Click to viewWith newSMRT DNA sequence — and that ’s Single - Molecule Real - Time , not cutespeak for “ voguish ” — it might soon be possible to get the complete details of your own genome for the price of an iPod . At long last , you ’ll be able to prove to the domain that you truly are a beautiful and unequalled snowflake . That , however , is only the lead of the berg as far as desoxyribonucleic acid sequencing fun is interest : What more could you do with familiar information about all 3 billion of your DNA base pairs ?
conserve your DNA sequence on a compact disk . To store the data contained in the strands of your DNA , you ’d call for about750 megabytes ; that ’s just a little larger than the average compact disc . And if you forget about introns , non - coding RNA , regulative sequences , and the as - yet - mysterious “ junk desoxyribonucleic acid , ” you ’ll see that only between 20,000 and 25,000 human genes code for the proteins that make you who you are . That might even fit on a pollex drive .
Tell your doctor precisely what medication you demand . AsDiscover Magazinereported , SMRT DNA sequence mean that super - personal medical fear is not too far by :
As DNA sequencing becomes faster and more low-priced , it should allow the building of a more complete database of transmissible selective information . “ Once we can build that sort of database for the human being , it helps us much better understand disease , how to diagnose disease , how safe to treat disease , ” suppose Richard Wilson , the director of the Genome Sequencing Center at Washington University in St. Louis . With that information , he says , personalized medicine will become commonplace . Visits to the Dr. could then produce treatments tailored not just to your life-style and family history , but also to your transmitted visibility .
Befriend a fruit fly reading of yourself . Creepily enough , humans and yield fliesshare about 60 % of their genes . Once you ’ve got a full mapping of your genes , why not regain a fruit fly whose gene make it 60 % precisely like you ? And do n’t stop there — you’re able to also turn your relative genomics approach tothe honey bee , the African elephant , and the Platypus .
Commission a rampart poster that fully encompasses your identity . You might already have theHuman Genome Landmarks poster , which maps out all the traits associated with the 22 autosomal chromosome pairs in your eubstance — and that controversial grammatical gender one , too . Now , with a SMRT sequence of your specific genome , that poster can get up - snug , personal , in your expression , and all through your body .
place your DNA succession into infinite . Okay , so maybe you ’re not famed enough to havea sample of yourself lend to the Immortality Drive . But you may still check that unknown will recognize you from a light - year aside ; just scrawl down the conformation of your base pairs on a long piece of report , roll it up , and stick it into that rocket your aunty afford you last vacation time of year . If you could get your DNA details through the atmosphere , they ’ll drift much always in the vacuum surrounding the star , just waiting to be discovered by some sexy weird - eared extraterrestrial friend .
Go to political party in a necklace you know no one else will be wearing . Though it ’s promote for pets , Perpetua’slife jewel pendantcould be a with child way to honour humans as well . This bit of jewelry can “ purify ” your desoxyribonucleic acid “ into a mulct , silky internet that captures a luminescent color tincture of your selection . ” Sounds like the indispensable accoutrement I ’ve always need .
Meet your children before they ’re born . “Mommy , What Will I attend Like?”may not have act for Lindsay Bluth , but it surely can for you . Line up your DNA episode next to that of your long - full term significant other ( or your favourite celebrity ) , and bonk forthwith if your children will be attractive and non - alcohol addiction - prone . But remember — Ethan Hawke kicked As in Gattaca , and his spunk - disease - y spaceman was consider in a hurry in the back of a gondola .
enter out your ideal diet . If you ca n’t lose weight just by avoiding carbs , perhaps there ’s a genetic grounds for your trouble . The come forth field ofnutrigenomicsmight have an answer for you , peculiarly if you show up at an expert ’s door with your entire genetic sequence .
Become a slayer Acrophobia competition . Thismultiplayer acronym gamewas one of the good things about being online in the ’ 90s , and it ’s long past time for Acrophobia to make a comeback . See if the other players can come up with any brilliant and hilarious expansions for the tops - farseeing bowed stringed instrument of Gs , As , Cs , and Ts that is your genetic code . You ’ll be testing their synonym finder prowess for sure .
do a search across Earth to find masses just like you . We ’re already storing a riches of information about genomes in databases likeGenBankand theInternational HapMap Project . Once citizenry can easy procure their own DNA chronological succession , it seems like just a hop , skip , and a jump to the Facebook or MySpace where your genome is your personal visibility . or else of searching for masses in your eminent schoolhouse graduating family , you could search for people whose chromosomal particular meet your own — I wonder how high up Sarah Palin would be on Tina Fey ’s law of similarity list . There probably is n’t a cistron for comedy , is there ?
Gattaca image fromSciFlicks .
Gattaca
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