Someone’s DNA is not their destiny, it is only a part of who they are – expert

Someone’s DNA is simply an instruction manual for who they are and is not generally their “destiny”, an expert has said.

Geneticist and ancient DNA specialist Professor Turi King explained that DNA is only one piece of the puzzle, and people have a lot of choice in who they are.

The scientist, who led one of the biggest forensic DNA cases in history – the identification of the remains of King Richard III – said she would like people to know that who they are is complex mix of their genetics and environment.

“It’s like an instruction manual for making a person, running that individual, and then having them go on to make their own new little people.

“But it’s just part of the picture of who we are. So when, as a geneticist, people say ‘oh, it’s in their DNA’, I just kind of go, ‘ahh’ because our DNA is just part of who we are.

She added: “DNA is just part of the picture – we have so much of our own choice in who we are, and our health, and this kind of thing.”

Dr King, co-presenter of the TV series, DNA Family Secrets said something she would like to get across to people is that there are very few genetic diseases where if someone has a particular genetic make-up they are going to get a particular disease.

She continued: “There are some genes that we know have a very big impact, but for the vast majority, it’s way more complex.

“It is a mixture of our genetic makeup, also our environment, and that will be everything from how we are brought up to what we’re eating to where we’re living – and we have our choices in that.”

Dr King, director of the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, gave a talk at New Scientist Live about the use of genetics in the fields of forensics, history, genealogy and archaeology.