1970s, representing a breakthrough in the ability to
manipulate synthetic substances such as INSULINto
create products biologically identical to endoge-
nous substances and launching what has become
known as the biotech industry. Pharmacogenomics
expands the intersection of genetics and pharma-
cology, with researchers in both disciplines devel-
oping customized medications that integrate with
an individual’s genotype to produce predictable,
reliable, and effective results with minimal poten-
tial for adverse DRUGreactions. Many researchers
believe aging itself is a function of genetics.
Continued work to understand the details of the
human genome makes it not only conceivable but
likely that on the horizon are therapies to correct
genetic mutations and chromosomal errors, and
perhaps to overcome the dimensions of aging, that
are deleterious to health.
Genetics and molecular medicine open new
vistas in medical ethics as well. The line between
life-altering treatments and altering life itself
becomes increasingly blurred. GENETIC TESTINGhas
the capability to tell not only what is already
wrong with a person but what will go wrong in
the future, and sometimes even with a timeline.
Medical ethicists worry that such information is
too much to know and that the risk is high for
physicians and their patients (and other parties
that have access to the information) to believe the
book of life, as it were, is carved in stone rather
than set in proteins. Many variables still remain
within the control of individuals in regard to
health and medical decisions. Environmental
interactions—lifestyle factors—can modify most
health conditions associated with genetic alter-
ations. Even with all the knowledge arising from
the science fiction–like world of genetics and
molecular medicine, for many people lifestyle
remains the critical turning point between health
and disease.112 Genetics and Molecular Medicine