Environmental Contamination, Biotechnology, and the Law The Impact of Emerging Genomic Information: Summary of a Forum (2001) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Forum Summary
Forum Summary
Pages 4-24
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 4... ...
It will allow doctors to understand environmental diseases in far greater detail than ever before possible, and that in turn will make possible great improvements in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of these diseases. To think about the role of genetics in disease, Sharp said, it is helpful to distinguish among three broad types of genetic influence.
|
From page 5... ...
"Although a single genetic mutation in one of these alleles might not be highly predictive of a person's overall risks of disease," Sharp said, "if you take them together, they may combine in ways that are synergistic and actually help you look into the future." Furthermore, because sensitivity genes are far more common in most groups of people than either disease genes or susceptibility genes, they end up playing a large role in the development of diseases in a population as a whole. According to William Suk, of NIEHS, as researchers have studied environmental diseases in increasing detail, they have discovered that the diseases are typically quite complex, and this complexity makes the task of understanding how they develop much more difficult.
|
From page 6... ...
In the future, it might be possible to put all 100,000 or so human genes on one chip. "With such tools, the Environmental Genome Project at NIEHS is looking for the human genes that respond to various environmental exposures," Suk said.
|
From page 7... ...
Finally, Sharp said, doctors should eventually be able to prescribe individualized drug treatments based on a patient's genetic makeup. "The sensitivity genes that play a role in the metabolism of different environmental exposures are often the same genes that are implicated in the metabolism of pharmaceutical agents," he explained.
|
From page 9... ...
. "This type of contamination usually results from mining and manufacturing operations." Phytoremediation takes advantage of the fact that many metals such as copper, zinc, and nickel are actually plant micronutrients, Lasat explained.
|
From page 10... ...
caerulescens to the species of interest." That would provide a safe, cost-effective way of removing zinc and possibly, cadmium from contaminated soil. Furthermore, by using similar genetic techniques, it should be possible to create an array of plants that can extract many metal contaminants from soil in a similar way.
|
From page 11... ...
The task facing bioremediation specialists is to learn how to mix and match various useful bacterial traits to produce genetically engineered bacteria that can clean up collections of hazardous waste. "More generally, there is a long list of characteristics that researchers would like to be able to engineer into bacteria for the purpose of bioremediation," Burlage said.
|
From page 12... ...
Phil Sayre, of EPA, described a bacterium native to Florida that had been genetically engineered to degrade chlorinated solvents, such as trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene. It was used in a cleanup effort at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware and was surprisingly effective.
|
From page 13... ...
With the wealth of new genomic information and techniques that will become available over the next few years, the legal system is almost certain to find itself straining to answer questions that not even scientists can agree on. "Trying cases in court that involve scientific issues is never a simple matter," said Richard Levie, of ADR Associates in Washington, DC, a retired associate judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.
|
From page 16... ...
The legal system is not well equipped to roll back the clock years later, when new scientific studies suggest that the original verdicts might have been in error from a scientific point of view." A similar pattern of events unfolded in the litigation over silicon breast implants and their supposed connection with diseases of connective tissue, Levie noted. The coming genomic revolution will put even more pressure on the legal system, Levie predicted.
|
From page 17... ...
Therefore, it is more likely that this toxic exposure is the cause of my disease.' In the other, the defendant says that if the plaintiff has a genetic susceptibility, that susceptibility, rather than the toxic exposure, is the cause of the disease." Already, she said, there are a few cases in which defendants are seeking genetic testing of plaintiffs to see whether they have genetic susceptibilities to their diseases. Those arguments ignore the possibility that the genetic susceptibility and the toxic exposure acted in combination, Poulter noted.
|
From page 18... ...
"We need to think through our models carefully and consider what information we truly need from genetic testing. Otherwise, we are going to be using this information or trying to use it when the meaning is unclear, in which case there will be a high probability of misuse." In contrast with Poulter, whose concern was how the science of genomics could adversely affect the legal system, Larry Hourcle, a professor of environmental law at George Washington Law School in Washington, DC, spoke about how the legal system may impede the science.
|
From page 19... ...
If the companies originally responsible for the hazardous-waste site have closed or gone bankrupt something that is not uncommon in these cases the cleanup company could be left holding the bag. "So," Hourcle said, "there are some sites out there where, if you get involved with your biotechnology in trying to solve a problem and things go awry, you could be brought into an action with regard to paying for the increase in the cost or even the total cost of the cleanup." "Partly because of that situation, work on developing genetically modified organisms to clean up the environment has been going much more slowly than it could have," said Gilbert Omenn, a public-health expert and executive vice president for medical affairs at the University of Michigan.
|
From page 21... ...
Levie, who is also affiliated with the Einstein Institute, described its work this way: "The organization has been working with a number of scientists throughout the country to try to educate judges, not so much on how to decide any particular issue, but to expose them to some of the basic terminology and to have them at least start thinking about the legal questions that are going to be coming down the pike." No matter how well prepared judges are for a scientific case, they will still have to rely on the experts to provide objective and effective testimony, Levie noted. That is one way that individual scientists can make a difference.
|
From page 22... ...
"Unless the National Academies applies its letterhead here in a truly objective fashion, courts and legislatures could be paralyzed on issues related to biotechnology applications by the end of this decade." SUMMARY OF KEY POINTS This report summarizes the proceedings of a forum that was convened by the National Academies to examine various emerging biotechnology-based approaches and associated legal issues related to evaluating potential human health and environmental effects caused by exposure to environmental contaminants and cleaning up contaminated areas. The forum brought together scientists from academe, government, and industry and members of the legal community, including lawyers and judges, to discuss these complex scientific and legal issues.
|
From page 23... ...
As cases involving emerging genomic information enter the legal system, this problem could worsen. Several organizations have been established to educate judges about genetics, environmental science, and other fields of research.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.