For some people, having their genes tested can be the very literal definition of knowledge being power. New research has found that one in 100 people with grandparents from Orkney have a gene variant that causes a higher risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer. Planning is now underway for a small pilot trial in Westray.
 
A University of Aberdeen podcast, in this episode of ‘Inside the Headlines’ we hear from Zosia Miedzybrodzka, Professor of medical genetics at the University of Aberdeen and director of the NHS North Scotland Genetic Service; Jim Wilson, Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Edinburgh; and Bethan Davies, an Orcadian who has the gene variant.

Explored in this episode: 

·       What the research shows

·       Genetics in distinct population pools

·       What the pilot programme encompasses

·       What living with the BRCA1 variant is like

Mentioned in this episode: 

·       Institution: North of Scotland Genetics Clinic

·       Gene variant: BRCA1 and BRCA2

·       Research study: Orkney Complex Disease Study

·       Charity: Friends of ANCHOR

·       Research study: Viking Genes study

This podcast reflects the views and opinions of contributors, not necessarily the institutional position of the University of Aberdeen.