26 May 2018

Is your DNA your destiny?

From This Way Up, 12:50 pm on 26 May 2018

The market for consumer DNA testing is booming, with an estimated 1 billion people expected to have their genomes sequenced by 2025. But how much stock should we put in our genetic 'fate'? 

Steven Heine

Steven Heine Photo: Supplied

Not so much, according to cultural psychologist Steven Heine.

He argues the value of genetic testing has been over-hyped in the book DNA is Not Destiny: The Remarkable, Completely Misunderstood Relationship Between You and Your Genes. 

DNA double helix through an electron microscope

DNA double helix through an electron microscope Photo: (Flickr user Karl-Ludwig Poggemann CC BY 2.0)