APT Analysis of Scientific Content

APT Analysis of Scientific Content

On October 28, 2020, Eric Green, a physician-scientist and director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, published an article in Scientific American titled “A Vision for the Next Decade of Human Genomics Research.” In this article, Green discusses how far the field of genomics has come since the start of the Human Genome Project started in 1990. While genomics has implications for many different areas of science and medicine, this article appeared in the “Technology” section of Scientific American.

Audience

The audience for this article is an advanced lay audience with some understanding of genetics and genomics. Scientific American caters to a wide range of people, balancing the line between making science accessible to those with some basic knowledge while also presenting information that professionals may not have known. In “A Vision for the Next Decade of Human Genomics Research,” Green does not define genomics, nor goes into much background about some of the applications of genomics that he mentions. This implies that the target audience would already be familiar with concepts such as noninvasive prenatal genetic testing and direct-to-consumer ancestry testing and how genomics has transformed those areas. That being said, the Scientific American article is a summary of a paper Green authored for Nature titled “Strategic vision for improving human health at the Forefront of Genomics,” which is a much more technical discussion of the same topic geared towards professionals in the field of genomics. Per the audience demographics of Scientific American, the target audience for this article would be those ages 18-54 with a college degree and a median household income of $74,000 (“Mediakit”).

Purpose

The purpose of this article is to inform the reader, whether they have a professional or lay amount of knowledge, about the potential direction that genomics is headed in the next 10 years. Another intent behind this article is to emphasize the positive narrative surrounding genomics and how it is going to be used in medicine. Some of the popular media around genetics and genomics is focused on gene editing, which can be twisted into an ethical issue about “designer babies” and whether genetically modified organisms are safe to grow or eat. Green focuses instead on the applications related to helping people become more autonomous over their health care and how healthcare will become more individualized to accommodate the diversity of people’s backgrounds and needs. The article also contains a subtle call to action: “Each of us must raise awareness of health inequities and develop the empathetic will to address them, caring for others’ genomes as much as we do our own” (Green). This again encourages the reader to view genomics in a positive light and reflect on how this technology will integrate into society.

Tone

The tone of the article is very optimistic and enthusiastic, while also being informative. Green starts with a look back at how far genomics has come since the field was first established before stating: “Critics may say such genomics boldness is disingenuous and breeds overpromises, but at every encounter during our recent strategic planning process, we found the optimism and exuberance of our colleagues to be both inspiring and metaphorically intoxicating, pushing us to be even bolder and more willing to take risks in describing where genomics might lead us” (Green). The word choice throughout the article, but best exemplified in this sentence, is very positive and exciting. Words like “exuberance” and “intoxicating” lend excitement to this field of science that many lay people or professionals in other fields may not find particularly exciting. The tone connects very well to the purpose of emphasizing the positive things that have come out of genomics and getting readers excited to learn about the future direction of this technology.

Reference

Green, Eric D. “A Vision for the Next Decade of Human Genomics Research.” Scientific American, Scientific American, 28 Oct. 2020, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-vision-for-the-next-decade-of-human-genomics-research/.

“Mediakit.” Audience - Mediakit, https://www.scientificamerican.com/mediakit/advertise/scientific-american-mind/audience/.