Commonwealth Club Of California Podcast

Thanks to developments in genetic medicine, for the first time we have the ability to predict our genetic future, to diagnose and prevent disease before it begins, and to decode what it really means to be human. Since the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, the possibilities for genetic medicine have only grown. But what does the human genome and genome sequencing mean for citizens today, and what will it mean for health care over the next several decades? In his new book, The Genome Odyssey, Dr. Euan Ashley answers some of the questions by detailing the medicine and science behind genome sequencing, introducing a dynamic group of researchers and medical investigators who hunt for genetic answers, and bringing forward pioneering patients who open up their lives to the medical community during their search for diagnoses and cures for inherited diseases. Ashley describes how he led the team that was the first to analyze and interpret a complete human genome, how they broke genome speed records to diagno