The Gene Code
Are we defined by our genes? Or can we transcend them? Is our fate determined by the particular variant of the DNA molecule we inherit or can we break free of genetic code? Is there such a thing as ‘genetic determinism’ or are we in control of our lives?
This two part series will seek answers to all these questions and more on both a personal and public level.
2 x 60 minutes for BBC4 and the Open University
Reporting from the Frontline of Genetic Science
Evidence from the frontline of genetic science provides fascinating insights into how humans tick, what kills us and what doesn’t, as well as into our evolutionary history. It also opens up intriguing possibilities for our future – this science may transform everything, from the medicines we take to what we are. In two 60 minute films The Gene Code delves deep into all this.
The science does not definitively reveal which is more important, nature or nurture, genes or environment. It offers no magical way of predicting the future of any individual human. It starts with the humble acknowledgement that the way in which the bare genetic code we inherit turns into a living, breathing person is perhaps one of the most complex processes human science has ever tried to untangle.
These films will report with great clarity what we know about this process. They will also celebrate the enormous mysteries that remain unsolved.
Sometimes, as Douglas Adams showed, the question is more interesting than the answer.