NERVOUS fidgeting, a flick through a magazine or a trip to the duty-free shop
are the traditional ways of filling in interminable waits in departure lounges.
But a new diversion is in store for passengers travelling from Manchester
Airport: the Gene Shop. You can鈥檛 buy anything there, but you can shop around
for the latest information on genetics.
鈥淚 run a genetics department at Royal Manchester Children鈥檚 Hospital,鈥�
explains Maurice Super, who, with Ruth Chadwick, is the brains behind the Gene
Shop. 鈥淎lthough people are interested in scientific explanations of genetic
disease, they are often in victim mode. I wanted to give them information in a
non-stressful environment.鈥�
And so the Gene Shop was born. But why Manchester airport? 鈥淚t鈥檚 an excellent
location,鈥� says Super enthusiastically. 鈥淧eople are looking forward to their
holidays and come to us in a relaxed frame of mind.鈥� The easygoing mood is
reinforced by the casual uniform of the staff. No cold white lab coats here,
only cuddly sweatshirts displaying the Gene Shop logo. Super helps visitors get
to grips with the Gene Shop鈥檚 user-friendly computer programs. But it is more
than a hi-tech amusement arcade. It also opens up the social and ethical
dilemmas that accompany advances in genetic science. An interactive display on
sickle-cell disease raises some of the difficult choices involved in genetic
testing. We meet Esm茅, a teenager with sickle-cell disease. A touchscreen
program allows the visitor to explore Esm茅鈥檚 condition from the
perspectives of her family, her employers and her neighbours.
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Tom, 11, was working through the program, and clicked onto a screen which
explored a dilemma faced by Esm茅鈥檚 14-year-old sister who wanted to find
out if she was a carrier of the sickle-cell gene. She had been told by a genetic
counsellor that she was too young to be tested, so should she be allowed to go
ahead and take the test if she had her parents鈥� consent? 鈥淵es,鈥� tapped in Tom,
punching the air in delight when the message flashed up that 69 per cent of Gene
Shop visitors agreed with him.
Tom鈥檚 response is common among 10 to 12-year-olds, according to Super. 鈥淭hey
identify with the sister鈥檚 dilemma,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a situation that they, as
teenagers, might soon find themselves in.鈥�
But what does the Gene Shop have to interest adults? They are drawn to the
wall displays, where some controversial issues are aired, says Super. A display
on the genetics of cancer includes an article from the journal Nature
Medicine on the anxieties provoked by testing for the BRCA1 gene. Nearby, a
statement from the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, calling for mandatory screening for
the condition, invites a counter comment. 鈥淪imply to screen is not enough,鈥� it
says. Such arguments, however, may be of more interest to the specialist than
the casual visitor. Tom鈥檚 mother, Anne, admitted she had other, more personal,
priorities. She wanted to find out about the genetics of heart disease, because
her husband鈥檚 family had a history of the condition.
Visitors bring personal experience to the Gene Shop, but sometimes want to
offload emotional baggage, too. 鈥淲e had a middle-aged woman, who insisted that
genetic testing should be compulsory for all,鈥� says Super. 鈥淚t turned out that,
at 50, she had married a man ten years her junior. Two years after their
wedding, he was diagnosed with Huntington鈥檚 disease and is now in an
颈苍蝉迟颈迟耻迟颈辞苍.鈥�
This tale is at odds with the upbeat atmosphere of the Gene Shop. The
emphasis is on public education, though knowledge of a different kind鈥攖he
burden of genetic inheritance鈥攊s kept in the shadows. It would be wrong to
place unrealistic expectations on a centre which attracts only passing trade.
However, the Gene Shop might build on its success by looking to its neighbours.
To one side stands The Body Shop, an outlet which profits from its bright, busy
ethos. On the other side is the Prayer Room: science, like religion, needs space
for quiet reflection.
The Gene Shop is located in the Departure Lounge of Terminal 2, Manchester
Airport and is open from 8.30am until 2.30pm (closed Tuesdays and Sundays)