Dr. Dunston lead the lecture for the week with the central topic being genomes. A genome can be defined as a set of 23 chromosomes which are also used to operate the human body or can be defined as the gift of life. The session was a reinforcement of last week's session topic which was knowledge. Dr. Dunston showed how knowledge is embedded in each and every genome. Instead of knowledge being acquired it is something that is already within your genome. A major point that Dr. Dunston highlighted was that we as humans are extremely competitive. We fight each other constantly to get knowledge and information that we already have and are born with. It is up to us as the individual to figure out how we will unlock our own embedded knowledge. As she further explained students discovered that the genome is also a "record book" and legacy of human kind. Each and every body of people can be defined by their genome. The most vital key when discussing the genome record book is to fully comprehend that the Africans were the first and foundation of all other origins and their story. We cannot discuss European, Asian, or any other genome history without the African history.
"There is nothing more powerful than a sense of purpose" says Dr. Dunston. Your genome has a unique sequence that defines your energy field. When a person walks in a room that has a strong presence their genome can be credited for giving off that type of energy field. We as humans need to be aware of the type of energy fields we give off and how we can positively use them to help us discover our purpose. Everyone has a divine purpose in life that they should strive to master. Howard University students are "On time, on point, and on purpose" says Dr. Dunston. Meaning we are a group of young intelligent people who mostly know our purpose or are striving to discover it and then execute it.
Dr. Dunston overall was a very effective speaker. She presented a scientific topic such as genomes and taught how it was more than just scientific. The genome plays a large part in our every day lives and helps to define our divine purpose in life.
-Kaylynn Webb
This week’s lecture took a small detour from the area of Howard University’s history and legacy, and focused more on the significance of the human genome. Dr. Georgia M. Dunston enthusiastically construed its purpose to us as human beings, as well as its importance in understanding history before us. Dr. Dunston is the Founding Director of the National Human Genome Research Center, Professor and Former Chair of the Department of Microbiology, and Graduate Adjunct Professor of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Howard University. In her area of expertise, Dr. Dunston is determined to find answers to the age long question of health disparities; why are certain diseases and conditions more prevalent in certain groups? And it is with the sequencing and understanding of the genome that these mysteries can one day be solved. It is through research in molecular genetics that human variation and the evolutionary history of genes within population can be observed. Dr. Dunston takes a special interest on populations of African ancestry. In class, Dr. Dunston stressed that everyone is phenomenal and unique because their genome is unique. No one, not even identical twins, have the same genetic encoding. Because of this, Dr. Dunston stated that “on one can compete with you for what is innately and naturally yours”. Meaning that everyone has their own destiny to fulfill based on their uniquely individual genome. We don’t have to constantly fight each other for knowledge and information that we are already born with. The genome contains DNA, and the DNA sequence contains knowledge about biology and the inner workings of life. This knowledge is rooted in human antiquity. Dr. Dunston also touched on the genome being a record book; the history and legacy of humankind, and spotlighted the African origins of the genome and how “the African story is the foundation for every other story”. Studying the human genome brings wisdom and a history of man’s migration and experience. And by understanding the history of our past we can begin the form our own identity and purpose with the universe.
ReplyDeleteThis week in freshman seminar we explored the human genome project. When we usually think of the human genome, we think of a gene that carries twenty-three chromosomes that make up our traits; hair color, eye color, gender, height and so on. Dr. Georgia M. Dunston gave us a different definition for what exactly a genome is and what it holds for us. She described the human genome as the source of our energy field. This energy field controls everything from knowledge to the human legacy. In alliance with Dr. Carr’s message, Dunston described knowledge as not something we acquire over the years, but as something we are born with as children and must unlock, as we grow older. Every individual has different knowledge that they must unlock for themselves, how you unlock your knowledge is up to you. Dr. Dunston also defined the human genome as a record book for the human legacy. In our very genes is a record of all the struggles and things we as a human culture have gone through and how we came through them. For African Americans specifically this record book is important because in all of us locked in our genes is the knowledge of what went wrong in the past. That information paired with what we know of modern society today will allow us to solve problems that those before us were not able to. Our genomes drive our sense of purpose and keep us on the path to greatness.
ReplyDelete- Amber Demby
This week’s lecture entitled, “Abandonment, Dismemberment and Reawakening: The History and Legacy of Howard University” by Dr. Georgia Dunston truly inspired me. In this lecture Dr. Dunston discussed the human genome and research on it, as well as our ability as humans to harness it. She claimed that the human genome contains not only the inherited chromosomal codes that detail our physical features, but also carries knowledge; Knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation, starting with our first mother from Africa. She discussed how each genome makes us unique, and that even identical twins are different due to the way genomes behave. She discussed why the genome project was started and how it’s used to examine why certain groups of people are affected by certain things, such as asthma in the black community.
ReplyDeleteThen she moved into our role in genomes. She conveyed to us the idea that the genomes aren’t enough, and that true wisdom is not the acquisition of knowledge, but its application. She inspired me to take hold of my attitude by making me realize that only two percent of the genome is what makes up physical feature, and the rest is essentially potential. As humans, our thought process commands our genome; ergo, what we think is what we are. The energy produced from the way we feel, and how we hold ourselves is conveyed to others. The genome provides the framework for our identity, however the switches we choose to activate in our genome are who we are.
-Carrington Lewis-Sweeney