HOI

it was odd how soon what i read would become relevant. a week after reading Jame Watson's introductory book on DNA, my lectures in medical school started to focus heavily on this topic. Genes and cystic fibrosis, genomes and achromoplasia, heterozygous and whatnot. basically A level biology genetics, all over again, except with a medical slant. and what a slant. i quickly found that there was much much, more to medicine than just hard science. unlike the clear, hard facts we get in biology class, genetics in medical school was more greyish, and probability was the buzzword. In many cases, the physician, far from being certain of the cause of a genetic disorder, has to figure out mind-boggling chances of so-and-so having such a genetic condition and blah blah. And there is usually more than one possible cause. What good does all the figures do for the anxious parent-to-be if you tell her that she has a 25% chance of having a baby down with ABC disease? When all she wants is some reassurance that she can have a safe and healthy baby, not a headache worrying if she should have him given the chance of abnormalties?
yet despite all the dilemmas that it brings to patients, genetic medicine is becoming increasingly common in clinical practice. and until the science becomes more precise (or amniocentesis gets safer) genetic medicine will remain something that we shall just have to live with.