Ancestors, Genes, and Care

Every tumor tells a story, but it speaks in a language of growth, spread and dynamics that are incredibly hard to read. What if mathematics could translate it? I will show how mathematical equations can turn routine data from clinical care into a personalized forecast. A short tour through the quiet revolution of bringing numbers to the bedside.

When you think of DNA, you picture the iconic twisted ladder — the double helix. But parts of your DNA can break free and form circles. These extrachromosomal circular DNAs (eccDNA) form when DNA is damaged and small fragments are cut loose and sealed into rings. They turn up everywhere — in yeast, plants, and every human being on the planet. In healthy cells, they are largely harmless background noise. In cancer, however, they become dangerous: tumor cells accumulate large circles loaded with cancer-driving genes, handing tumors a powerful tool to grow, evolve, and dodge treatment.

Every genome is like a little travel diary of your ancestors, and in this talk we’ll open a few of those diaries together. I’ll walk through how scientists read ancestry patterns in DNA and what they really tell us about human diversity and shared origins. We’ll also talk about why it’s important that genomic studies don’t just focus on one group, if we want health research to benefit everyone.