like betrayal.
He hated it.
LOS ANGELES
P artway through her media event, Emily had a death grip on the podium and swallowed again to relax her throat. She hated public speaking. DNAllied’s media director had done a nice job, promising the major television, print, and web outlets the scoop of the week. The hall was packed with news teams.
Was her mom watching on TV?
“We share ninety-eight percent of our DNA with chimpanzees,” Emily said, “and ninety-nine point seven with Neanderthal man, which makes them an excellent sounding board for comparative genomics.”
Laura stood with P.J. in the back of the conference room. Uncharacteristically, Emily avoided her sister’s gaze.
“
Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis,
and chimpanzees are similar creatures, yet our cousins adapted to the same world in different ways,” she said. “Some of their adaptations are less effective. Some are more. Among chimpanzees, for example, the incidence of most forms of cancer is twenty percent less than in
Homo sapiens,
whereas webelieve
Homo neanderthalensis
was more susceptible than our own species.”
Emily paused one last time. She’d brought both sets of notes to the podium. This was where the two diverged.
Was her nephew worth more to her than unborn strangers? What about the thousands of other families with autistic children who needed help?
Emily decided she had to save them first. She would read the company version. Even this speech was loaded with hazards. She didn’t want to sound tactless or cold-blooded, but she expected controversy.
Lifting her chin like a boxer, Emily said, “Chimpanzees are also far less likely to develop cognitive disorders. Their resistance to these disorders includes Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, bipolar disorders… and autism.”
Some people stirred among the media, such as the business writer from
Newsweek
and the woman from the local ABC affiliate. Emily had been warned that a few in particular would resist her findings. This was more than a hot-button issue. She was playing with evolution and some of the most incendiary questions of their time.
The subject was also intensely personal for her, not only because of Laura and P.J. Because of her mother. Maintaining family tradition, Jana Flint had raised her girls in accordance with the Catholic Church, and she didn’t always accept Emily’s career choice. No one could say or do anything that would hurt Emily more than Laura’s disapproval, but she’d been on thin ice with her mother for years.
Six reporters had their hands up. One man asked, “Miz Flint, are you implying—”
Emily tried to stay on track. “We want to use those differences to our advantage,” she said. “At DNAllied, we’ve developed and certified an extensive database of specific gene sequences that will lead to individualized cures in millions of people.”
“Are you implying there’s a connection between cancer and intelligence?” the reporter asked.
“It’s not that simple.”
“But you just—”
“Okay, please,” the media director said. “Doctor Flint is happy to answer questions. Let’s take them one at a time.” He pointed away from the aggressive reporter to someone who looked like a safer bet, a man with sleepy eyes and a mustache.
The new man said, “Has there really been any research done into chimpanzees with Alzheimer’s? Or depression? How would you know if a monkey has memory loss or was bipolar?”
“The same as with people,” Emily said. “Several well-designed behavioral studies have tracked both domesticated chimpanzees and those in the wild.”
Another reporter said, “Will your database be made public?”
“Yes,” Emily said. “DNAllied believes this information is too valuable to families all over the world to sell or license it.”
“How much will these gene therapies cost?”
“That I don’t know,” Emily said.
The first reporter stood up. “Miz Flint, Miz Flint, this therapy, you’re going to
He hated it.
LOS ANGELES
P artway through her media event, Emily had a death grip on the podium and swallowed again to relax her throat. She hated public speaking. DNAllied’s media director had done a nice job, promising the major television, print, and web outlets the scoop of the week. The hall was packed with news teams.
Was her mom watching on TV?
“We share ninety-eight percent of our DNA with chimpanzees,” Emily said, “and ninety-nine point seven with Neanderthal man, which makes them an excellent sounding board for comparative genomics.”
Laura stood with P.J. in the back of the conference room. Uncharacteristically, Emily avoided her sister’s gaze.
“
Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis,
and chimpanzees are similar creatures, yet our cousins adapted to the same world in different ways,” she said. “Some of their adaptations are less effective. Some are more. Among chimpanzees, for example, the incidence of most forms of cancer is twenty percent less than in
Homo sapiens,
whereas webelieve
Homo neanderthalensis
was more susceptible than our own species.”
Emily paused one last time. She’d brought both sets of notes to the podium. This was where the two diverged.
Was her nephew worth more to her than unborn strangers? What about the thousands of other families with autistic children who needed help?
Emily decided she had to save them first. She would read the company version. Even this speech was loaded with hazards. She didn’t want to sound tactless or cold-blooded, but she expected controversy.
Lifting her chin like a boxer, Emily said, “Chimpanzees are also far less likely to develop cognitive disorders. Their resistance to these disorders includes Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, bipolar disorders… and autism.”
Some people stirred among the media, such as the business writer from
Newsweek
and the woman from the local ABC affiliate. Emily had been warned that a few in particular would resist her findings. This was more than a hot-button issue. She was playing with evolution and some of the most incendiary questions of their time.
The subject was also intensely personal for her, not only because of Laura and P.J. Because of her mother. Maintaining family tradition, Jana Flint had raised her girls in accordance with the Catholic Church, and she didn’t always accept Emily’s career choice. No one could say or do anything that would hurt Emily more than Laura’s disapproval, but she’d been on thin ice with her mother for years.
Six reporters had their hands up. One man asked, “Miz Flint, are you implying—”
Emily tried to stay on track. “We want to use those differences to our advantage,” she said. “At DNAllied, we’ve developed and certified an extensive database of specific gene sequences that will lead to individualized cures in millions of people.”
“Are you implying there’s a connection between cancer and intelligence?” the reporter asked.
“It’s not that simple.”
“But you just—”
“Okay, please,” the media director said. “Doctor Flint is happy to answer questions. Let’s take them one at a time.” He pointed away from the aggressive reporter to someone who looked like a safer bet, a man with sleepy eyes and a mustache.
The new man said, “Has there really been any research done into chimpanzees with Alzheimer’s? Or depression? How would you know if a monkey has memory loss or was bipolar?”
“The same as with people,” Emily said. “Several well-designed behavioral studies have tracked both domesticated chimpanzees and those in the wild.”
Another reporter said, “Will your database be made public?”
“Yes,” Emily said. “DNAllied believes this information is too valuable to families all over the world to sell or license it.”
“How much will these gene therapies cost?”
“That I don’t know,” Emily said.
The first reporter stood up. “Miz Flint, Miz Flint, this therapy, you’re going to
Similar Books
