 Hybrid, a division of recorded books, presents DNA is not destiny, the remarkable, completely misunderstood relationship between you and your genes, by Stephen J. Hina, read by Stephen R. Thorne. Chapter 1 Introduction In the second week of April, 2003, our world changed forever. We sequenced the first complete human genome. We now have access to information about ourselves that no previous generation has ever had. We can peer directly into our own genetic makeup. We each have a unique string of nucleotides in ourselves that contributes to who we are, and since that fateful week in 2003, we are able to unravel this string and read it. It's a six-billion-letter autobiographical code that seemingly flows straight from the pen of God. Our genome contains deep secrets about us, where our ancestors came from, which diseases we'll likely avoid and which ones might kill us, and what kinds of physical and psychological attributes we're predisposed to have. This remarkable scientific revolution seems to provide us with nothing short of a window into our souls. It is hard not to be both excited and frightened about the vast potential of this achievement. Our knowledge of the human genome promises a flood of great medical advances. For example, President Bill Clinton foresaw a future in which genetic discoveries made it conceivable that our children's children will know the term cancer only as a constellation of stars. And we may someday have the potential not only to treat diseases but also, via genetic engineering, to eliminate hundreds of genetic diseases for good. Many talk breathlessly about a future with designer babies, where prospective generations will not only be born with fewer genetic vulnerabilities to disease, but also with genetic enhancements that make them more fit and more intelligent than ever before. Moreover, our knowledge of the human genome can be used as a nearly ironclad means to identify individuals. For example, the popular crime drama CSI, Crime Scene Investigation, was based on the premise that crime scenes were riddled with invisible traces of DNA that unambiguously identified all who were involved. Indeed, this plays out in real court cases that depend on DNA testing to identify the perpetrators. Sometimes this endeavor can get taken to absurd ends, such as the Hong Kong Cleanup Initiative, which promises to collect DNA traces from litter to create a picture of the litterer's face to publicly identify and shame him or her. The same logic has been explored.