book -- or a chemical text -- made up of letters, words and sentences. The amino acid letters combine to form domains, or words, which in turn are arranged to create a gene sentence.
Just as these literary elements can be rearranged to create a unique text, the amino acids can be combined in different patterns to encode varying strands of DNA in different people, Pollack said.
But scientists have developed ways of interpreting and altering the amino acid sequences, enabling them to predict and even change the future of organisms, he said.
Pollack discussed some of the ethical issues raised when scientists study and manipulate DNA, including determining possible genetic diseases in newborns, curing existing diseases with gene therapy or creating transgenic babies -- a process by which scientists use genetic material to design an "experimental baby."
Pollack said society may not be ready to utilize genetic technology to predict the possible future development of diseases in an individual.
"We aren't prepared for the delivery of the news of a certain fate," said Pollack.
Citing examples of ethnic cleansing, mass sterilization and government arranged marriages in Nazi Germany in the 1930s, Pollack illustrated the possible dangers of carrying genetic research too far.
Pollack based his speech on the contents of his recent book, "Signs of Life: The Language and Meaning of DNA," which has been praised by U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala.
Deputy Provost Bruce Pipes, who has reviewed Pollack's book, introduced yesterday's speech.
"Professor Pollack raises some ethical issues of molecular biology -- the more we understand about the human gene, the more we can predict about what will happen to us. But how much do we really want to know?" Pipes said in an interview before the speech.
Pollack's lecture is part of a two-day visit to Dartmouth. In addition to teaching a biology class and meeting with students for lunch yesterday, today he will teach an engineering class, sign copies of his book at the Dartmouth Bookstore and give two seminars about transgenic babies and ethical issues.
