Through genomic sequencing, it is now possible to identify potential health risks in newborns, allowing for proactive health measures. Robert Green, director of Genomes2People, emphasizes that while DNA cannot predict every illness, it can reveal significant health vulnerabilities from birth. Approximately 12 percent of babies have disease-related genetic mutations, which can offer insights into potential future health conditions. However, possessing a mutation does not ensure disease manifestation, and early detection can lead to beneficial lifestyle adjustments and regular screenings to mitigate risks.
Genomics is sort of the tip of the spear, because you can actually profile some of the vulnerabilities that a child will have for their entire lifetime at the moment of birth through their DNA.
DNA isn't a crystal ball for every kind of illness by any means, but there's a surprisingly large amount of human health that we can now probabilistically look at in the DNA of a newborn child or really a child at any age.
Green's team found that about 12 percent of babies carry a disease-associated genetic mutation. Some of them are considered rare diseases, but in the aggregate, they're not rare at all.
Just having the mutation doesn't guarantee a baby will get the disease, and many conditions can vary greatly in their severity. But, early detection means you can screen regularly, start diet or lifestyle choices.
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