TOW #19 - Abraham Lincoln's DNA and Other Adventures in Genetics (1st Half - Philip Reilly)

In the first half of Abraham Lincoln’s DNA and Other Adventures in Genetics, Philip R. Reilly shares his research on the different effects genetics have on a person’s mental and physical characteristics. He does this in three parts: He analyzes how DNA allows us to understand the past, he examines how DNA is changing crime detection, and he questions whether genes truly define our behavior. As the CEO of Interleukin genetics and a professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine, Philip Reilly is very qualified to speak on this topics. His purpose is to reveal the true role that genetics plays in our everyday lives from a variety of different angles. To accomplish this purpose, he uses detailed case studies and well-known historical anecdotes. Philip Reilly shares detailed case studies in order to illuminate the complexity of genetics. For example, he shares how scientists have been trying to deduce whether there is a genetic predisposition to homosexuality. Reilly writes, regarding the case, “The responses indicated that 13.5% of the gay men’s brothers were homosexual, a much higher figure than the background rate of 2-3% male homosexuality currently assumed for the general population” (148). While the results of the study may have been technically inconclusive, certain data indicates that homosexuality may be influenced by genetics. Reilly also explains historical figures to show how genetics shaped their legacy. He writes how King George III of England had acute intermittent porphyria, which really inhibited his ability to rule. However, despite it being passed down through his paternal family, there is no evidence that any of his ancestors were severely hampered by the disease. Reilly encaptures the complex nature of genetics when he writes, “A disease gene that had been traveling in the British royal family for at least eight generations had not caused really severe disease until it expressed itself in George III” (21). This behavioral explanation of a well-known historical figure helps the audience recognize the effects of genetics. Ultimately, Philip Reilly successfully accomplishes his purpose as, from the sufficient and relevant examples he chooses, it is undeniable that genetics are very complicated.