The DNA Files producer John Rieger talked with Dr. Donata Vercelli, Assistant Director of the Arizona Respiratory Center at the University of Arizona. Dr. Vercelli says that not only is asthma genetically complex, but that it also clearly shows evidence of genes that work differently based on the environment.

In this interview from The DNA Files documentary “The Heat is On: Evolution in Action,” producer Adam Burke talks with Rick Potts, Director of the Human Origins Program and Curator of Anthropology at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. Potts talks about the revolutionary idea that global climate change was a driver of human evolution, as well as a driver of extinction of other hominids. Potts argues that Homo sapiens’ ability to use culture to adapt to a variety of environments and climates lead to our successful dispersal throughout the world. But what does our current influence on climate portend for our future success as a species?

In this interview from The DNA Files documentary “Designing the Garden,” producers Julie Grant and Adam Burke talk with MS Swaminathan. Swaminathan is considered the father of the Green Revolution in India. He discusses his views on genetically modified crops and the relationship between the Green Revolution and the Gene Revolution.

From wildlife conservation, to saving endangered species, to removing toxins from the environment, learn how genetic technologies have helped us to understand ecology and manage environments. Note: this program was originally produced in 2001, and updated in 2006 with funds from the Public Radio Exchange.

Discover the ways in which genetic tools have helped define life at home on Earth, and how new understandings about energy, metabolism and replication influence the search for life in the universe.

In 221 bc, Emperor Qin Shi Huang, best known for building the Great Wall of China, searched for the "elixir of life." In 1513, Ponce de Leon traveled to what is now Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth. Today, researchers are still searching for the "fountain of youth," but they are turning to genetic tools, rather than foreign lands, to find it.

Human traits, especially involving behavior, are likely to have a complex genetic basis incorporating many genetic and environmental influences. Learn about the field of behavioral genetics and explore whether you carry some of your fate in your genes.

Peoples all over the world have developed origin stories to explain why we're here, who we are, and where we're going. Now, genetic researchers are beginning to write their own account of our origins, through the study of DNA. This program tells us how DNA may have come into existence and how genetic studies have contributed to evolution theories so far. And it explores the controversies raised by genetic research.

Gene therapy holds the prospect of great hope as well as the danger of the unknown, as researchers, scholars, doctors, and patients weigh the benefits and the risks of a medical treatment that's still in its infancy.

This program is all about control: the control of genetic research, the control of our own genes, and the control of the very personal information those genes contain. The answers aren't clear-cut, and, many would argue, the ethics surrounding the issues are sometimes blurred as well.

We've heard a lot about DNA forensics in the news — the process of testing DNA, finding DNA matches, and creating DNA profiles of individuals makes for great headlines. But what exactly is DNA forensics, and how does it work?

This program offers an overview of predictive genetic testing. You'll learn which diseases it currently targets, the testing techniques, the reliability of those tests, and, most important of all, what is achievable once the results are obtained.

From crops engineered with new genes to pigs grown up to be organ donors, the applications of biotechnology seem to be limitless and also surrounded by limitless controversy.

Prenatal tests can provide valuable information about the health of a fetus; they can also raise tough ethical, social, and legal questions.

Although the ability to predict, prevent and treat disease with genetic technologies such as gene therapy, stem cell research, and xenotransplantation seems like a real possibility, it is not without controversies and roadblocks.

Sequencing the human genome has brought us unprecedented knowledge and controversy. Explore the issues involved in sequencing the human genome in this roundtable discussion with the researchers involved in the Human Genome Project.