[ti:Huge US Study Starts Sharing Gene Findings with Volunteers] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]DNA is the main molecule that carries genetic information in the cells of living things. [00:09.96]More than 155,000 Americans [00:14.88]who shared their DNA for science are about to learn something in return: [00:21.63]Do they have any worrisome genes? [00:26.36]It is part of a very large study to see how people's genetics, environments, [00:33.93]and behavior combine to govern their overall health. [00:40.04]The National Institutes of Health (NIH) said recently it is now starting to tell [00:47.87]those in the study about some early findings. [00:53.32]Like if they carry variants that can cause any of 59 genetically passed down diseases [01:01.54]or cause medication problems. [01:05.76]Because everyone with the same gene will not have the same health outcome, [01:11.70]sharing those results may mean new discoveries. [01:17.48]Dr. Josh Denny heads the NIH's study, called "All of Us." [01:25.08]He asked, "What are the drivers in that variability?" [01:31.40]And he added, "The way they change their behaviors in response to the findings, [01:38.04]we'll be able to look at that." [01:41.52]The All of Us study is a never-before-seen effort to reduce differences in healthcare [01:49.15]and end today's one-size fits all care. [01:54.68]Researchers aim to follow 1 million people from different groups for at least ten years. [02:04.36]Their goal is to better understand the complex combinations [02:09.63]of reasons that decide why one child gets sick and not another, [02:16.44]or why a cure for one patient fails in another. [02:22.16]Volunteers share DNA samples, medical records and health history. [02:29.84]About 560,000 have signed up so far. [02:35.48]And more importantly, nearly half are from racial and ethnic groups [02:41.87]historically left out of medical research. [02:46.60]Traditionally, such studies are like a one-way street – scientists learn a lot from volunteers [02:55.31]who get little personal information in return. [03:00.12]But in an unusual move, All of Us volunteers get to decide if they want to learn [03:07.29]health-related genetic findings, long before the study's finished. [03:14.16]Rachel Peterson is an NIH employee who volunteered for All of Us [03:20.31]before recently becoming a leading member of the project. [03:25.60]An All of Us genetic counselor [03:28.05]informed her that she was at increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer [03:35.24]because of a gene named BRCA-2. [03:39.48]Peterson did not know that was a risk for her family. [03:44.44]She plans to discuss health treatments with her doctor, [03:48.26]such as increased breast cancer screening. [03:53.04]She said, "I kind of shudder to think about what could happen if I hadn't known this." [04:00.68]Denny estimated two to three percent of study volunteers [04:05.61]will learn they have a well-known genetic variant [04:09.36]that can cause some cancers, heart conditions, or other health problems. [04:16.32]Many more will have genetic variants [04:19.06]that affect how their body processes some medicines. [04:24.60]For now, volunteers will only be given findings they can do something about, [04:30.45]such as seeking earlier testing, or changing medications. [04:36.76]They will be offered free testing, genetic counseling, [04:40.90]and help with sharing the information with their doctors and family members. [04:47.88]But there is a lot more to learn. [04:50.68]For example, many of the disease-linked genes [04:55.22]were discovered by studying people of European ancestry. [05:01.12]Eric Venner of Baylor College of Medicine is a genetics expert. [05:07.40]He said different variants may affect other ancestries. [05:13.08]And his team is studying the data from All of Us [05:17.15]to see which differences matter most to which populations. [05:23.32]Denny commented on the power of being able to talk to volunteers [05:28.36]who they could work with for tens of years. [05:32.52]If new findings affect study volunteers, [05:36.20]"we're going to keep things up to date," Denny said. [05:40.92]I'm Gregory Stachel.更多听力请访问51VOA.COM