As the Human Genome Project and subsequent research generate DNA tests for predispositions to all kinds of conditions, little is known about what it is like to live with such knowledge. These stories are aimed at illuminating the dilemmas of some of the first Americans to reach this genetic frontier. If there is a unifying “finding,” it is that the information is invariably double-edged. It can bring huge benefits but they come with burdens that we may not fully contemplate as we rush to embrace it.
Judges’ Comments: Amy Harmon’s stories on the increasing ability to find out the genes we’ve inherited – and what some do with that information – was fascinating and heartbreaking. The brave young woman who found out she faces an early death sentence, parents who want to show others the joy of a child with Down’s Syndrome and a woman’s choice of radical surgery to avoid cancer are the early examples of what our DNA will eventually reveal to those that want to know.
Read “The DNA Age” by Amy Harmon:
- “Facing Life With a Lethal Gene” – March 18, 2007
- “Prenatal Test Puts Down Syndrome in Hard Focus” -May 9, 2007
- “Cancer Free at 33, but Weighing a Mastectomy” – Sept. 16, 2007
- “My Genome, Myself: Seeking Clues in DNA” – Nov. 17, 2007