Metaphors

NICHOLAS WADE has an article in the New York Times today titled "Genes Show Limited Value in Predicting Diseases". It seems pretty early in the understanding of the human genome to expect major advances. Lets see if we can find the right metaphor:

• My grandniece had her second birthday this week, and she hasn't earned any money for her parents yet.
• I am reading Mayflower, the history of the Pilgrim colony in Massachusetts. Half of them died in the first year and the company that financed the settlement went broke.
• How about European exploration. The explorers that went down the coast of Africa found deserts and then insalubrious tropical climates. It took a very long time to find the end of Africa and a route to Asia. The sailors with Columbus wanted to turn around before they discovered America.

Of course, sometimes it when you don't succeed at first and try, try again, you keep failing.

It may take a while, but I can not help but believe that genetics will eventually lead to discoveries with great medical benefits. I suspect that they will be less un unraveling genetic causes of diseases and more in finding which remedies work best with patients with which genes.