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| 18 February 2005 |
| Addict gene |
| Take a look at some new research about addiction that's producing interesting results. |
MARY GEARIN: Welcome to the lab. Like it or not, we're all in the Petri dish now as more scientists than ever look for the cause of our habits lying hidden in our helixes. DR JOHN WHITFIELD: The advances in DNA technology mean that techniques can be applied to this type of research which weren't possible before and which give the prospect of what you might call an explosion in outcomes in actual findings that we can use. MARY GEARIN: It's a detective story with an unknown number of villains. We haven't established how many of our 40,000 genes may leave us more likely to be addicted, but some scientists do believe they've confirmed a layperson's principle - that we're about half nature, half nurture. DR JOHN WHITFIELD: The conclusion at the moment is that genetics accounts for about half the variation in liability to a number of kinds of addiction and that environmental influences, or just the random things that happen to us as we go through life, account for the other half. MARY GEARIN: Of course, genes won't determine who will or won't become an addict, only those who are more prone to becoming one. Listen to reformed smoker and a leading researcher in the field Wayne Hall. PROFESSOR WAYNE HALL: I think we really do have a task in front of us to educate people that genetic doesn't mean fixed, immutable, unchangeable, fated. It still leaves plenty of room for human decision, choice and capacity to influence and change behaviour. MARY GEARIN: Wayne Hall is pushing for regulations to deal with the ethical implications that have inevitably surfaced. WAYNE HALL: If we were able to identify people in advance as being at high risk because they possessed a set of genes, then that might have adverse effects on them in terms of the way others in their social environment treat them. It might have effects if insurance companies take account of that information or employers and so on. MARY GEARIN: But would addicts take any more responsibility for their own actions? Our distinctly unscientific sample of smokers told us not really. If a test came out, would you have yourself tested to see if you had that gene? JULIE: Honestly, probably not. MARY GEARIN: Would you want your kids to take that test to perhaps warn them off smoking if they had that gene as well? JOHN MACKAY: Only if they become problem smokers I'd probably suggest it, yeah. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. |
story notes |
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Petri dish A shallow dish used in laboratories to grow things. To say that we are all in the Petri dish means that we can all be experimented on in a laboratory. hidden in our helixes hidden in our DNA  DNA is the molecule that carries all the information that organisms inherit.
It is shaped like a double helix. layperson's principle A layperson is someone who's not an expert or a scientist. A layperson's principle is something that ordinary people believe. half nature, half nurture Nature refers to the qualities we are born with. For instance, some people are naturally intelligent. Nurture refers to the upbringing and experiences in a person's life. For instance, people learn more if they grow up with books and go to school. So we say a person's intelligence is half nature and half nurture. genetics Genetics is the study of genes, or the way things are inherited. accounts for explains variation in liability The word variation is used to talk about the amount of difference between things. Liability refers to the likelihood that something will happen. The variation in liability is the difference between what is likely to happen to people. Some people will be very likely to become addicted and some will not. addiction An addiction is the state of being addicted. To be addicted is to have a habit, or to need to do something. It usually refers to taking drugs. Example: People get addicted to smoking. fixed, immutable, unchangeable, fated These words are synonyms. They all mean unable to be changed in advance before something has happened Example: If you could know in advance the results of the races, you could win a lot of money. adverse effects bad effects take account of To take account of something is to consider it when making a decision.
Example: You must take account of price increases when we do next year's budget. |