What if you had a way to learn about your past, while predicting your future? Would you be interested in accessing information that may have clues to explain who you are today? On March 6th, Science North held it’s 9th Science Café downtown at the Laughing Buddha. The topic was genetics, and more specifically how our genetic profile links us to our past, explains our present, and could give us insight to the future.Along with moderator Dana Murchison, panelists included Dr. Amadeo Parissenti, an Affiliate Scientist with the Tumour Biology Research Group at Health Sciences North, Dr. Ryan Parr, the Chief Scientific Officer of Mitomics Inc. and Heather Dorman, a Genetic Counsellor at Health Sciences North. The audience enjoyed mulling over several topics, and there was no shortage of questions. Here’s one for you to think about: would you want to know your entire genetic profile, even if it showed something that would drastically alter your future? To hear discussion on this question and many others, click on the link below for the full audio podcast of the evening. Click here to listen to the podcast >For more information on our Science Cafe series, you can contact Dana Murchison at:(705) 522-3701 ex. 208, or murchison@sciencenorth.ca.

Ever walk outside into the bright sunlight and suddenly start sneezing?  It might not be an attack of seasonal allergies!  About one-third of the world’s population gets sneeze attacks triggered by looking at bright lights.  This phenomenon is known as the photic light reflex, or “ACHOO” (Autosomal Dominant Compelling Helio-Ophthalmic Outburst) syndrome.   Scientists as far back as Aristotle have been trying to explain this reflex, but even today, the science behind these “sun sneezes” is still yet to be fully understood.  Sneezes are normally triggered when our noses are irritated in some way, and that irritation is sensed by the trigeminal nerve – a cranial nerve that is responsible for facial sensation and motor control.  The trigeminal nerve passes close by the optic nerve (responsible for vision).  Some theories believe that the photic light reflex is the result of a “crossed signal” between these two nerves: a flood of bright light triggers the optic nerve to send a signal to the brain, and the trigeminal nerve happens to pick up some of that signal and also forwards it to the brain.  The brain then interprets the bright light as a nose irritant, and triggers a sneeze.But could this sort of sneezing ever have been helpful to humans?  Some scientists think so.  It is believed that this reflex might have evolved way back when humans were largely cave-dwellers.  Upon leaving their caves, bright sunlight might have triggered sneezes to clear the nose and throat of cave dust and mustiness.The photic light reflex may not be especially useful today, but at least it is not as strange as some other sneezing reflexes that exist.  Some people sneeze in response to periocular injections - just as a needle is being inserted into the eye – which could pose risks with certain eye-related surgeries.  Other people might experience something called “snatiation” and get a sneeze attack after eating a large meal. Now that’s something to think about next time you feel a sneeze coming on!

Picture this: you spit in a tube, drop it in the mail, and six to eight weeks later you can scan through your very own genetic information online in the comfort of your home. It might seem like science fiction, but a number of companies are currently offering this service at bargain-basement prices. In the ten years since the Human Genome Project published a complete sequence of the DNA that makes us who we are, the amount of information available about our personal genetics has exploded. So what are we supposed to do with it? Many people turn to genetics to look for answers about the past. Personal ancestry and paternity are fundamentally important to us, and genetics can be applied relatively easily to these questions. We’re also making great advances in personalized medicine; someday in the not-too-distant future, we may be able to run a test to get a whole-genome snapshot of our current state of health. We can already use genetics to analyze different types of cancer to make decisions about how to treat them.But when it comes to predicting the future, the potential of genetic information is still unclear. You may be able to determine what genes you have in your DNA, but obscure interactions between genes and the effects of the environment complicate the picture. Simply possessing one gene associated with multiple sclerosis isn’t very useful for predicting your likelihood of developing the disease. Even if you could know, what would you do with that information? For diseases like MS where there is no prevention and no cure, many people would rather not know how likely they are to be affected. For health problems that can be prevented, would genetic information make us healthier? Would you change your lifestyle choices if you knew that you were at an increased risk for obesity, type 2 diabetes or heart disease? We’ll discuss all these questions and more at a Science Café on Tuesday March 6th 2012 at 7:30pm at the Laughing Buddha Café. Admission and snacks are free. Three panelists will prompt audience discussion in a casual atmosphere. Dr. Amadeo Parissenti is an Affiliate Scientist with the Tumour Biology Research Group at Health Sciences North. Dr. Ryan Parr is the Chief Scientific Officer of Mitomics Inc. and part of a team that used genetics to identify the youngest victim of the Titianic disaster. Heather Dorman is a Genetic Counsellor at Health Sciences North. Join us to explore what genetics can tell us about where we’ve come from, how our bodies function right now, and what the genetic future might hold. For more information, contact Dana Murchison at 705-522-3701 x208 or murchison@sciencenorth.ca. Want to join the discussion virtually? Tweet your questions @danamurchison.