The Guardian – Robin McKie
“The ability to study our genes, the basic units of heredity, is transforming medicine. However, researchers have discovered a major stumbling block: only a tiny percentage of the British public understands even the simplest of terms used in genetics. Many assume the term genomics has something to do with gnomes, recent research has revealed. The problem – which threatens to blunt the impact of genetics-based medicine – has triggered a project, to be launched this week, which aims to combine the talents of scientists, social researchers and advertising experts to make the laws of genetics easily comprehensible. “Genetic information is not only important to individuals but also to their relatives,” said genetic counsellor Anna Middleton, a founder of the Socialising the Genome project. “But people lack the terms to talk about [it].” Middleton’s project involved discussions with groups across the country: members of a choir, a council estate residents’ group, a Women’s Guild branch, a curry club and parents from a London school. She asked what the words DNA, gene and genomics meant to them.”(more)