Resources

Videos

Introducing The GRACE Project - Your community and genetics research

It’s an exciting time for genetics research – large-scale biomedical research cohorts allow volunteers from all over the country to share their genetic information, which are being used by scientists across the world to make new discoveries and advances in healthcare.

But unfortunately, current genetics research doesn’t represent and benefit us all equally. Ethnic minorities are underrepresented in genetics research, with the same being true for disadvantaged socioeconomic groups, as well as those with health conditions and disabilities.

We, the GRACE project, research and engage directly with communities, for giving them a voice, and identifying barriers and concerns which prevent their participation in genetics.

What is genetics? And how can it affect our health?

Have you ever wondered, ‘what is genetics?’ You may have heard words like ‘DNA’, ‘gene’ and ‘genetic mutation’, but what exactly do they mean? The words around genetics can seem intimidating, but it is useful to know about how our genes shape us and make us who we are.

In this animated video, we talk about what genetics is, and use a simple cooking analogy to help explain genetic mutations and their potential consequences in the body.

Medical uses of genetic testing

Have you ever wondered what genetic testing can tell us about our health? In this video, we look at some types of genetic testing used specifically for medical purposes.

Predictive genetic testing is one such method, which can tell us a person’s risk of developing a certain condition in future, even if they don’t have any symptoms yet. For example, having particular changes in the BRCA genes increases a person’s risk of certain cancers. Here, we look at the choices celebrity Angelina Jolie made in response to the diagnosis that she carried such a gene change.

Further uses of genetic testing

When you hear the word ‘genetic testing’, you may think about its medical uses, such as to diagnose genetic conditions. But genetic testing isn’t limited to the medical field.

In this video, we look at some other important uses of genetic testing that you might not know about. For example, genetic ancestry testing compares a person’s DNA to others from around the world to look for similarities which can predict things about their ancestry and heritage, such as their ethnicity.

Can we be categorised by our DNA?

“Race is just a social construct!” You may have heard experts say this, but what does the science say? Can our DNA group us the way many imagine?

In this video, we highlight that, despite substantial variations in both genetics and appearance, humanity worldwide has a genetic continuity formed by geographic gradients and intermixing. Thus, ethnicities should not be thought of as distinct, discrete genetic groups that are far apart.

In this animated video, we provide a simple analogy to explain this continuity. While we think of colours as distinct, and assign them different labels such as red, green and blue, we look at a colour palette to understand the continuity of colours, and the difficulty of assigning discrete labels.

Read further on OpenLearn.

FAQs

• Potential Concerns about Genetic Testing
• Survey Information Sheet

External Resources

• Genetic and genomic testing | NHS
• Making the decision to have predictive testing | Genetic Alliance UK
• Benefits and risks of genetic testing | Genetic Alliance UK
• What is inheritance? | BBC Bitesize
• Inheritance and genetics | BBC Bitesize
• Who Are Genetic Counselors? | Personal Genetics Education Project
• Lessons | Personal Genetics Education Project

Would you exclude me? | Breaking Down Barriers

How does Ancestry Testing work? Exploring Admixture Testing | Personal Genetics Education Project

Why did my Ancestry Results change? Exploring Admixture Testing | Personal Genetics Education Project

The Common Thread: DNA and Human Variation | Personal Genetics Education Project

What is Personalized Medicine? | Leukemia & Lymphoma Society