Conscious approach to health: genetics as the key to quality life

"DNA as a way to know oneself" - this session takes place in the reading room of the Tauride Palace, which is very symbolic, because the genome is 6 billion letters, or nucleic acids. And if you set out to write it, it will be a multivolume publication that will take up the entire reading room from floor to ceiling.
We all need genetic passports in the future. In Russia, for example, drivers of high-speed trains already have them. Genetics helps to improve work efficiency and safety through personalized eating, exercise and rest patterns.

"When we approach each employee or each resident of our country in such a preventive manner, we continue his life, a quality life. Today, one of the priorities of health care," said Elena Zhidkova, Head of the Central Directorate of Healthcare - a branch of Russian Railways, Chairman of the Board of Directors JSC "RZD-HEALTH".

Any chromosomal abnormality of the fetus, including Down's syndrome, can be determined from a drop of the mother's blood. Within the framework of a pilot project in Moscow and Yamal, more than 12 thousand women have already been tested for free.

In a new project, Evogen is conducting full genomic sequencing of couples before they become parents. "We are conducting research in future parents to determine whether they are carriers or not. In the future, if they are carriers of the same disease, further genetic technologies can be used," explained Olesya Sagaidak, head of the scientific and medical department of the Evogen company, candidate medical sciences.

Young Russian bioinformatics from the Genotech company are working on applying the results of genetic tests to everyday life.

“We will be perceived by various services not as a separate person, but as a person with a specific genome. You can come to a cafe and they will offer you food that is useful for you,” said Artem Ermulatov, Development Director of Genotek LLC.

Part of the session is devoted to improving the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus using molecular genetic tests.

“The presence of mutations is a risk. If we know the risks, if we are ready for them, we can know how to neutralize them, how to mitigate them, how to walk along the edge of the abyss of a potential disease and avoid them. if it suddenly manifests itself, "said Maria Vorontsova, leading researcher at the National Medical Research Center for Endocrinology of the Ministry of Health of Russia, member of the Presidium of the Russian Association for the Promotion of Science of the Russian Federation.

The genome also holds the key to longevity. Joint research by Russian and foreign experts shows that people who have lived to be 105 years old have a unique genetic background, thanks to which their bodies repair DNA more efficiently.

Knowing your own genetic characteristics allows you to be more conscious about your health. After all, a mass approach, when patients are treated according to certain standards, is not always effective.