Some of you may remember when Alex Haley captured the country with his production of “Roots” back about thirty of years ago. “Roots”, as you may recall, was the story of Alex Haley’s family that predated the arrival of Black people in the United States. Although Haley’s research also chronicled the trials and tribulations of Black people in the United States it is interesting to note that characteristics of Black people were fairly consistent throughout the story and for the most part remain that way today.

Currently, there are four diseases that appear to be common in the Black population: prostate cancer, diabetes, obesity, and hypertension. Why that is – no one knows; however, science is closing in on answers with the emergence of the Human Genome project in Washington, D.C. and the National Human Genome Center (NHGC) at Howard University which is also located in the nation’s capitol.

The Howard University Genome Center is of particular interest to African Americans, as well as the scientific community, because it focuses on studying the genetic structure of the oldest populations in the world. Scientists know that to get a precise reading on how genetics evolved in human they have to study people from Africa. The reason being that is that oldest skeleton in the world called “Lucy” was discovered in 1974 in Ethiopia which was just about the time when “Roots” was released on American television. Coincidence? Maybe. Timely? Yes. What Haley did was to spur African Americans to do more to research family history. In doing so a wealth of information was discovered, including diseases that were prevalent in the family. Ten years later the Human Genome Project began with citizens, researchers, and scholars wanting to know the causes of certain diseases that are related to the genetic structure.

Now it’s time to give you a bit of background on what is meant by the human genome. The human genome has about 80,000 genes, which makes a human, human. By looking at the human genome we can uncover the mysteries that plague us about why certain groups are prone to certain diseases. Once we uncover this we can act accordingly to possibly arrest or even find a cure for diseases that affect certain populations. In effect, the Human Genome Project is really about customized medicine.

So next time Alex Haley’s name comes up ask yourself, “ Did he have it right?” Many think he did.

Source: 2004 Howard University, National Human Genome Center. Washington, DC

George T. Rowan, Ph.D., is a professor in the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources at Michigan State University. He is also chair of the Ingham County Board of Health and member of the Ingham Regional Medical Center Prostate Awareness Committee in Lansing, Michigan.