“Most of the aggressiveness in the world is not in the genes.”

Professor of Legal Medicine and director and researcher of the Galician Public Foundation of Xenomia Medicine and the National Genotyping Center. Member of the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences. Jaume I Award, Adelaide, Medal of Galicia, Castelao and favorite son of the town where he was born: Sta. Comba.

Q _ How would you define genetics for the youngest?

A_Es the science that studies the inheritance and therefore the genes that are in the DNA. This is the book of all forms of life. As a book of instructions that defines any living being: Its species and its individuality.

It must be understood as a book with an alphabet of only four letters: A (Adenine) T (Thymine) C (cytosine) G (Guanine) (1), with three-letter words and with chapters of instructions that we call genes. It is an easy way to understand it well and it started when the earth was formed, shortly after the earth was formed life began and life is DNA and that is what genetics is: the study of that book.

Q _ Why it took so long to lay the foundations of the human genome and now genetic maps are made so quickly?

A_The technique of reading the letters of life instructions of the book of life was discovered by several groups, but particularly was the group of Frederick Sanger in 1977 for which he was awarded his second Nobel prize for chemistry in 1980. We call him DNA sequencing. At first it was very difficult to simply sequence a page and now a new technology called “Massive Parallel Sequencing” has been invented where whole genomes can be analyzed in a very short time and at very low cost.

While the human genome project took 12 years, to sequence a human genome and so many thousands of researchers at such a high price, we now do a lot here a week and in many laboratories around the world, it is an absolutely radical change that happened in recent years .

 

Q _ What are you investigating in the European projects that you are carrying at this moment?

A_Son group lines such as cancer genomics research, also rare diseases, neurodevelopment, can be from any of the group’s research lines of work, as far as I’m concerned most of the projects are cancer and of forensic genetics, but we are also in international consortia of autism.

Q _ How can you help autism patients with their genetic diagnosis?

A_ At the moment, the genetic diagnosis of autism is important for several reasons, not so much for the treatment that it will be in the future. It is especially for genetic counseling, for families who have autistic children and want to have another child and also to predict Comorbidities. Many times when having a genetic defect you know that you have probabilities of other problems: you must make a prediction and risk prevention for example epilepsy or other things and that is why it is important and little by little there will be therapies, but at the moment it is for the adequate Genetic Counseling and for the prevention of the risk of other comorbidities.

In the autism project we are working a lot with the help of international consortiums especially in the “International Autism Sequencing Consortium” and also with the help of the “María José JOVE Foundation” that is helping us a lot too.

(1) AGCT These are the nucleotide units of a DNA band.

 

Q _ Is there a gene for aggressiveness that could be isolated?

A_Most of the aggressiveness is not due to genetic causes but to other causes. Although it is true that there are genetic diseases that people who suffer from them have behavior disorders that can lead to more aggressiveness, but most of the aggressiveness that exists in the world is not in the genes.

Q _ Is it possible to modify the genes in the embryonic stage to eradicate diseases in the future life?

A_The techniques of Crisper’s genetic editing (1) are worth many things between them open the possibility of gene therapies (2) or cellular, but not so much in what is the modification of the genome at the germinal level that is more complex, also not It is allowed by legislation and has risks at the moment.

Q _ When could members be regenerated (if they were to achieve) by investigating how other animals such as the axolotl or other amphibians do?

A_Not at the moment, it’s a science fiction thing rather than reality. Well, I do not want to be dogmatic and say that you can never be because I believe that everything you dream is possible.

Q _ Could it be feasible to create organs or tissues in 3d printers?

A_Yes there are some important possibilities linked to the IPS of weaving, but it is not my field and I do not know it in depth to know the perspectives and potential problems.

Q. Throughout history has the elixir of eternal life been sought and today physicians from the Massachusetts Institute say that in 30 you could achieve immortality, what do you think?

A_Death is part of the design of life is inevitable and I do not think it’s reasonable to fight against biological design, yes people can live better but I do not think you have to obsess about being eternal.

Q _ Why did you specialize in genetics particularly in medicine?

A_ At first I thought of something with a greater scientific component and further away from the direct suffering of people, so it seemed to me that forensic genetics was an area that I could use very well. Now I’m in clinical genetics and I have a question that I could not imagine 40 years ago when I thought otherwise.

Why Genetics and forensics? Well I do not know, you really do not know what marks you in life, but surely people, experiences then are what I decided for those areas.

Q _ Do you study in Sweden and have in your team people from all countries, could you tell us which country is the most advanced in the genetics?

A_ Depends a lot on the field, there are many more developed areas in some countries than in others I think that in general terms in the United Kingdom with the “Project of the one hundred thousand Genomes” is where more research effort is being done

And surely Holland is the best in the field of translation. In the forensic field, of forensic genetics we are at this moment with a group from Austria and another group from Holland. So each area has its country and its center.

Q_ Could genetic advances in medicine fall into the wrong hands?

A_I think it is important to think and discuss the ethical problems of technologies to prevent their misuse. There are present and possible in the future. I am more concerned about the first ones such as DNA databases for criminal investigation purposes, and discuss who has to be in them: only those who commit important crimes or the entire population and even those who visit as proposed by Kuwait, for example? This last scares me very much.

Q_ What have been the prizes that have made you more excited?

A_All awards give me love and hope because they are given with love and hope

Some are more important and others are closer and closer and they give me love.

Important awards such as Jaume I or Adelaida involve a lot of recognition, but I really like the next thing and distinctions like the Castelao, the Medal of Galicia or even being the favorite son of my people because they reach me more to the heart.

Q_ Is he known as the da Vinci of genetics, but how would he like to be remembered?

A_I think it’s a mistake about da Vinci’s genetics. I simply devote myself to many aspects of genetics, but genetics is a transversal science that has applications in any order of life, but I am a very curious person and every time I am interested in a topic and genetics can give a light. That’s why it may seem that I dedicate myself to many things, but in reality I only dedicate myself to genetics.

What happens is that applied genetics: to cancer to autism, to the forensic field, to understand history, to thousands of things because I can be curious, but really do not give other things I know something about genetics and the tool that I apply is the same scientific tool: Genetics

_ “That I be reminded … like a good person, hardworking and curious” _

(1) CRISPR / Cas9 pronunciation: CRISPR technology is a tool for modifying genomes. Modifying the function of genes and altering the sequencing of genes to prevent and correct genetic defects.

(2) Gene Therapies: A set of techniques that use the transfer of genetic material (editing or modifying the patient’s genetic information) to cure or prevent genetic diseases.