Reading the Culture: The greatest revolution since Leonardo da Vinci

Medical science is undergoing a historically significant transformation. “Personalized medicine” is the common name for this advance. This approach uses genetic information to predict disease and treat it more effectively. Francis Collins’ new book, The Language of Life: DNA and the revolution in personalized medicine (HarperCollins), is an authoritative guide to what he calls “the greatest revolution since Leonardo.”

Collins is one of the leading scientists in the world and a committed Christian. He serves as director of the National Institutes of Health and former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. He has been awarded the Pres-idential Medal of Freedom and National Medal of Science.

Collins shows us the astounding potential of personalized medicine. Researchers have identified genes that play a role in thousands of medical conditions. Genetics already can tell doctors if we are susceptible to certain cancers, enabling us to take preventive steps. They can help doctors prescribe chemotherapies or other medicines especially effective for us. And gene therapy can make medical treatments far more effective.

Collins quotes two researchers in the field who state, “There have been few, if any, similar bursts of discovery in the history of medical research.” And there is much more to come. It may be possible in the next five years to analyze the entire genetic makeup of a person for $1,000.

The Language of Life documents the wonder of our bodies:

• There are 6 billion base pairs of DNA in 400 trillion cells in your body. And there are 1 quadrillion (1,000 trillion) foreign microbial cells living on your body.

• Your brain contains 50 billion to 100 billion neurons, which pass signals to each other through about 100 trillion connections.

• The DNA sequence of any two individuals is 99.6 percent identical. We are truly sisters and brothers, children of one Father.

But Collins’ treatise also describes enormous ethical issues raised by personalized medicine. For example, “pre-implantation genetic diagnosis” involves impregnating several embryos, then implanting the one which tests as most healthy. If we believe that life begins at conception, as I do, we must ask what will happen to the other lives created in this way. Will advances in neonatal genetic testing motivate even more abortions? Are gender selection and “designer babies” in our future? Will human cloning become a possibility? Gene patents have been filed on as many as one-third of all human genes; will this trend escalate?

The more we learn about creation, the more we learn about our Creator. And the more we learn about our need for his wisdom. Collins quotes Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it.” However, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Only by submitting to his direction can we enable the future to his glory and our good.

Jim Denison is president of the Center for Informed Faith (www.informedfaith.com) and theologian-in-residence with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.