Tuesday, April 21st was our 5th DNA Day in Canada. We make an extra effort every April to raise awareness about DNA and the impact the science of genetics in having on our world. From giving a better understanding of diseases to how to make certain treatments more effective the science is changing the way medicine is practiced. We use genetic technology in developing new and better crops and it isn't always about genetic modification. Understanding genetics means we can select plant varieties or livestock traits far more efficiently. The study of genetics can take us so many places.
As always we received a wide range of questions from across the country with the majority of questions from students and teachers who enjoyed this unique access to some of Canada's top genetics experts.
This year we once again hosted a Google video Hangout hosted Jay Ingram. With the help of Cybera we were able to improve the quality of the broadcast and experts Carolyn Fitzsimmons (University of Alberta) and Francois Bernier (University of Calgary) had an interesting and informative discussion that included submitted questions and touched on some of the challenges faced by the science.
Here is a recording of the Hangout and if you go to http://LetsTalkDNA.ca you'll find more links to resources about genetics and in a few days we'll post a log of the text-based Q & A sessions.