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Genetics and genomics: unraveling new opportunities for addiction treatment and education.

Almost 15% of Americans have tried cocaine (as cited in Volkow, 2010a), about 10 million people in America have tried methamphetamines (NIDA, 2011), and marijuana use ranks the highest in America when compared to 17 other countries (as cited in Volkow, 2010b). Clearly substance abuse and addictions is an ongoing challenge in our country. New research in genomics offers key insight into understanding substance abuse disorders and the possibility of novel treatment modalities. Progress in the fi eld of genomics has come a long way since 1865 when Mendel fi rst discovered the laws of genetics. We have moved from understanding the sequence of a single strand of DNA to sequencing the entire human genome in 2003, and now international studies of genetic variations across multiple populations. With this ever growing knowledge about the human genome come limitless opportunities for utilizing this information for the treatment of addictions. In this editorial, we will give an overview of genomics, discuss the latest genomic fi ndings as they relate to addictions treatment, the role of nurse educators in incorporating genomics into course curriculum, and social and ethical challenges involved with genomic medicine and research. The human genome is estimated to contain 30,000 genes, and the functions are still unknown for over 50% of the genes that have currently been discovered. A gene is a segment of DNA containing all of the information needed to encode for a specifi c protein. The order of base pairs in a gene determines which protein it encodes for. While the process to translate genes to proteins occurs naturally in the body, sometimes mistakes can happen. Mutations in the genome can occur which can affect how the gene is expressed, by changing the corresponding protein and its function. Mutations called polymorphisms, considered to occur in at least 1% of the population, are largely responsible for determining risk for disease, and differences between how humans respond to treatment. The most common mutations are single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and copy number polymorphisms(CNVs) where